Ooops.

I realised I’d never posted about the apartment I’d been renovating this winter – just one in a long line of apartments I’ve had to renovate since I got to Greece. One more to go. Then I begin working on MORE houses… but that’s another story.

So, here are the photos of the place finished. The photo above is what you see when you first step in the front door.

This is what you used to see more or less, a bit more to each side – mind you, I was in the middle of packing up when I took the before photos, so its a mess.

This is the corner opposite the front door before:

And now with the bookcase gone and the floor re-finished:

(You can see the plain flat normal white door to the hallway in the above pic – replacing the old swinging doors.)

Far corner before.

Same corner after. I absolutely love the new (non-yellow) floor!!

But starting at the beginning – the entrance. It used to be a dark peachy colour which, with the red marble floor, made it very dark and gloomy. Its now bright and cheerful.

Right next to the front door as you enter, is a kitchenette. There used to be a radiator along the wall next to the front door, then a door into the kitchen. Since the place is now divided into two apartments instead of 1 large one, I put a small kitchen where the bar used to be.

This was how it was, with the bar and the door to the kitchen (yes, another swinging door, dad loved those – terrible when bringing food or drinks from the kitchen to the dining room):

This is the same area now, with the bedroom to the right:

I got rid of the bar (gave it away to anyone who would come take it, it was a big heavy, solid mahogany piece. I blocked in the awful coloured glass brick bottle shelves and put cabinets from the old kitchen in its place.

Below is a different angle on the same area now. There is room for a fridge and stove. In Greece the stove doesn’t come with the house. Most tenants have their own I was told.. Therefore, there is space for a stove.

The dining room is now a bedroom, with a wall alongside the fireplace.

This is what it was like before:

Now the dining room is a spacious bedroom with tons of wardrobe space. (Sorry, photos below are before the floors were re-finished.)

There is now a proper door to the smaller hallway. This is how that looked before. Swinging doors are so awful!

And now. A shorter hallway with a floor to ceiling cupboard:

This was the small, crowded, impractical little bathroom before. It had a door into the master bedroom far right, the shower to the left right behind the door which was so small the shower curtain would stick to you when you showered, a tiny sink to the right and barely enough space to swing a cat.

Now it feels so spacious. The door to the bedroom was closed off. The large window was replaced by a smaller PVC one and the shower now takes up the entire back wall which is so much better. The sink and space for a washing machine with cabinet above all sit on the left side, including the toilet which was moved over a bit to where there had been a bidet.

Outside there is a wrap around balcony and we put up a wall to separate the two apartments.

I don’t have the money to replace the bannisters yet, but one day I will. Something a little prettier than the Perspex which has discoloured so much over the years.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the tour. The place is rented now finally, which is one less worry on my mind.

z