Our Little London Flat
We moved into our flat almost 5 months ago and have slowly adjusted to life in 750 square feet! Several of you have asked to see more photos of our flat, so this is for you.
It really is easier living in a tiny space- less space to clean, less clutter. But it is also tight. If anything is out of place, it usually blocks a walking area or access to something else. We are completely maxed out with our storage. I don't have any room to store extra clothes that the boys have outgrown and we certainly don't have any more space for toys.
Our flat is furnished, so all the furniture and decor was already here. I really love the color scheme and artwork! Its been nice to live in such a different color scheme than I have in the past. The only furniture we purchased is the boys bunk bed.
We are on 3rd floor but I don't mind the stairs. We have our groceries and laundry delivered every couple of days and that helps. :)
Here's a run down room by room!
Living Room
Our Living space is really comfortable. We have two couches and some seating by the window. Our TV is small but we didn't want to spend that much on a TV that we can't bring back to the States with us later.
We have a really large closet in this room where we store our luggage, work out gear, games, some toys and books. We also have the stroller in the corner along with the boy's scooter. I was worried that the boys wouldn't have enough space to play but they do well making the space their own. Notice how our windows only open 4 inches?? They have safety guards so can't open up anymore than that. I'm glad that the boys won't be able to fall out anytime soon but it does prevent a lot of air flow from coming in.
The walls in our flat are really thick and definitely insulated for winter. That means that if it gets above 75 degrees, the hot air sticks around. We don't have air conditioning and were pretty miserable this summer when the temp rose to 90 degrees!!
Kitchen
Here's where I spend most of my time!! The counter space is probably a quarter of what we had in our house in Atlanta. The glass top electric stove takes up most of the space and will beep if you put anything on it (my favorite). I'm constantly clearing the counter while cooking so I can prep the next dish. We do have a lot of storage in the kitchen but the refrigerator (cabinet on the far right), dishwasher drawer (yes, a drawer- not full size), and washer/dryer take up a lot of space too.
Let's talk about this washer/dryer combo that we have.....
When we first moved here, I questioned what century the Londoners lived in with these machines! The washer in our temporary flat took 6 HOURS to wash ONE load. And then you still had to dry it which took another 6 HOURS! Thankfully, my washer here is pretty nice and can complete a normal load in about 2.5 hours. Still not great but I'll take it. Then it usually takes another 2.5 hours to dry or I end up putting the clothes to dry on a rack. We found a great deal on a laundry service so every two days we send out a load of wash and fold along with dry cleaning. Even with the service, I'm still running at least one load of laundry a day. If I start laundry at sun up, I'm lucky to get two loads complete and done by sun down! The washer is super loud too. It seriously sounds like an airplane taking off and will shake the floor. The boys always say "We are flying Mommy!" during a spin cycle. I can hear when my neighbors do laundry too.
Hallway
We have a little hallway at the entry. This picture above shows the door to the kids/guest bathroom and the double doors into the kitchen and living space.
I love the vintage look of the light switches in our flat. I noticed in Buckingham Palace that the light switches looked just like ours. #livinglikeaqueen
This is our door leading out to the stairs. I absolutely love all the European handles!
Kids/Guest Bathroom
We were happy to find a flat with an enclosed shower. They are not common here at all!! Especially to find one this big. Our shower in our temporary flat was so small that you couldn't bend over without knocking your head!
The Boys' Room
Badge sleeps on the top and Rowe has the bottom! The one adjustment we have still not made is the boys sharing a room. They do NOT go to sleep well together. I usually end up putting one in our room since they would party solid for 3 hours if we let them. The boys have two small closets in their room. They are barely large enough to house all their clothes but I'm making it work. Their toys are stored in bins and underneath their bed. This room is usually a disaster since it is their play area too.
Master Bedroom
Our Master is at least bigger than the kids room!
We have a really nice walk in closest that Normer and I both share. The boiler is behind the mirror doors but there are some shelves on the bottom for storage too. My clothes are packed in sooo tight. I have rearranged and applied some Marie Kondo logic but its still a work in progress. We also have to store our jackets in here since there is not a hallway closet for them.
Master Bathroom
Most baths in London look like this with a half wall in the shower. I don't understand the logic because the shower gets water all over the floor! There is also no counter space. All of our products are stored on the floor in bins or in a cabinet over the toilet.
A huge deal about bathrooms here- there are NO plugs or switches of any kind in the bathrooms. Even the controls for the towel warmers (which I still can't figure out how to turn on) are outside of the room. This means you can play very mean tricks on people by turning off the lights while they are visiting the loo or showering. ;) Since I can't use my hair dryer or flat iron in the bathroom, I sit on the floor in my closet where there is a big mirror. Poor Rowe stepped on my flat iron once and I completely blamed the British and their lack of plugs/counter space in the bathroom.
And that's the tour!
What's next? Ask me questions about our London life and I'll post the answers in my next blog. Ask away!
