the Villa is under construction......
I've been meaning to post some pics of the villa as it undergoes construction......here are a few of the in progress photos....
It's presently a two story villa. The downstairs consists of a livingroom/diningroom, kitchen and bathroom. The total area for that is 100 M. It is going to be enlarged by opening up an existing storage area......that will add another 100 M to the equation. So the downstairs area will have a formal livingroom/diningroom.....with closed french glass doors......another livingroom sitting area that will be open....the kitchen will be huge with an eat in area....it'll have a door going into the formal diningroom. Not sure if we'll enlarge the bathroom tho. There is a back door that goes out into the backyard. Our backyard is tiny tho.....the house was built back further, so that we'd have a huge front yard. So we are making the car parking in the back........
The Second floor consists presently of 6 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms and a HUGE open family room. Lots of explanation there, but basically the previous owners were lazy and preferred to make a 2nd kitchen on the 2nd floor, and then they divided half the second floor and made a seperate apt and rented it because they needed money. So we broke down the wall to the second apt, making it all one floor again. The one kitchen will be changed into a study area.....they made this kitchen an "american" kitchen, with it overlooking the family room and some of the bedrooms. I will not rebuild a wall, and am thinking to leave the ceramic up as well....I'm going to have bookcases built...floor to ceiling.....to be built around that entire area. It will have a couple of desks there as well. As well as the computers. I like the nice open idea of it.
The kitchen on the other side I've decided to change it into a bathroom with an attached laundry room. There is a door from the laundry area that has emergency stairs to the outside.....
The reason I want to change this kitchen to another bathroom is because the existing bathroom on this side of the house I will be making it ajoining my room. The existing door will be walled in, and I'll cut another door from my bedroom. That way it'll be my personal bathroom!
We've added balconies to the front of the house....4 of them. They are going to be small, but very pretty looking when done. There is already a HUGE balcony in the middle of the front of the house.....but that balcony will be fitted with a huge stained glass window. Sorry, I think the date trees covered that balcony. You can see the windows there....they will be enlarged and fitted with balcony doors. The shutters are coming off. You can see the wood on top of the roof.....the workers are preparing for building on the 3rd floor.
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Here's a picture of the loader taking away all the stones and stuff that were on the back side of the house. We are lucky with our location....we are the only house that has access from 3 streets. Behind the tractor there our house is on a square....a great area for the kids to play and ride their bikes. The front of the house is on the main road....and the other side of the house is on a side street.
Honestly, we've got lots of work to do. But insha Allah, it should go pretty quickly. The villa could be completed in 3 mos, if we were on the ball and could get the workers to work hard. It needs a good overseer to keep the people working and to keep them coming in a steady stream.
Anyways....I've got more pics....will post them too.
posted by Safa at 11:28 AM
13 Comments:
Ok so the question of the hour is "Where is my room?"
8:28 AM
Exciting!!! It looks wonderful. I always like it when you have some landscape already there (like trees and palms). Can't wait to see more. You'll need to start a separate blog on the villa alone. ;-)
8:33 AM
Deep sigh..oh so jealous (in a good way!) :)
4:08 PM
lurker, temporarily de-lurking. What a gorgeous house, and will free you from the hassle of in-laws downstairs. It occurs to me that the only thing which could mess up this idyllic living arrangement is a badly behaved and perpetually grumpy husband. Obviously, he is doing very well with his business in Canada, and the loonies and toonies translate very well in Egyptian terms. So perhaps if you could get him to pony up for some domestic help (a cleaning lady seems essential in your situation) then perhaps you could make some peace with your interesting domestic situation. It is interesting that you think that MM is pregnant--think about it--she is living in much more reduced circumstances, while you are looking forward to this lovely new house!!!!
4:37 PM
Lookin good!!! Masha Allah!
10:19 PM
Hi Robin.....yes, the house will free me from the inlaws...so true. My hubby isn't a grumpy man....usually quite level headed.....but what would mess up our "happily ever after" would be the inclusion of MM here. I've already made it very clear, I ain't living with another woman......VERY CLEAR!
As for domestic help, we already have a live in gardener and his wife, (who is the maid) living at the villa. They have a room at the back of the house, connected, but not with indoor access.
About making peace....u know...subhanAllah...I thought about it much. What is more important to me? Hubby just bought the new SUV, and is working on the villa....which I picked out in his absence BTW......it's a dream. It was OUR dream. But sadly....its not enough. I need a full time husband...a lover...a marriage. Sometimes I wish I could just detach and say to myself....just pretend that MM doesn't exist and go on living happily. Well, it doesn't work.
I know MM is living in reduced circumstances....but u know what? She gets my husband more than I do....who needs a big house to be happy? A SUV? It looks good, it sure does....but it doesn't keep me warm at night, he doesn't provide me love and attention....it doesn't be a father to the kids.....
Like I've said MANY times.....after the baby, I'm done if there are no solutions.....I don't need the dunya.....I need a full time husband.
