Moving In? HA!

So now we own a less-messy (we spent two days there cleaning up, though the cabinet doors still hang precariously) New York City co-op. I still own and live in my house. Jay still owns and lives in his co-op. Land barony is a wonderful concept, but rather expensive.

The sooner we get the renovation underway, the sooner our now-three homes can be pared down to one. But we both have full-time jobs (Jay's is fuller-time than most), and so the planning goes slowly. Weeks, months, and no plans for the changes we've both agreed need to be made. We know we want to get rid of the built-ins that make the space 2' narrower than it really is. But we still need storage - places for electronics in the living room, places for clothing in the bedroom, and places for all the books we can't part with, well, everywhere.

So we start measuring, and Jay goes into architect mode. He can, since he is still entitled to put RA after his name, and his AIA dues are paid up.

First stop: the kitchen. It's currently about 6" wide with no counter space. OK - I exaggerate - it's a little wider, but not enough for two people to pass each other, and you'll get burned by the oven if you try. Well, you would get burned if the oven was working. So Jay gets to work planning to open up the kitchen floorplan juuuust a little, and also create a pass-through. The kitchen was the only truly separate room in the apartment (you're right - the bathrooms are separate, but not considered living space by most), but now it will be part of the completely open loft.

The drawings were taking shape. Actually, they were starting to look quite interesting....