apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Christ. These gorgeous AT: Europe posts are greatly increasing my impression that everybody in Europe spends their days reading and contemplating in beautiful, quaint apartments with lovely light, whilst gazing over landscapes of cobblestones and baguettes. Will someone reassure me that Europe also has traffic, office politics, and ugly sofas?

I'd rather be in Amsterdam too. But then I'd be high 24/7.

A women's only residence? And not to pry, but what does she do, that she works from home? If you're going to give us the snippet of info, give us enough to understand how this all works.

Dreamy. Quite Dreamy. If we're going to be full on nosey about people's places of residences, then I'd love to have a bigger picture about their lifestyle too -- as mentioned in other posts. If, of course, the person is amenable.

For now, I will pretend that Ruth lost her true love in tragic horse accident. She decided she could never love again so she moved herself and her well-respected jazz music liner-note writing business to Amsterdam.

Palmetto,

I appreciate your curiosity. But one of the reasons people allow me to go into their homes and photograph them for all the web to see is because they are allowed to do so anonymously.

If Ruth wants to volunteer more info about herself here, she's welcome to -- otherwise, let's go with I Love Upstate's story!

Beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing. When I lived in Amsterdam, the Begijnhof was one of my favorite spots. It's such an amazingly peaceful place right in the middle of the busy, busy city. How lucky to live there!

And, I am lovin' those pink striped socks!

I rarely post but I have the same turtle nightlight/table lamp in my son's room (photo 15) and thought it really cool (and odd!) that there is another somewhere in this excellent pad overseas! Where did she get hers?

Sigh. What a great place and a wonderful life. Thank you so much for sharing.

just dreamy! And I clearly remember after 1 week in Amsterdam how sore my calf muscles were from hiking up 3 flights of steep stairs every day

Europe looks pretty, but let's remember, North Americans, they are way light on a/c, elevators and other things that make our lives bearable. I recall reading the blog of an American in a garrett apartment in Paris mentioning how nightmarishly hot it is up there all summer long.

And the lack of ice cubes and refrigerated drinks...

but, lady J, a 30-hour work-week? who are we kidding... :)
the peace to read and think is all you need...

My favorite thing is the giraffe jewelry tray. The windows and beams are fantastic.

Agh, can we _please_ kill the 30/35-hour working week myth? I was here until midnight last night, 2am a couple of weeks ago, usually finish around 8.30pm, grump grump grump. It's true that people have huge amounts of holidays here in France(generally - I don't because I work for a small company) but the only people who really do 35 hours are employees in the highly unionized public sector. They're also the ones who go out on strike as soon as someone tells them they'll have to wipe their own noses and tie their own shoelaces. For everyone else, 40 hours is standard and 45 is fairly frequent. And that's before you start looking at other European countries and at the typical high-powered, long-hours industries like banking and consulting. I have no doubt we have it sweeter than the Americans (you guys get about twelve and a half minutes of holiday a year, right?) but we're not all floating around sniffing flowers and reciting poetry and only looking at a spreadsheet on the third Tuesday of every second month.
Phew.
:)

These Europe posts are killer for someone who lives in Bushwick.
Make it stop.

I work a 35 hour week - I occasionally have to do an extra half an hour if I have a deadline coming up but I do it for my own peace of mind, not because I have to - I work for a private company and don't belong to a union - yeah the UK is great...

however, every single day I wake up and realise I'd rather be in NY.

Its all a question of weighing up what you're prepared to endure with what you really long for...

It's pretty spooky having one's inner sanctum published for comment. Thanks to Kristin for a sensitive job, and to you
all for your comments. Living in this space is a privilege,
and for this radio maker and music producer, its quietness
is a dream come true.

One sad detail, the enormous chestnut tree you see outside the window is dead, after a distinguished life sheltering the Begijnhof for more than 200 years. Without doubt, a new tree will be planted. But I am mourning the best neighbor
I ever had.

Ruth-in-Amsterdm

are women only residences common?

Ruth, thanks for sharing your space with us. Having just returned from a vacation in Amsterdam, I can see why you love living there -- it's a gorgeous city.

Ruth, your place is lovely. We live in Southern Belgium now, but spent 4 years in Antwerp and a short time in Bergen op Zoom, during which time we took every opportunity to visit your lovely city. We would drive up just for dinner some evenings... Kantjil en de tiger, mmmmmmmmm!

That's it. I'm putting my cure on hold and moving to Amsterdam!

Absolutely charming.

such a sweet space, too bad it's covered in ugly wall to wall carpeting.

Jenny in DC: I can assure you that Europe has it's share of mundane spaces as well as living habits. But, the style is over-all just a notch above what you see in the US.

People: Please don't kill the myth of a sweeter, more romantic life of indulgence in a breathtaking city in Europe. That's what keeps me going! My 1980s condo has a/c and all but that's about it! Keep the dream alive!

