Friday, July 4, 2008

Our House

After staying with our friends Julianna and Paul for 2 weeks, we finally found a place to rent which is affordable and big enough for the 2 of us and also with additional rooms for family or friends in case they wish to come and stay with us. It's a cute little bungalow in Victoria Park which is really near the city, and is within walking distance to shops and a big supermarket. It is on a quiet street near some schools and has security alarms installed and a fence around it so it's relatively safe.

It took us about 2 weeks to get most of the furniture and appliances in and now our new home is more or less complete. Everything is expensive here, especially after converting from Ringgit to AUD. Interestingly enough, we bought most of our furniture and knick-knacks from Ikea because the things there are actually cheaper than most other furniture shops. What's more they look good too! However Ikea charges a lot for delivery (roughly about A$130) so we decided to cut costs by renting a van and carting the things to our house ourselves. Well we almost broke our backs doing that but hey, we have Medicare!!! :D The funny thing about Ikea is that although their brand, design, and concept are from Sweden, everything is made in China... except maybe the meatballs lol. Nevertheless, their products are still very well thought of, and the design is clean and simple, just the way I like it.

Anyway before I ramble on further, here are the pics:

This is our living room. The big brown bean bag was generously lent to us by Julianna when we moved in since we had such a hard time finding affordable sofas. The stereo is also one of the first things I bought since I can't live without music :) So in the beginning, all we had in there was just that big beanbag and the stereo :D

The sofa, single-seaters and the TV table are all from Ikea. Even the floor lamp, red cushions and blanket are from Ikea.


Next we have our dining room. It was pretty hard to find a dining table set which would be able to sit 6 people (in case we have guests) and still be able to fit into the small space but we persisted and were able to find the perfect one. As you can see from the pic, the dining room has very nice floor to ceiling windows which look out into the patio.



The tiny kitchen is separated from the dining room by the kitchen counter. It comes ready with the stove and cabinets but we had to buy all the other appliances like the fridge, microwave oven, kettle, toaster, and the most important one... the rice cooker which can be seen in the right hand corner :D. Eating out is very expensive here so I've been cooking at home a lot. So far there has been no casualties :P

The house comes with 3 bedrooms, at the time being we're sleeping in the master bedroom and one of the rooms is used as Pet's study room and the other smaller one is used as my computer room. Our bed is actually made in Malaysia, we didn't buy it because of that though... it was only because it was cheaper than most other metal beds and has a very sturdy frame. All the desks and rugs in these rooms are from that shop which starts with I, I'm not going to say the name again in case people think I have a share in there :P



Master Bedroom










Study Room










Computer Room









Last but not least, we have our sweet little patio which is right behind the living room and next to the dining room.


This is where I normally sit with my coffee when there is a bit of sun. As you can see from the pic, I've also been doing a bit of gardening (strange things never cease to happen here). So far no plants have died under my care... so far. I also have a tiny vegetable patch at the back with half a bok-choy. Why is it half? Well we have 2 very cute wild rabbits which come to visit almost everyday and we feed them carrots but I guess they got hungrier and so they decided to try out my vege. Luckily they only took a few bites, otherwise I'll be serving rabbit stew soon ;)

16 comments:

Heather said...

Great start ti your life in OZ its an adventure featuring Ikea hahaha... I actually love Ikea its full of lots cute little things lol.. Furniture is actully pretty cool. It will be a place I will def visit when we move to OZ..
look forward to the next installment..

babyjue said...

how come pet gets a 4' x 3' corner and a chair with no wheels? some more have to share room with a pail and ironing board.

the pail and ironing board is his subject of study kah?

while your computer room has all the bells and whistles? :)

glad you both have finally settled down in perth.

all the best with your new life down under!

Unknown said...

Nice and CLEAN !!

Wow, must come visit you guys soon before things start to accumulate... and the rabbits start reproducing in new found shelter... haha..

Aunty J said...

Hey your new house looks cosy ...glad you gusy are settling down well over there :)

ChrisPeeDuck said...

heh.. her room got the executive deluxe study table package from Ikea complete with LCD monitor, laser printer, speakers, PC & broadband modem/connection

I got a kiddy table with one of the dining table set chair (if you didnt notice) and a paper notepad.

:p

Radishcake said...

Such a cosy, spick-n-span hse! Lurrve the hanging plants and do I see an ornament on the dining table or my eyes playing tricks? Can imagine you sipping coffee at the patio......the whole day! Shiiiiiok ah. Great start, keep it that way.

Lisa said...

it's not an inanimate ornament on the dining table :P it's a bamboo plant and glass vase i bought from ahem... ikea lol

borneotrekker said...

if me, i already cook the rabbits. rabbits makes the most delicious stew! hahaha!

Lisa said...

adui ms borneotrekker, you shld change the name to borneo-eater :P everything also can eat... next thing i know you'll wanna eat my flowers also

Unknown said...

You both got a lovely new pad thr... so happy that you both are settling down well ;)... Btw, Pet does the washing and ironing kah since those items are in his study room ? :P

Nway, for a change of menu, try satay rabbit lah... SEDAP tu.. hehehe...

Lisa said...

omg ladies... step away from the rabbits! apalah rabbit stew, rabbit satay... scary :P

the pail was in pet's room cos i was wiping the windows and had to go out so forgot to put it away cos i wasn't finished yet, but being a man he didn't even notice the pail there. he only removed it after he saw jacob's comment haha

ChrisPeeDuck said...

I was being considerate mah!! maybe she want to continue to clean so leave it there for a week lah :P

Anonymous said...

Well I have to admit your desk is much neater than I expected and to tell you the truth much much neater than mine :D. All in all though you’ve got a very nice place, cozy yet roomy and to then to have pet rabbits to feed…… well… what could be better? ……. I’m glad you’re settling in ok ….. :)

Lisa said...

hmmm who're you ek? :P can't view your profile so i'm not sure who you are

Anonymous said...

hhhmmmm EK? why it's Harry of course............ EK. Hornbeck

Lisa said...

ahhhhhhh lol... hi harry :) sorry, i know a lot of e.k so i didn't know which one it was