putting photos and drawings in frames
our apartment, its evolution and my journey to it
This is on the progress of my boyfriend’s and my apartment, its first months and its current state. I might have gone on tiny tangents, but the story is linear.
Phase 1. Moving in through photos.
It was around mid-August, so there weren’t any driving lessons. After spending some days by the sea and some more at my dad’s house, my boyfriend (who was visiting) and I went back to Germany. I was going to stay there for a couple of weeks.
I left my sister’s room, which had been my room since June, completely empty.
And then spent the last days in this other room. Because when I’d come back with my license, we would have our own apartment.
It wasn’t ready in August yet, but during those two weeks we started looking for couches and going to furniture shops. After sitting on many couches, we finally found a good one at a good price, and I measured how it’d fit on the floor.
I also used those two weeks to work a lot on my new website, and I launched it right when I got back in Catalonia.
I took some pictures so I could have something to post in the studio’s new Instagram. Let’s just say September was this account’s best and month… Then, life got in the way.
I continued my driving lessons, while looking for jobs like crazy while building my own brand, and started the new university semester. In the meantime, my sister came back from a year-long trip, and my boyfriend moved into the apartment.
It was a stressful time, to say the least, but there were some highlight moments. Celebrating my mom’s birthday, going to a rugby match in Perpignan for the first time. Museums, exhibitions, friend reunions, runs…
The apartment started taking shape, and I moved into my new home just through photos. It was both exciting and challenging. Making decisions for a space I wasn’t living in was very difficult. How could I design a space I couldn’t be in?
In October, difficulties grew with the (finally) upcoming driving exam date and the additional to-do’s because of university.
After failing my exam on a Friday, I spent an improvised weekend at my mom’s house down in the Alacant province. The next Monday, I was told I would have to wait over three weeks until taking another exam, so that made the decision easy: That was it, for now.
By the next Tuesday, I was home. In the next weeks, I wrote a post about the whole thing.
What had started in June as days became hotter and brighter in Catalonia finally ended as days became dark and cold in Germany.
Phase 2. Actually moving in.
As I settled into the space, we started working on it more, and I added pieces of myself into it. At first, we mostly just had things we already had in our room. A small side table was our coffee table, borrowed folding chairs were our dining chairs and a previously unused table was our dining table. But I was on top of the world. I allowed myself to forget about the driving license for a while, and I focused on work, university and home.
Some of the first pictures I took.
I moved things around and played with the space. I claimed drawers and we tidied up spaces. I started styling the little furniture we had and putting photos and drawings in frames.
We got a rug, a coffee table. Then dining chairs, then a tall narrow shelf. We went to second hand shops and found some nice things. A plant, frames, coffee mugs…
Little by little, the space made more and more sense and became more of a home. In December, my sister visited and brought a suitcase I had prepared with a few things for the apartment.
In January, we got more into cooking because of a promotion paper that gave us free trials of meals to cook. It was something fun and new to do together in our very own place!
New projects and ideas came to mind, but we didn’t go as fast as in the beginning. Nothing was urgent anymore. And I believe designing a space and making it yours has to take time in order for it to go well. We mainly focused on our living and eating areas, and kind of neglected the entrance area, so the next things had to be for that space.
In February, when the first tulips of the year began appearing at the supermarket, I already had my flight ticket to continue getting my license in Spain. So my March and half of April were focused back on that.
Phase 3. Back for good.
And this time I made it! I passed the exam the 15th of April and was back home the 22nd. This time, I went away in the winter and came back when flowers are everywhere, days are long and the sky is actually blue instead of gray.
The latest additions to the apartment were plants, and with the nice weather we’re thinking more about the balcony. At an outlet/second hand shop, we looked for a small outside table and chairs, but instead found a beautiful wooden table at an incredibly great price and the perfect size. We couldn’t resist getting it.
I guess this phase isn’t finished yet! The next projects will be focused on the entrance area and balcony. Maybe in one of the next posts I could show my ideas. I could also share ideas I photoshopped in September/October, which I thought would be too much for this post.
End of September:
Three days ago:
I’m currently looking for new web design projects. If you or anyone you know can benefit from my services, don’t hesitate to contact me! I especially love to work on projects that look for creativity and uniqueness. A lot more information is on my website, Nabiu Studio, as well as past projects, but to see more (and honestly, better) website projects, contact me. <3
The website “How did you find me?” Such a fun creative idea!
“Ikigai Ruined My Life” by Dave Kang. I felt very seen and enjoyed his other posts on being an “Octopus”.
Youssof Gehad designing the typical Whatsapp images that grandmas send:
