Apartment Photos

Balcony: So, this style, built into the building is called a lodge, not a balcony. It is not climate controlled, but it is a room instead of open to the outside. In Russia people prefer to glass over their balconies, since it gets very cold. We can see here that there is ventilation, power, and the windows open. From the floor to the window is 40 cm and the balcony floor is 10 cm lower than in the apartment. I will be experimenting with how to fix this issue for the dog. I have ordered a 40 cm tall camping bed, which while designed for a person, can be used by a dog. I can position it so that he can choose either ventilation or window. I then need a way for him to get on the bed.

Bedroom: The size is around 3.5 by 3.5 meters with the bed being 1.6 by 2 meters. I don't have nightstands yet and one of the wardrobes needs to be built still. You can see here how the bed opens up to reveal yet more storage space. The mattress is Turkish rather than Russian.

Main Room: In Russia the number of rooms includes the living room, and does not just count bedrooms. My decision here was to get a place with a kitchen big enough to be used as a living room as well, so that if I have someone in the second room, I would have common space as well.

The first thing to note is that the kitchen still counts as furniture, so I had to have this built as well. The kitchen here is designed to not take up all the space. The table here is seen folded after the bar table. I have both a toaster oven and microwave here as I dislike toasters. I got a dishwasher which was visible (although also white). Russians tend to prefer that their dishwashers look like a cabinet. Trashcans tend to be smaller than in the US (seen here under the table). 

After the kitchen is the spot for the couch (which I finally cleaned). Then we see the lamp on the ceiling (there are so many variants) and the view of the courtyard out of the window. 

To the left in the courtyard is the playground for children, while in the back it is sports equipment for adults.

 

The final view here is of the TV and computer equipment. Unfortunately, this furniture is still not ready.

Bathroom: I have a second toilet, although it without a sink. There is a spot in the piping for the sink, but very little space for it. I don't know yet how I wish to use this room. The main bathroom is usable, but I have a self-standing towel rack due to not knowing which I like. The main bathroom has a heated floor.

Hallway: The hallway is a room in of itself, although full of doors. I had a closet built here at the side. The second toilet is opposite the closet. The back side reveals the doors to the two bigger rooms on the sides with the bathroom in the middle. And there is a mini display case.

Second Room: 3 by 5 meters

Windows are as big as those on the balcony / lodge. The radiators prevent access to the lower portion of the windows, although a small dog or cat can get around. I have a similar folding table here as in the kitchen. These tables have 4 sizes, from 30 cm long to over 2 meters. They are fake wood made from wood and glue, and laminated to appear like wood, like all the rest of the furniture (and the floors). Real wood is something like 5 to 10 times the price, but not necessarily better quality, so everything is made with this fake wood. 

The couch / bed here has a storage space underneath. The entire visible section of the couch flattens into a (comfortable spring) mattress. The size is 1.4 by 2.1 meters. 

Basically almost every couch in Russia has some mechanism for turning into a bed. I chose a couch here with a good mattress and a style of transformation which would ensure the mattress has no cracks. The one in the main room will instead be like 2 twins put together, if I remember correctly.