Our Old New Flat

*This article is in its published form at Korea Times. You can google "our old new flat korea times" to find it.

 

If you are an old school girl who's devoured interior magazines and filled yourself with trends and styles, our new home will definitely stand out as a modest example.

My mom, our old-school girl, chose to rent our new flat and made some holistic changes. She strategically outed a lot of our furniture. The "new" but old flat was more than 10 years old and creaked a little in places, but we’re turning it into a cosy abode.

This is mom’s latest place – what did she aspire to in our palpitating flat? “I didn’t work on interior design,” she stoutly insisted, “I worked on storage. Just placed the island table and the ordinary table in the middle of the dining space inside the big kitchen. Then I put some bookshelves in the living area and …” She was beginning to concede. “I ended up putting the blinds in place of the balcony curtains.”

In September 2023, we moved to the flat. It needed attention. We dared not paint the walls or floors or do any serious stuff as the flat is rented. It remains tied to its creamy and cafe-latte color scheme. In my room a largeish white check-pattern partition covers me up lying comfortably in my bed. (The idea was not mine.)

Mom's room is the largest and I share with her an inner bathroom where I take showers. Leafy and flowery tiles adorn the inside of the shower booth. The problem of the squeaky bathroom doorway was solved by mom adroitly moving the narrow inserting space by the door into a neutral position. Mom commissioned me to use my calligraphy skills to write “Please Knock!” on the bathroom door.

My mom has been the sole homemaker. My dad, although he holds a bachelor's degree in architecture, has his territory confined to a room. Changes in September 2023 saw his books spill out. Mom placed sky-blue, three-tiered bookshelves beside a larger window in our living room to put together many books (mostly dad’s).

Our extensive kitchen welcomes you: a microwave oven, an induction heater, an electric kettle and the Brambly Hedge tea set we got from U.K. There’s no longer a pantry or chandelier over the central dining table, but what a time we’ve had as my mom joyfully taped the margins of kitchen furniture!

Mom bought the new computer for family use. She also wanted to hang up some of her treasured pen drawing and watercolour artwork on one corner. After we looked carefully at the living room, we went to buy a coffee table, creating cafe in the middle of the living area.

Overall, my mother summarized our move: she wanted simplicity, but focusing on organization and good arrangement. For those who are about to move, it may well be a point to consider.

 

Lee Jee-young studied linguistics at Korea University, and formerly worked as a layout assistant at an architectural magazine in Seoul.