1:11 AM
salaam safa.. as usual you disappeared on me but that's ok.. i like you anyway :D hehe.. well this is a lovely house and i can feel your anticipation, my parents are making their first ever house too and we're all really looking forward to it and in fact it shd also be done in abt 3 months if the workers work according to time.. hahhaa.. like you said, one had to really drill them and oversee the work otherwise they just sit there and shovel time.
oh and again, always praying for you that besdies the house and the car, you get your hubby back inshaAllah. God knows you deserve better but still.. take care and good luck!!
1:55 AM
It was awhile ago that I was surfing the net and came across your blog. It was really a very weird way that it happened: I was looking for info on the veil and one of the results led to your site. As I quickly scanned your post, my eyes were caught dead in their tracks by the word "polygamous". Suffice it to say, I have become somewhat of a 'disturbed' fan, following your every post religiously-at times your posts were my escape from the mundane routine of my job. My favorite past time is to drown myself in virtual reality of the cyberspace. Yeah you learn a lot and meet interesting people, but I think it is the door that some people leave slightly ajar into their lives that is priceless. Mostly, those little glimpses really make you feel "connected"-I still haven't been able to figure out to what exactly. So yesterday, as I was surfing the net daydreaming of another place (even another person) that I wanted to be, my mind brought me to you. I realized that the months I have been spending listening to what you were saying I have been selfish because I was using your words to find myself but not really offering anything back in return. Truthfully, I didn't think anything I could say would've been useful. But I feel I 'know' you now and really want to tell you a couple of things. and I should warn you, I grew up in a country where we call it like it is so I won't 'sugar-dip' it. I think your husband is a Class A jerk! And I think 'female-martyrdom' is a glorified mirage that we women often hold at the expense of ourselves for no good reason. Don't get me wrong, kudos to your strength and courage because I gotta tell you, if I was in your situation it would've been one swift kick in the balls and out with him in the trash. But they say you never really know unless you walked a mile in 'their' shoes-and I haven't walked even a centimeter in your shoes. And you sound like a perfectly capable woman who's got more intelligence than many and has ideal qualities that anyone would be honored to have-while the hubbie, I am sorry to say, sounds like a selfish 'douchebag' who is quite content pleasing only himself. Religiously, I am not well-read but I do know enough that polygamy has its own very strict rules, i.e. that the first wife must be told (and given a choice to leave) and that if he buys one apple for one wife then the EXACT IDENTICAL apple must also be bought for the second. The safeguard that God put into the whole thing is that NO MAN will ever be able to suffice the requirements of the second restriction-thus, your husband is very much in the wrong. And I am sure he gives you lines of crap about working hard to build a future and a family in Cairo and gets you the new villa and the SUV (is that for you?) to placate you, etc. and I am sure he must love his kids, but love is more than words. But while he is a complete ass, I am kind of mad at you. I think you are also indirectly indulging his fabricated life by not making a choice. [yes I know I am not in your position, so take what I say with a grain of salt but don't completely wipe it out] you are waiting till the baby is born to see what kind of ticket he will be traveling on to get your decision-but isn't this really empowering him with your entire future? And where are you in the whole mix? My friends would probably kick my proverbial behind for seemingly not bringing peace to the situation (and maybe others on your site)-but I think the wait and see what he does method is 'old school' because it wraps your whole life in a completely arbitrary action-what if he does end up coming for a month because he wants to work on building 'you lives' in Canada? What if he doesn't leave her? What if he brings her with him and puts her up in your apt? The point is not to add more to your troubles but to just tell you that sometimes what you wish for isn't what you want. So I think you need to decide now (not this moment but in the near future) what YOU want based on what is happening now and not on a romanticized past (again I make more assumptions, but my experience has been that jerks are not born overnight-that they are a long time forming). The real 'moutain' that you are refusing to climb is the one in your mind-the only obstacle in our lives is ourselves. so free yourself from all this wondering, fretting, stressing, depressing, crying, indulging, and boiling and do what is good for you. And above all, treat yourself to life-you deserve it!
4:46 AM
Mabrook, it looks great and planning must be really exiting. Keep us updated.
6:49 AM
Safa, I'm just curious about this one: Do you think that hubby would have been sweet and attentive on his last trips if you had pretended everything was ok? That is to say, are his actions during your time spent together a reflection of your actions? Just thinking about my own husband...when I'm mad at him for doing something jerky, all of the sudden, he's mad at me.
7:41 AM
Hello Safa :0) I think the new home sounds lovely! I can imagine it all in my mind, you have described it so nicely!
3 months seems really fast to me, but honestly I am really amazed at how quickly homes and businesses seem to pop up! Where I live they seem to sprout from the ground overnight.
11:09 AM
salaam safa this is very nice masha allah and I am looking forward to see more pic's.
10:47 AM
Lovely! Can't wait to see more!
11:16 AM
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