It really is easier living in a tiny space- less space to clean, less clutter. But it is also tight. If anything is out of place, it usually blocks a walking area or access to something else. We are completely maxed out with our storage. I don't have any room to store extra clothes that the boys have outgrown and we certainly don't have any more space for toys.
Our flat is furnished, so all the furniture and decor was already here. I really love the color scheme and artwork! Its been nice to live in such a different color scheme than I have in the past. The only furniture we purchased is the boys bunk bed.
We are on 3rd floor but I don't mind the stairs. We have our groceries and laundry delivered every couple of days and that helps. :)
Here's a run down room by room!
Living Room
Our Living space is really comfortable. We have two couches and some seating by the window. Our TV is small but we didn't want to spend that much on a TV that we can't bring back to the States with us later.
We have a really large closet in this room where we store our luggage, work out gear, games, some toys and books. We also have the stroller in the corner along with the boy's scooter. I was worried that the boys wouldn't have enough space to play but they do well making the space their own. Notice how our windows only open 4 inches?? They have safety guards so can't open up anymore than that. I'm glad that the boys won't be able to fall out anytime soon but it does prevent a lot of air flow from coming in.
The walls in our flat are really thick and definitely insulated for winter. That means that if it gets above 75 degrees, the hot air sticks around. We don't have air conditioning and were pretty miserable this summer when the temp rose to 90 degrees!!
Kitchen
Here's where I spend most of my time!! The counter space is probably a quarter of what we had in our house in Atlanta. The glass top electric stove takes up most of the space and will beep if you put anything on it (my favorite). I'm constantly clearing the counter while cooking so I can prep the next dish. We do have a lot of storage in the kitchen but the refrigerator (cabinet on the far right), dishwasher drawer (yes, a drawer- not full size), and washer/dryer take up a lot of space too.
Let's talk about this washer/dryer combo that we have.....
When we first moved here, I questioned what century the Londoners lived in with these machines! The washer in our temporary flat took 6 HOURS to wash ONE load. And then you still had to dry it which took another 6 HOURS! Thankfully, my washer here is pretty nice and can complete a normal load in about 2.5 hours. Still not great but I'll take it. Then it usually takes another 2.5 hours to dry or I end up putting the clothes to dry on a rack. We found a great deal on a laundry service so every two days we send out a load of wash and fold along with dry cleaning. Even with the service, I'm still running at least one load of laundry a day. If I start laundry at sun up, I'm lucky to get two loads complete and done by sun down! The washer is super loud too. It seriously sounds like an airplane taking off and will shake the floor. The boys always say "We are flying Mommy!" during a spin cycle. I can hear when my neighbors do laundry too.
Hallway
We have a little hallway at the entry. This picture above shows the door to the kids/guest bathroom and the double doors into the kitchen and living space.
I love the vintage look of the light switches in our flat. I noticed in Buckingham Palace that the light switches looked just like ours. #livinglikeaqueen
This is our door leading out to the stairs. I absolutely love all the European handles!
Kids/Guest Bathroom
We were happy to find a flat with an enclosed shower. They are not common here at all!! Especially to find one this big. Our shower in our temporary flat was so small that you couldn't bend over without knocking your head!
The Boys' Room
Badge sleeps on the top and Rowe has the bottom! The one adjustment we have still not made is the boys sharing a room. They do NOT go to sleep well together. I usually end up putting one in our room since they would party solid for 3 hours if we let them. The boys have two small closets in their room. They are barely large enough to house all their clothes but I'm making it work. Their toys are stored in bins and underneath their bed. This room is usually a disaster since it is their play area too.
Master Bedroom
Our Master is at least bigger than the kids room!
We have a really nice walk in closest that Normer and I both share. The boiler is behind the mirror doors but there are some shelves on the bottom for storage too. My clothes are packed in sooo tight. I have rearranged and applied some Marie Kondo logic but its still a work in progress. We also have to store our jackets in here since there is not a hallway closet for them.
Master Bathroom
Most baths in London look like this with a half wall in the shower. I don't understand the logic because the shower gets water all over the floor! There is also no counter space. All of our products are stored on the floor in bins or in a cabinet over the toilet.
A huge deal about bathrooms here- there are NO plugs or switches of any kind in the bathrooms. Even the controls for the towel warmers (which I still can't figure out how to turn on) are outside of the room. This means you can play very mean tricks on people by turning off the lights while they are visiting the loo or showering. ;) Since I can't use my hair dryer or flat iron in the bathroom, I sit on the floor in my closet where there is a big mirror. Poor Rowe stepped on my flat iron once and I completely blamed the British and their lack of plugs/counter space in the bathroom.
And that's the tour!
What's next? Ask me questions about our London life and I'll post the answers in my next blog. Ask away!
This post brought back so many memories of our life in England back in the 90s. I remember sitting on the floor of my mom's closet to blow dry my hair too!! :) Bless your heart with the laundry and that tiny kitchen counter. But hey...walking to Hyde Park everyday is worth something right??! LOVE IT!
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