Top Notch Flat

10 March 2011

I really hate to say “I told you so”, but what I expected has come to pass. I should charge for my advice, because in this case I was so right. Eva's new neighbours are exactly what I thought they would be. In fact if it is possible, they are turning out to be even worse!

They moved in on Saturday morning and according to Eva they spent the day having deliveries from furniture stores and appliance manufacturers. (Thanks to Mum and Dad, no doubt...) She wasn't too bothered about the noise because getting furniture into bedrooms is a noisy business. But at about 7pm their friends started arriving. Just a few at first, but then it turned out to be the house-warming party from hell.

Eva thought that there must have been 50 people squeezed into that flat and that didn't include the ones who were hanging out in the stairwell. Needless to say Eva's tranquil new home now doesn't seem to be quite what she was hoping.

I have recommended that she complains to Chris, but did explain that he didn't want to listen when I told him what would happen. Eva has decided to give it a few weeks to see how things pan out. Who knows, they might be studious types and will quieten down when it is exam time.

I have been tempted to go and have a word with them myself this week to explain that they need to be respectful, but it isn't really my job to do that and something tells me it won't be appreciated by Chris anyway if I stick my nose in. So it has been back to work as usual, in the downstairs flat for me and in the garden for Claire.

I have to admit I have done my best to keep out of her way and she has just been getting on with her work. She has cleared most of the garden and has sprayed red lines all over the place to outline where the new decking, borders and grass will go. She is being much more particular than I would ever bother to be. In my opinion a rented flat should have a bit of grass and maybe a patio area and little more. But Claire sees this as her chance to show her skills off, so the new tenants will have a work of art out in their garden, I suspect.

As for me I am in the demolition stages at the moment. As this is supposed to be extra special and a bit of a show flat, I have got rid of everything and stripped it back to the bare bones. I have ordered glass splashbacks for the kitchen in a purple colour and in aqua for the bathroom. There is oak flooring for the main living areas and cream carpets in the bedrooms. The bedrooms and living room will have feature walls in fancy wallpaper and all the windows will have wooden shutters.

I need to re-plaster most of the walls and ceilings, fit new lights, add new skirting and as many gadgets as a new modern flat can stand. Chris wants me to go all out and really make it into a top specification flat. I am actually finding it quite fun as there is nothing a man enjoys more than playing with gadgets.

So over the next few weeks I will be sourcing some pretty cool bits and pieces and doing my best not to antagonise the wife!