Closing Time!



My fiance being cute with paint samples...

Yesterday I spent a very boring afternoon sitting in a conference room full of lawyers. Seeing as how I am a lawyer, this was not an unusual occurrence for me. However, unlike all those other boring days I've spent in conference rooms full of lawyers, yesterday was different. For one thing, I am usually getting paid, and this time I was paying at least three of them. This time was different, because I was the client. This time was different because it was the happiest day of my life. I bought a home. I bought my dream home. I bought an Upper East Side pre-war classic five in Carnegie Hill. And I bought it with the man that I am about to marry.



Our floor plan, which I adore...

This dream home is not what most people think of when they picture their "dream home." For starters, most dream homes are larger than 1100 square feet. More importantly, most dream homes are not quite as... how should I say it... pre-loved as this one. In fact, this apartment needs so much love that I'm a little scared that my heart (i.e. my wallet) is not quite big enough. Even in these hard economic times, Manhattan real estate is almost as inflated as ever, and two bedrooms in the heart of the Upper East Side cost almost as much as both of our homes in Connecticut put together. Times two. So, because buying a fixer-upper was the only way to afford the space and zip code that I preferred, and because I like to believe that I missed my calling as an interior designer, I am about to set out on an amazing journey to restore this 1924 pre-war apartment to its former glory.

From the moment I walked into the building, I immediately fell in love. The double french doors open up into a stunning lobby, which in turn leads to the most charming old fashioned elevator which opens like an actual door with an actual door knob. (Admittedly, the first time I rode up it, I didn't know how to get out!) And the apartment itself, even with its worn down oak floors, chipping paint, and damaged plaster walls, was unquestionably, immediately, my new home. I saw a vision of the future, of the home I will create. I saw my family eating Christmas dinner in the formal dining room (which I had previously believed was an urban legend in Manhattan). I saw my friends gathered for cocktail parties in the spacious living room. I saw my black and white office with blue walls that I have created in my head, which will someday become my hypothetical future daughter's room (until we can buy the C unit next door and knock down the wall, which I am already plotting.) I saw the life I have always pictured. I saw myself turning right out my front door and crossing Park Avenue on my way to run in Central Park, my sanctuary, just two and a half short blocks away. I saw my dream, unfolding, inside this absolutely perfect, imperfect apartment.

The building's beautiful lobby...

Before I get to the point of this blog, where I will track our progress restoring our new home, and hopefully show amazing before and after pictures worthy of a spread in Better Homes and Gardens, I want to acknowledge a few people who are no longer here to read it. My dream was made possible because two lives ended. The prior owner of the apartment recently died. My heart shattered when I walked through the apartment, still filled with her belongings, and saw the evidence of her age and presumably declining health. To Mrs. Silverman, your home is in good hands; it will be loved and cared for and will be the cherished home of a new family now. And to my own mom, who made this dream possible with the gift she left behind for me when she left this world four years ago, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'd also give it all up in a New York minute to have you back again.

My fiance, welcoming you to the building!

And finally, I would like to acknowledge my fiance, who I kidnapped from Connecticut a year and a half ago and dragged to New York kicking and screaming. I know we have a wedding in twenty-four days, and I know I can think of nothing but paint samples and floor stains and French doors. I may be the worst bride ever, but to make up for that, I promise to create for you a beautiful home!

At last here we are, almost three months after I fell in love with the apartment and just one day after the closing that took forever to arrive. Renovations started today. I hope that on Friday I will have some beautiful new pictures of our soon-to-be gleaming hardwood floors!