Home, Sort of

It took about 2 weeks or so after the arrival of our belongings, but I've mostly gotten our stuff settled in the new villa here in Dubai. I say that with hesitation, because to me there are still so many little things without a good solution. In a home we own, I would make a list of those projects and try to work on them over time. Such as, hanging a shelving unit in the laundry area, installing built-in cabinets for extra storage, painting the walls in every room, etc. However, we are leasing our villa so I'm trying to change my mindset and not worry about the less-than-ideal circumstances here and there around our home. That doesn't mean there won't be projects, though! (No doubt Jeff will read this and be rolling his eyes at that statement!)

Anyway, I thought I'd share photos of our new "normal" now that we're a little more settled in. Maybe this helps give a visual of our daily lives here at home in Dubai.

From the front entrance walking in, you start in Connor's favorite spot, the courtyard area with his basketball hoop. He and his neighbor buddies love hanging out over here shooting hoops. Once you walk through the covered porch, you go into a spacious entryway followed by the living room and a sitting area. It's a U-shaped floorplan that leads to the dining room and around into the kitchen. The sitting area leads out into an outdoor patio which is currently packed with our old pool furniture. We eventually think we'll move those lounge chairs to one of the upstairs decks, but everything here ends up covered in layers of sand so we're still thinking on that.











Off the kitchen is the hallway leading to the maids room (currently our laundry room and extra storage), washer/dryer, and then the garage. The service company that installed all of our wall décor also hung these whiteboards and hooks, which are a lifesaver for all the backpacks and bags. Now if I could just find the dry erase markers and erasers...

It wouldn't be "real" of me to post villa photos without showing the various piles and stacks of things that we just don't know what to do with around here. We have this large area under the stairs that works as a decent storage area for various things, such as shower curtains and hooks (don't need them here), US electronics and power cords, curtains and draperies, etc. My eventual goal is to get some sort of curtain to block this unsightly mess but who knows if I'll ever get around to that.

Is it just me, or is it that the longer your things sit in a pile somewhere, they just becomes part of the normal landscape that you don't notice? Those cords hanging from the TV...oops, I guess we were supposed to hide those. That pile on the kitchen counter... that's where we "store" the coupons and old invoices. That little spot by the stairs...those are the old clothes that we need to donate to someone. The bin in the middle of the bedroom floor...oh yeah, those are hangers we aren't using right now. Ummm, please tell me I'm not the only one who ends up looking past these things and leaving them undone because I just haven't found a better solution? I digress...

On the second story (which is actually referred to as the 1st floor here), you walk up into this large landing area. I think most people might use it as a second living area or play room but my goal is to use it as an office space. There aren't any power outlets by the desk area (why doesn't someone consult with a woman on these things??) so I had to move the printer across the room. It is currently sitting on the floor waiting for a permanent home. And our files will apparently remain stored in packing boxes in the corner, for now. :-)

Each of the bedrooms are accessible from this upstairs landing. We have 4 bedrooms, one of which we turned into a game room. Which meant that Connor inherited the guest room furniture, so his bedroom really makes no sense right now -- a blend of beach-themed and Houston Texans decor, ha!

The 3rd story of the villa leads up to the rooftop balcony. It's always completely covered in sand, and as soon as you sweep it, the sand returns. So for the most part, we don't use the 3rd story and never go up those stairs.

And that's it, the tour of our Dubai villa! One of these days I might feel more encouraged to make the spaces more functional but it's all working fine for now and finally starting to feel (sort of) like home.