Now I've seen everything, folks...Anne Frank's Attic has been gentrified!

Seriously, it's a beautiful apartment and I'm loving the details.

What a great pad and a stunning building. One of my favorite things; the American Flag Kitty Food Mat.

i live in the netherlands too and yes, there are lots of ugly sofas, cheap trashy places, and overpriced junk. if you want to live in a myth go ahead, but the reality is that people here are not inherently more stylish than in america (now, admittedly, in france it's different! :)) this place is lovely, however, and it is possible to live elegantly with less if, as anywhere, you do it with restraint and look for things with quality and beautiful lines. not everyone can live in historical city center apartments, however. it's very hard to find rental housing here because the population density is very, very high.

@ Melinda - and that is your idea of humour/an appropriate comment?

my friends in central amsterdam (expats themselves) echo godsfool. They say local amsterdam folks can hardly afford historic city-center apartments because all the bankers/ consultants/ corporate lawyers from abroad stationed in Amsterdam jack up the real estate market with big fat expat expense accounts that cover housing costs. you'll never find me feeling sorry for a banker, but their work weeks are *significantly* longer than 35 hours. Yeah, those 17th century rowhouses along the Prinsengracht are gorgeous, but you better be a british banker...

Thanks for the tour. I always wondered what the begijnhof dwellings looked like. what a lovely respite from urban frenzy.

The architecture is incredible - beautifulromanticgothicsexymelancholyserene....if I hit the lotto, I'm going to try to move in next door.....

jeybird - my grandfather gave me that same nightlight as a birthday present 7 years ago.

I love how this looks . . . but a narrow wooden bench instead of a sofa?

I've lived in the Netherlands all my life and wasn't aware that this kind of interior was considered to be so special abroad. I like it, but I can't really see it as 'design'. A lot of houses here look like that (no offense to Ruth of course).

And Lady J, whoever said we don't have icecubes? :)

I think some of the romantic mythology comes from the fact that you're pretty much working with a lot more history and older architecture than you are in the US, no matter where in Europe you land. Considering we're only several hundred years old, as opposed to several thousand, well... there you go.

At least, that's how I've always looked at it. How often do you see someone tearing down a crumbling castle so they can build condos? Yet we lose historic farms and fields all the time in the name of nursing homes and developments. Sad.

Neat space, but I really don't see anything special about the decor.

that is a lovely place ... and i love the non-designer look it has about it, too. very down-to-earth.

thank you for the peek, Ruth. (i have an old chestnut dying in the yard, too, it is such a pity. all over the continent, too. :-S )

I went to Amsterdam about 12 years ago and loved it. I love the Dutch architecture so much. What a cute house and what a lucky gal to be living there!!

I used to work a 35 hour week at a university here in the US... of course it was in New Orleans and I suppose it is slightly more European than most of the country.

The bf just got a post-doc offer in Amsterdam and we're trying to decide whether to stay in the US or go be expats for awhile. (That largely depends on my job prospects.) This post made me salivate.

Wow...what a wonderful place! The view is gorgeous and the apartment looks quiet and peaceful. Love it!

I just got back from Amsterdam and I just loved being surrounded by 300 something year old buildings.. Everything had a story and even I though I moved here from Europe, now I just wanna pack & leave and go back to Europe...

I love the bench by the window, so inviting.

I went to Amsterdam years ago visiting an American friend. I loved it so much that when I returned to the US I quit my teaching job in Florida and moved to Amsterdam. First, I worked for the Florida Welcome Center office in Amsterdam, then lucked up and got a job editing investment publications for Rabobank in Amsterdam. Later, I learned Dutch so well that I became a Dutch-English translator for PTT-Post TNT. I bought a small place (about 700 sq. ft.) and renovated it over the course of 8 years. I had a lovely time, and I still miss Amsterdam and sometimes think about moving back, but I also love living in America.

You're in the Begijnhof! Astonishing. It's a magical space, so quiet and peaceful even though it's right off the kinkerstraat. How'd you manage that? Were you waiting many years for it? Or are you subletting?

now I'm having serious NL envy. It's time to go back; I haven't been in five years...and the Begijnhof...I still can't get over it.

The windows. My god, I want the windows...

I have a similar space in Canada -- a two level apartment on the upper floor and attic of an old house -- but the windows are minute by comparison.

I want that giraffe bowl!

Love it. I don't usually go for shabby chic, but this is lovely. My favorite touch is the small carpet in front of the bench. It lends a vaguely monastic feel, though the huge CD collection dispels any sense of overwhelming austerity or poverty. I don't think I could live without a sofa though. The wall-to-wall carpet didn't even register for me until a comment pointed it out. A rich wooden floor would look great in the space (maybe polished pine?), though I suppose that is not possible since it is a rental (and it would conflict some with the simplistic philosophy).

omg...what a dream