Getting Settled In (Part 3)

This is it, the last post of house pictures (click here for part 1 or part 2).  In this post we will take a look at the upstairs.  I didn’t take any “before” shots, so this is just how it looks now. 

The Stairs

The stairs here are pretty scary, but what was really scary was the railing at the top of the stairs.  Dan fixed this by screwing in some plastic material he found.  It is much safer now and I think it looks pretty cool, too. 

Notice the window next to the stairs.  That is actually French doors to nowhere.    The movers had to use that door to bring all of our furniture upstairs.  They pulled a ramp right up to the door. 

Gym

Nothing special here, but those of you who know me well know how I need a good workout space.  This room works really well.  There is plenty of room for me to workout and for my elliptical.  I love the window in here; I get a ton of light, but still have privacy.

Shower Room

That’s right…notice how I did not say bathroom.  That is because in Belgium it is very rare to find a house in which the toilet is in the same room as the shower or bathtub.  So, we have a huge room with a shower, tub and sink.  Then, as you can see from the picture, across the hall you will find the toilet in a room all by itself. 

Here’s the tub.  It is a decent size.  I love how it has a sprayer; it is perfect for Ava’s baths.  I HATE the red tiles BTW.  In Belgium most houses don’t have bathroom fans, so you have to open the window (which is a crazy contraption in itself) when taking a shower or the room will start to smell.

Master Bedroom

This room is HUGE; it is the entire width of the house.  It was so big that we broke it up into 3 separate areas: a sitting room, the bedroom, and a “closet”. 

Here is the sitting area.  There is a great view of the farm from those windows, so this is a great place to sit and read.  Of course I haven’t actually done that, because who actually has time to sit in a sitting area and read anyway? 

Then you have the bedroom.  Notice the “wall” behind the tall dresser.  The Army issued us a wardrobe for each family member and an additional one for the house.  We used the wardrobes to separate our bedroom from the “closet” area. 

And here is our “closet”.  The wardrobes we were given did not provide even close to the amount of clothes storage that we needed, so we bought a few wardrobe racks and shoe racks and used those in addition to our wardrobes.  I LOVE this closet. 

  

Ava’s Bedroom

Ava’s bedroom needed a little TLC.  It had the most horrific light fixture and it was super dark.  We replaced the light fixture with this super fabulous light from IKEA.

Since it is so hard to hang things on these walls, wall decals were a major lifesaver.  I actually ordered one more to hang above her crib, but it hasn’t arrived yet.  I also painted a cheap unfinished 3 legged table we had green.  Finally we hung some curtains and called it a day.  I am pretty happy with how her room came out.

 

 

I think Ava likes her room, too. 

 

Guest Bedroom

Finally, here is room that you will stay in when you come to visit (that’s right, I am talking to you).  The bed is super comfy, you are right across the hall from the bathrooms, and you have a great view of the farm.  We can’t wait to have you:)

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