The Adventures of TinTin and Snowy

We've been flat hunting for the past month with no luck. It always boils down to the amount we have to pay in rent. If its cheaper than what we are paying now, the place is worse than where we are right now. If its more expensive, the place is usually smaller than where we are now. We've seen a few flats which were on the upper side of our budget. We aren't prepared to go a single pence over 550 quid a month. Though the houses in that price were quite posh and modern, it had that IKEA feel to it. There's nothing wrong with IKEA but when every bit of furniture in a house is from IKEA, it looks...For lack of a better descriptive word...Cheap. There's also the issue of space.

The house we live in now has two good sized bedrooms where you can fit double beds. We also have a massive loft( not that we use it, but its good to dump all your suitcases...And trust me... We have a lot of big ass suitcases). But the entry to the loft is via the second bedroom and it doesn't have one of those stow away ladders that you pull down. Instead, we have this huge eye sore. A massive aluminum ladder which doesn't even go all the way to the loft. We've got to push ourselves up to get into the ladder. Talk about Health and Safety regulations. I think our landlord has flaunted most of the rules in the book. Then there's the huge electronically controlled boiler protruding out of the wall and precariously hanging over the head of the bed. I'm not surprised that we've never managed to get a housemate to rent that room. Who'd want to sleep under a bloody boiler? Then there's the cupboards. I'm quite sure that I could take them to an antique dealer and flog them for a tidy sum. They are that old. And flimsy. They've actually got little labels on each shelf marked "Top hats", "Handkerchiefs", "Shirts" etc. What the...? When did they stop wearing top hats?
The dining table is surrounded by mismatched chairs. The living room has mismatched couches. The kitchen used to be a "chemistry lab" which got converted to a kitchen. There are remains of some chemical explosions on the ceiling. The garden...Let's not even begin to talk about the garden. We've rarely gone out into that dump. Once we noticed some potatoes growing there. The ivy on the walls have overgrown and are crawling all over the place with wanton disregard of beauty.

Its just sooooo 1950s. You know, the post war architecture when money was in short supply. The house has been in my landlord's family for ages and he just hasn't bothered modernizing it. For him, any rent is a bonus. The British are obsessed by two things, the weather and their housing market. And, they're dragging me into their mire. I watch all these DIY shows. People buy run down crappy places and invest a few grand and completely turn the house upside down and give it a proper make over and then flog it for a hefty profit. If only, I can buy this house. I'd really do it over. Its got so much of space and potential. I'd rip out all the carpeting and sand those lovely old floor boards down. I'd get rid of all the furniture and get in a few nice trendy sofas and tables. I'd knock down those horrid fireplaces. I'd gut the entire bathroom. I'd knock down the wall of my second room and build a stair case to go to the loft. This would make the house a three bedroomed house. I'd get rid of that damn boiler and install it in the store room. I'd get in some swanky kitchen units( I love electric hobs) and flushed cooking range surfaces. I hate lighting up the gas stove. I always singe my fingers. I'd dig up all that horrid concrete in the garden, put a layer of new soil and lay out a new relaxing beautiful garden.

I'd like to do a lot of things. But it ain't my house and I ain't got the dough. So I've just resorted to dreaming about it.