Sorry to have been MIA, but you can imagine the chaos of the last week. Today is Day 6 (I’m still counting) and I am coming up for air for the very first time. Since I can’t seem to think about anything else other than getting the house in order, I’m hoping you might like to come along with me this week and give me a hand.
For any latecomers, we have just moved to Doha, Qatar after 9 years in Tokyo, Japan. As international locations go, they are as different as night and day in every way, including housing, and in particular the actual houses we chose. Where my Tokyo house was small, with low ceilings, as you might expect, it was also wallpapered and carpeted (like absolutely every other expat dwelling) with an off-white/beige color that was simply unchangeable. As the urban density is so great in central Tokyo, houses are tightly packed, thus dark, and while my deep brown wooden floors were lovely, they positively absorbed light. Now there were plenty of houses in Doha that matched this same description, but we held out for a house in our favorite compound – an older one of course, it is me after all – with high ceilings, gracious lines and a very white palette in lieu of beige. I had 24 hours to pick paint colors and I have to say I did pretty darn well!
A quick photo tour of the house just prior to the movers arriving will give you a sense of what a lovely clean slate we had. The house features arches everywhere, from the front doors and entryway…
…to hallway pass throughs. Tile floors are de rigueur here because of the heat and I am enjoying the luminescence they give the interiors. Ours is actually whiter than it appears in these photos.
I think it was the arched windows that sold me on the house. I can’t wait to take down those curtains and hang new ones up at the ceiling’s edge. Thank goodness I chose the Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist for the living room/dining room. It is the perfect gray, with no shading in either color direction, although ironically this photo of the living room makes it seem blue…
…while this photo facing the opposite direction towards the dining room looks green. In person it is utterly perfect. I can’t say that enough times – perfect! If you have been following along, you’ll notice the can lights have been changed to small frosted glass covers and I am not actually sure I like them any better in terms of looks, although they are definitely an improvement in terms of function. You can see the small walled garden patio is an absolute clean slate as well.
The master bedroom has the most charming windows…
…and an arch leading to the dressing area and bathroom.
The other bedrooms are all bright and sunny and their paint colors are perfect.
You get a real sense of the tremendous sun coming in all the windows from these photos – I have not played with the exposures at all – and the need for cool colors inside.
What these empty room photos don’t demonstrate is the huge volume of the space. If you are sitting reading this in a giant new house in the USA, it won’t seem like a big deal at all, but I have never had space like this. The TV room downstairs has this nook, which didn’t seem that big…
…until we unpacked this antique shop tansu. It took up almost an entire wall and almost reached the ceiling in my Tokyo house and in my mind’s eye I had imagined it would fill most of this space.
I ran and unpacked some silkworm trays and baskets (the movers thought I was a bit wacky!) to help deal with the volume, but you can see that even they don’t fill it. I am excited and a bit daunted by the opportunities this creates. It certainly will make the fabric bill big – the curtains need to be very looooong!
The real compromise in choosing this house (besides the through the wall Japanese air conditioners – Argh will I ever escape them?) is the kitchen. Older properties are designed with the assumption that kitchens are for maids. We can’t imagine why the ceiling is dropped so low or why it has to have panel flourescent lighting, but it does. The dishwasher is out because it is getting replaced (yay!) as are the washer and dryer. At least this compound seems to be very responsible about making repairs. A plus is brand new white cabinetry (some of it illogical) and black granite counter tops, but there are the most awful terracotta-ish tiles on the walls, which ruins the space as far as I am concerned.
My sweet husband tried to fool me into thinking the tile was only really on the back splash – not! – and thus inconspicuous.
You can see that is not the case. So as I stew on the conundrum of what to do, I ask myself WWJD?
Before you go and think I’ve gone religious on you, it stands for “What Would Jenny Do?” as in Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook. She has just left NYC and moved home to Arizona where in the space of less than two months she has already radically transformed her house mostly doing all the work herself in such a fashion that I cannot imagine she ever sleeps for a minute. She took all kinds of uglies and made them fabulous – as she always does – especially when it comes to doing impossible things like painting tiles!
She turned this faux brick floor to this in her laundry room…
and this same floor to this in her kitchen.
And I know Steve at An Urban Cottage painted his backsplash tiles, from this to this. Steve, if you are reading this, how did the paint hold up?
So the question is what should I do? Paint? Wallpaper? Re-tile? Unlike Japan I think there is some flexibility in what you can do to the houses here. Something has to be done and I have a visual idea that would tie the space together with my antique pine table and Hitchcock chairs, but no sense of how to accomplish it. I think that will need its own post!
Please bear with my self-centeredness in these coming weeks. I do have upcoming posts on porcelain hibachi coming as well as a new Provenance post on bone inlay over at Cloth & Kind. I’ll be updating the shrine sale schedule and have a few new spots to tell you about. I’ve already found my first great antique shop here so there will be a new Shop Talk coming too. And while we are at it, remind me that I need to update the About Me page on this blog!
Related Posts:
It’s a Crapshoot…Picking Paint Colors Long Distance
Ja Mata Japan…Hello New Beginnings
Andrea
What fun, I felt like I was walking through the house with you. Can’t wait to see upcoming photos of what it looks like with all your things beautifully arranged. I hope the other aspects of the move are going well.
Greenkooka
Looking forward to seeing you transform this house into your home. Glad everything made it intact!
Carol
A blank canvas for you to fill! We all look forward to your adventures in transforming this space.
