Doing up our Apartment - So what if it's Rented !

Abhi booked this apartment a month in advance before we shifted base to UK. 5th of June was when we had a look at it together for the 1st time. He was pretty apprehensive but I trusted him completely and knew that whatever he chose was a place we would love to call home for a long time to come! And I was right! [In spite of the state in which it was handed over to us.]

A place not vacuumed, with adult magazines lying below the bed, the oven all greasy, the sofas breathing dust, the store full of used clothes that weren't disposed off correctly - we had a lot to be furious about!! And rightly so - WE WERE! A curt mail was written to the property consultant and our disappointment conveyed loudly – thankfully post which, our concerns looked after!

None of that stopped us from making this apartment wear a character of our own! A reflection of a clutter free, elegance loving couple [Living in a bright 5th Floor 2BHK apartment just 5 mins from the Luton Town Centre]. Yes that's what we made it out to be :)

When we moved in on the 6th of June we decided on a budget to revamp this furnished apartment that came with a bed, mattress, 5 drawer chest, and a closet in each of the 2 Bedrooms. A 3 seater sofa with 2 sofa chairs and a centre table in the Living Room. A Cooking Range, a washing machine, a King Size Refrigerator and well fitted cabinets enough to stack up everything needed in a Maharashtrian Kitchen.

We chose the Bedroom on the left of the entrance door - we moved both the closets in here - 1 belonged to Abhi and the other to Me [Well, like every other couple, we too cannot dream of sharing wardrobes :) we both need lots of place and while he loves to keep his Formals tidy I love to keep my Accessories in place and putting all that into 1 closet would make us go to War! :) So these are strictly separate territories] along with 1 piece of the 5 drawer chest of which 3 belong to the Lady for all the right reasons :) and 2 to the Gentleman.
Separating our closets in the middle are our laundry bags 1 each - [nope not for him n me but] 1 for the ‘Washed n Ready to Wear’ and 1 for the 'To Be Washed' clothes.

We bought a brand new quilt and pillows along with covers for the duvet, pillows and the bed. The colour scheme chosen was beige n chocolate brown. We had the ‘Old White Plastic Office like’ blinders removed and replaced with the ones we bought from Wilkinson. A brown Bamboo Blinder with satin brown runners vertically lined on the sides.

The two Yellow Lights in the room in a light lime yellow and the lightest olive make this room wear a warm and cosy look for the evening. The morning feels all bright and lit up with the natural sunlight that comes in with the blinder rolled up.

You walk along the hallway and to your right is the door which opens to our shoe rack picked up from Argos and assembled by Abhi. This is a small store which houses the electric equipment for the room heaters (you do not understandably have fans here :)). Next to this is another small store which houses the Water Heater and has shelves which thankfully were preassembled which house our luggage bags, our grocery shopping trolley, the broom and other cleaning equipment. Right next to this and to the front of the bedroom door is the bathroom. This is done up in muted shades of the lightest brown and whites with 1 inch dark brown square tiles fitted as separators above the Bath Tub.

Just above the sink is a Large Mirror fitted probably with a myth that there aren't any short human beings alive!! YES!! I can't reach up to this Mirror!! Making this completely useless cause I am the one who needed it the most and therez no single Full Length Mirror in this Apartment! Well ya - this isn't our very own Pune Bedroom/House customized to fit ALL our needs, so be it!

Well that apart, we made this as self sufficient as possible with 2 small buckets (oh Yes a Mug as well) a small bin, 2 cane storage baskets wherein we'v neatly stacked up all our toiletries, a toilet and a bath mat picked up from Lifestyle in Bury Park and a hand towel hanger to the left of the sink.

To the left of the bathroom is the Living and to its Left is the 2nd Bedroom converted to our Pooja Room - this indeed is the most pious of all places in the house. Just before you enter the Bedroom or the Living Room the doors of which are in an L shape, you have the 2nd 5 drawer chest that hosts my Yoga Mat, Stationery, Mails, CD's etc...

As you enter the Living Room, you are greeted by a small bookshelf to the right and a C Shaped Arrangement of the Sofa and the Sofa Chairs to form the perfect conversational space. To the left corner of the room is where the TV would be and to the right would be the 4 seater Dining Table to be ordered again from Wilkinsons. The kitchen is open to the hall and is again C shaped with the refrigerator to the left [and next to the still to come Dining Table] and the Cooking Range in the centre. To the right is the Sink and there are the overhead cabinets along each side of the chimney which is installed exactly in the centre of the kitchen.

The cabinets are done up in Pine Coloured Wooden finish to match the flooring of the entire house. Diagonally opposite to the kitchen and to the left side of the Living Room is a white washed Door that opens to the tiny Gallery which gives you the view of the Neon’s of Luton by the night and the landscapes peeping between the well laid out housing colonies and taller commercial complexes around Luton.

The chair exactly opposite to this door is my favourite place in the house. This is where I enjoy my morning and evening cuppa tea - the beautiful view is truly a treat to the Eyes and definitely the most stress reliving experience - tou I am currently living a stress free life ;) :)

On getting out of the hall to your right is the Guest Bedroom. As you enter it you are greeted to the brightest room in the house with two huge white washed transparent glassed windows dressed up with pine coloured bamboo roll ups.

Along the right hand side corner is what we call in Marathi - the Devara (mandir). A tiny Chauranga done up with Meena Work and covered with the traditional Red Cloth - on it sit our Idols - Swami Samartha on the Left, The Annapurna Devi on the Right, to the Centre is Lord Ganesha, to its right is Lord BalKrishna, to its left is Godess Lakshmi. Below the chauranga to the centre is a small beautiful photograph of Lord Tirupati Balaji. In the front is the "Aum". On its either sides are the Utbatti [essence stick] stand and the Niranjan or the oil Diya. Then there is the Ghanti and the Haldi Kunkum on the either side and the two small Niranjans (Tupache Dive). To add to the beauty of this corner is the most stunning Oval Shaped Photograph of Lord BalKrishna with his 108 names each printed on a Peacock Feather. This truly is one of the most beautiful pictures of any Lord I've seen till date!

This apartment isn't carpeted and that is indeed the best part of this house giving it a clean, spacious and an inviting look. The yellow lights in each of the rooms and the hallway lent it a perfect ambience of a home you would love to come back to!

So if you're a part of our friend circle and visit the UK, do drop in J we'd love to treat you to authentic Maharashtrian Food [and some great view of this city that is visible from each of the rooms in this house.] Both Abhi and Me have been finding plenty of time to cook together - one of the reasons I've been relishing food even more :).

Let the Good Times Roll… :):)
Cheers !!!
Lotsa Luv
- sayli :)