Lay of the land

So, here's a rough plan of what my new place will look like:

The bathroom, closet, and kitchen aren't exact; I didn't measure those out, as there's no furniture going in them.  But the rest is pretty close to the plan, including the colors.  Most of my stuff right now (furniture, sheets, etc.) is blue, grey/silver, or black, hence the colors.  The existing carpet is that typical light-tan used everywhere, so it won't clash.  Even my dishes are a blue/black.

Entryway is on the right in that little hook area there.  It steps into a (probably fake) wood area that is 4 feet wide by about 4.5 feet long.  As you enter, off to the right is the bedroom area.  Right now, I'm only planning my bed (with its headboard), a small leaning shelf, a larger but short media center table, and my rowing machine (the weird pointy thing there; it'll be folded up most of the time, probably, but I wanted to check for spacing).  The large grey shag rug I already have; it's in my dining room at the current place but is too large for the area in this one  The striped runner rugs I've just purchased; they'll essentially line the right side of the place.  I'll have to get some bathroom rugs later, but those are easy (come to think of it, I bought one for the guest bathroom; I can just use that for one at least; I did that bathroom as a kind of sea foam blue/green, so it should mesh with the fixtures in the new bathroom).

You step down two steps to the living room area, which is why the runner here is divided a bit.  Straight ahead is the gas fireplace.  I just bought the big "circles" rug as well, so that'll be getting delivered maybe by the end of the week.  In the living room, I'll put my computer chair near the top; it's hard to describe, but it's a brushed-steel pipe frame "lounge" (no, I didn't pay that much for it) that I've mounted my monitor and such to using movie-set clamps.  The case itself is black and glows blue.  Behind that, along the left wall, is my bookshelf, which I also already have (basically, two of these with shelves between them, so it's one long unit).

The big area will, at some point, probably have a small table and a couch or chairs.  I haven't exactly decided yet.  I've actually got a coffee table that C&D gave me; it's two wooden levels with black supports on the sides.  It's a little worse for wear, but if I can figure out how to disassemble it, paint it, and maybe put a glass top on it (replacing the center wooden panel), it would be suitable.  I have an idea to recess some lighting in it, but I don't even know if I can take it apart easily yet.

Passing the fireplace, there's a little "bar" type divider to the kitchen, then the "dining room" (which leads to the patio).  I was worried that my table wouldn't fit, but it should be fine.  I only have the two chairs, and I don't exactly entertain much.  So, for now, I'll probably have it like shown; if I need to, I can pull it away from the wall for more friendly dining.  I'll want to get a rug for this area and a mat for the kitchen too, but again, those are pretty easy to do.

I've got three big lamps I can bring, one of which matches with the bookshelf pretty well (which is why I have it and where it currently stands).  The other two are those "branch" kinds of lamps with bulbs and shades at the end, one in my bedroom and one in the guest room.  I'll probably just bring one, though I'm not even sure if I'll use it.  I also got a new lamp for my birthday from my mom's friend; that actually fits the style/decor pretty well too.  It can't really be on a switch, though, as the way it turns on is a little weird, so I'll probably try replacing the light over my bed with it.

I didn't draw out the patio.  It's not terribly large.  I'm probably going to look into getting some "fake grass" as an outdoor rug for it, then maybe use some of my planters.  I'd *really* like to get some kind of climbing ivy or something for the railing, especially a flowering variety, but that would mean taking care of it.  There's always fake stuff, but that  fades/gets dusty.  I may see about some kind of screen or something.  I don't want to block airflow through the railing, but I also don't want to scandalize the neighbors across the way if I'm walking around naked in my place, and a bit of a screen or partial covering of the railing would do the trick (they're actually slightly below me, so I don't need much).

I'd also like to get some artwork for the walls.  My current place doesn't have anything in it, but there are a few of my shots I'd like to print out.  I've got a gorgeous panorama of Mt. Shasta that would look great as three (or even five) separate panels - I think I figured out once that at 2 feet high, it would be about 20 feet long.  But I've also got others that would look great in various areas.  I also want to get more plant life in the new place; it'll be more temperate in general, so there'll be less of an issue with extremes, even if I'm leaving the door open for airflow.

I've got the keys and may will start moving stuff down this weekend.  I'm actually tempted to see if I can get the dining table apart and moved myself; I just need to be careful of the glass.  I have to see if it'll fit in my car with the hatch down (just a matter of measuring).  If not, I'll probably stick to boxing up my books and moving them and the shelf down.  That would probably be at least one trip and maybe two, but it would also be the first big chunk out of the apartment.  If the rugs show up, I'll probably move them instead (or at least first) so that I have them in place for later.  Those *will* fit in my car, even the 9x12; heck, the corners for the bookshelf are over 7 feet and rod iron, and those fit without much of an issue if I lean the seat back.  That's how I got it home in the first place, though granted that was just a couple of blocks away.

One concern is the closet.  I don't have all that much stuff to go in there, since I've basically just got the two closets at my place.  But part of what does need to go in there is my camping gear, and that's kind of bulky.  I've also got my emergency water tanks, which aren't tiny (and I have two of them).  I think they'll all fit without problem, but it may take a little bit of shuffling.  Clothes-wise, I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff that I haven't worn in ages.  Most of that hangs anyway (the rest goes in the drawers under my bed).

UPDATE: So, took the small table mostly apart last night.  Turns out the center section I want to remove is held in place by all the sides, and I'm not entirely sure how to remove them.  It looks like a slot joint, with a kind of plug hammered in at one end, but it's really hard to tell.  I may see if I can remove the plug from the one side without doing too much other damage; I can always fill in that area with epoxy or something later (I know there are clays or such for this purpose, and it's a small little spot).  Otherwise, I may just end up repainting it and leaving it at that.