During the great global quarantine of 2020, people are finding lots of new ways to spend their time. One friend of mine has committed to learning a new skill everyday and signed up for MasterClass. Another friend dug out books on economics, language, history, and is taking herself back to school. Some people have started podcasts, a new fitness routine, are writing books. And me - I am returning to the blog.
 |
| One Tbilisi dude's effort to protect himself from COVID-19 while on the metro |
It's been a long time. More than two years since I petulantly logged out of Blogger - feeling depressed, anxious, frustrated, angry, self-conscious, embarrassed. I gave up something that had given me so much pleasure for so long because I gave into social pressure that I was being to critical of Georgia, and because I worried that my hobby was immature or unprofessional.
In the time since I last posted (still can't believe it's been two years!) I moved in with my boyfriend, got married to that boyfriend, got a legit real office job, left that job for a dream professional opportunity, got married, and bought an apartment! So, a lot has changed. But I still love to write!
In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic I have felt the pull again to talk to myself online, so I have decided to revive the blog! This used to be a travel blog, but I moved abroad and basically stopped traveling (#biggirljob)...but in fact, I do actually have something kind of interesting to write about - our apartment renovation!
AND if anyone actually missed my travel blog, even just a tiny bit - no fear! I have a million and a half draft posts that I plan to slowly go through and finish, so stay tuned!
Now, on to the reno...
BUYING THE APARTMENT
My husband (7 months later and it still feels weird to say that...) and I have been talking about buying an apartment for a long time.
We looked at all sorts of properties, but our main criteria were: central location, easy to renovate to our taste (nothing even remotely close to our price range is our taste), at least 100 m2 (1076 ft2), lots of natural light.
My heart was really set on a historic property - something from the 19th century, with a tiled fireplace, parquet wood floors, crown molding, a glassy, light-filled shushabandi, expansive views of Tbilisi's mountains, a stairwell with wrought iron railings and frescoes painted on the walls - you know, nothing crazy.
I was hoping for something like this...
But alas, that dream was not meant to be. There are a good number of 19th century properties in Tbilisi, but either they are in horrific condition - holes in the floors/ceilings, rot, mold - and usually terribly done, very damaging renovation attempts from the 90s and early 2000s that rob the place of whatever character survived. Some of the places we looked at were literally unlivable. There are also, probably some historic apartments that have been saved and lovingly restored, but in my search it appeared that either they are way out of our budget (like, way out) or have been turned into AirBnB properties.
One property we looked at really captured my heart - in a historic 19th c. building on Tsinamdzghvirishvili St. It was in terrible shape after being chopped up and partitioned into multiple properties, several cheap and tasteless renovations, and years of neglect.
The building has incredible doors:
Beautiful details like these indoor shutters
This lovely, architectural spiral staircase weirdly bisected the apartment in an indoor-outdoor kitchen/balcony/pot-smoking area for the current residents
I found this a charming view - my husband, not so excited by the bars on the window
This fetid, putrid, rotting hole was located in an archway under the building, just below the bathroom of the apartment - the owner assured us the problem had been resolved, nothing to worry about
This is a different building but the dramatically slanted staircase caught my eye
So, in the end, we turned away from the historic buildings. We compromised on an apartment that, on the surface, really has no special features, but it also has no gaping holes, no major problems. It's in a sturdy, stocky Stalinist building, probably from the early 1950s - not a particularly inspiring facade, but well built and much better than the Khrushchev-era monstrosities with their mismatched DIY balconies that dominate so much of the city (and which we have lived in for the past two and half years).
We we walked into the new apartment for the first time, we were shocked. The price didn't seem to line up with the clean, modern furniture and design, the location, and the size. There was nothing wrong with it. Apart from the cosmetic overhaul we knew we would have to do on any property we purchased, it was perfect. The owner was desperate to sell, overwhelmed by debt, and we closed the deal quickly - furniture included (a relative rarity in Georgia).
Here's what it looked like when we first saw it: https://dkhome.ge/show/7003
There are a few significant negatives to the place, I'll admit: only one bathroom, no fireplace, one side faces one of the neighborhood's busiest streets, it doesn't have a big balcony for coffee drinking and sun bathing (just a narrow, honestly pretty scary strip along the street-side of the apartment), and, the big one - it's on the fifth floor with no elevator. And since the ceilings are very tall with thick slab floors between each floor, each flight of stairs feels like a momentous task.
But there are so many positives, the negatives are clearly outweighed: it's in one of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods - lots of trees, walkable, central, stylish (for whatever that's worth - maybe resale value?), and it's where my husband grew up so there's lots of sentimental value for him. The backside of the apartment is a wall of north-facing windows for calming, consistent all-day light that looks out onto a quiet, closed courtyard and the mountain that is home to one of Tbilisi's best parks at Turtle Lake. Look a bit to the left and you get a fantastic view of the city's favorite landmarks - the ferris wheel and TV tower at Mtatsminda Park. The floor plan was basically perfect and easy to configure into what we wanted. It has airy 3-meter (9' 10") ceilings. Also - there was a niche in the bathroom that was perfect for a big bathtub!
So, we went for it, and made it ours! For both my husband and I, it's the first property we've ever owned, and the purchase and renovation is a big, exciting adventure. We're huge fans of those renovation and design TV shows (you know - Flip or Flop, Desert Flippers, Fixer Upper, etc.) and felt like this was an opportunity to see if it's really as exciting as it looks on TV - so far, I think yes! But now I'm getting ahead of myself... in the next post I'll talk about what we decided to do for the renovation and what sort of limitations we faced being in an apartment, in a city, in Georgia.
Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment