The place we call home

I've had some requests for a little home tour. While we moved into a furnished place, I feel like it's still my womanly domestic duty to make it feel like our home. It's still a work in progress, but it's good enough to give you a sneak peak.

Just to your left before you come in the front door there is a little courtyard where we lock up our bikes. It's an internal courtyard (you have to have a key to our building to access it) but Mikey can count the number of shiny bikes he's seen in Bologna and two of them are ours. It's just good policy to always lock your bike here, even if you think it's safe.

This is what you see when you enter the front door. Looking down the hall you can see the space where Ada sleeps at night (just outside our room which is the door at the end of the entry hall on the left). During the day we wheel her bed into our room, shut the door, and pray we don't have the go to the bathroom while she's napping.

Just to the left is a little widow that looks into the courtyard. The open widow on the ground floor is our bedroom window.

The coat rack is an old headboard that has been screwed into the wall and had antique-looking, solid, hooks attached. I think it's super cool. It may have been one of the selling points . . .

This is the view if you turn around. Lost yet?

The first (and only) door on your left leads into our bedroom. Straight through the next door is the bathroom. It has a shower, a toilet, sink, and for all you fancy folks who want to use it, a bidet.

Window, radiator, chair, bed. Comfy white linens. Not much to explain here.

 The large pieces of furniture acts as our closet. All of our hanging things (and shoes) are in there. It's nice to have the curtains rather than doors because I don't think there would have been room for doors to open. On a related note, I love how solid and beautiful all of the bedroom furniture is. The bedroom furniture was another reason I liked this place.

The rest of our clothes are in the dresser. And call me silly, but I'm so glad I packed picture frames.

One of the beautiful details I love about our bedroom is the old wooden beam that runs the length of the ceiling. Very few of the places we looked at had remnants of the old Bologna style homes (apparently they had beam-lined ceilings and lots of exposed brick. Um, yes please?), but this apartment had just a hint.

Out of the bedroom and to your left is our living/cooking/dining/studying/playing area. There's a large futon (which is surprisingly comfortable and a provides a great nap).

This is where we eat and study and paint (or will paint. Ada willing. . .)

The kitchen. We actually have really nice appliances. It's all gas powered and I love the water heaters here that heat as you use. The fridge is hidden in the tall cupboard on the left. Sneaky, sneaky. And oh look! It's that baby I love.

Most of the dishes are stored there. It's been great to have Ada in a high chair. It keeps her busy and out of my food which is always a plus at dinner time.

Mike's desk. Well, in reality he does more studying (so far, at least) at school.

This is the view out the window as you're sitting at the desk. We loved that this apartment had a little private space out back. It's the only place we looked at that had any sort of a yard.

Does doing laundry here look dreamy? It is until you want that fresh-out-of-the-dryer feel. But it makes for pretty photos.

We have yet to barbeque, but the grill is ready. I'm just too afraid of the mosquitoes to sit outside.

That's our place. Now who's coming to visit? We have that great futon and an extra set of linens . . .