But why do you hate the mini-split ductless AC units? I installed them in my Ocean Grove home and love them. I can control the temperature room by room instead of zone by zone as you would have with central air, and I preserved the windows for fresh ocean breezes and light, unlike window AC units. They also provide heat as well as cooling, although I suspect you won’t need that in Doha!
Tokyo Jinja
While they are wonderfully effective and have been keeping us cool like a dream, they are visually intrusive in this house as there are just sooooo many of them and they are placed on inconvenient walls for decorating. 🙂
carol livingstone
I see — yes, you are right, they do get in the way of decorating. I’ve had to move a few paintings around to less-than ideal locations, and I had the advantage of positioning the units when they were installed. But I’m sure you are up to the challenge!
Actually, I find the baseboard heat in my house much more of a problem than the AC unit. I can’t position furniture right next to the wall because of it.
Tokyo Jinja
That’s why I am a fan of old fashioned radiators, which are obviously not needed here 🙂 If I could have planned the location of the AC units as you did in your home it would be much better.
Leslie Neiditz
suggestion….tile can be reglazed very easily and affordably. Reglazing is a special paint process for tiles and bathtubs. Its done all the time in the states (think old new england homes with old bathrooms and kitchesns) Reglazing lasts a long time. I would probably go with a white glaze.BTW…not sure “reglazing” is the correct word…but i think you get the point.
Tokyo Jinja
I had been thinking of painting them individually, but perhaps reglazing would stand up better than paint! 🙂
Maja Smith
Welcome to your new home! Love the windows as the light
You will make it all so fabulous!
Enjoy your adventure!
Sandy
Oh the arches…..love them so! You’re so lucky that you have flex on what you can do to the walls in the kitchen. Can’t wait to see what you end up doing!
Tokyo Jinja
Just talked to the head maintenance guy and we cannot pull out or tile over what is there :-(. Now I wish I hadn’t asked him! Mentioned painting or reglazing but he was non-commital on that. Told me to get back to him when I found someone to do it. Didn’t think it was the right time to mention DIY….
Steve@AnUrbanCottage
The house looks great- the windows are awesome! – but that kitchen tile is a bummer. I would not recommend painting a tile floor or countertop that gets heavy or direct use but the paint on my wall tile lasted for six years without a single chip. I washed it really well and primed it will Kilz and then painted it with Decorator’s White semigloss. I wiped it down regularly in places where things spattered or splashed but never used anything abrasive and it was fine.
I ‘d be tempted to try wallpaper liner and wallpaper first just because the big square tiles have a “floor” vibe that won’t really go away. If the wallpaper liner doesn’t stick, there’s no loss.
Tokyo Jinja
I’m thinking wallpaper with some kind of soluble glue that can be removed when we are finished. Any ideas on that?
Steve@AnUrbanCottage
I think any of the modern glues could be reconstituted with water. The wall liner would pull taught so you wouldn’t see the tile lines. I think wallpaper might rip if it were applied straight to the tile.
lisa jardine
those wall tiles will challenge you jacqueline but i know you are up to the task!
Dawn
Thanks for taking us along to Doha…love the blank canvas…just color on the walls…subtle though it may be…is at least color. A refreshing change to the white wallpaper of Tokyo housing. I’m still hoping to find the perfect small glass float for my shell and fan coral display…I’ve learned from you to enjoy the hunt.
Annette
So excited for you!
And you have lots of room for display can’t wait!
Coulda shoulda woulda
Love the house and can’t wait to see it transformed into your new home!
Marsha
The painting looks great! I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Hope all is well!
George
OH it looks great ! Those arches are amazing and I love the white finishes against the grey! Love too the painting the tiles idea! Those transformations undertaken by WWJD are incredible.. particularly the kitchen floor around the desk! Are the tiles in your new kitchen flat tiles or textured? How does one go about painting tiles..?( oh just read Steve’s post) I’d imagined it was a resurface job to make it the tile itself porous once more- interesting.. Cant wait to see how your new interiors progress in Doha- Don’t hold out on us now!
seule771
I think of the song: “A house is not a home if it has not someone to share it with” or such is the name. Congrats!
peregrinacultural
Exhausting, but so much fun! Look forward to follow vicariously your adventures,,, we are here, pulling for your safe and rapid settling in.
Tokyo Jinja
Thank you so very much! The settling in is going pretty well!
Angela
Be careful with workmen in Doha, an English friend of mine who moved back here to Antwerp from Doha when we did, asked for an quote for some steps re-tiling outside their home. This was agreed and they turned up to complete the work. She tells me that they took an age and when she asked when they would return to finish the remaining steps, they said that the quote was for just one step! Wishing you luck and can’t wait to see what you do with your new home. x
Loi Thai - Tone on Tone
Enjoyed the tour, Jacqueline. It really does look like a spacious home! Such tall ceilings! Love the light and the many arches. As for all the floor tiles, lots of area rugs! Not sure about the kitchen…..hmmm will think about it.
xo
Loi
Tokyo Jinja
The kitchen needs a lot of thought – and a lot more than that. Still not sure what I am going to do and I would relish any comments/suggestions you might have!
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Katya H.
Hello,
It was so comforting to find your blog, as we are re-locating to Doha from UK. Mixed feelings – anxiety and excitement 🙂
Your new house looks so wonderful. I have been searching for properties myself. If you don’t mind me asking – what area of Doha it is in?
Thank you and very best wishes,
Tokyo Jinja
We are in West Bay – but not the lagoon. Please feel free to send me an email, I think it helps a lot to talk to someone living here already before choosing a home to live in. jacquelinewein[at]yahoo.com
Cheers!