Part of the American dream is owning a place you can call your own. While we don't own a home, we are certainly enjoying the benefits of being in a home. It has taken a lot of effort and some trips to Ikea, but we have a really nice home that we really can call a home.
I am writing this post to explain State Department housing, because family has been asking for a good tour of the house, and to share how this house has been a big blessing to live in.
About State Department Housing
The State Department has decided that to conduct it's mission abroad they need to provide housing for its foreign service officers. Some of the reasons include safety, security, the cost of housing, and facilitating smooth transitions for its personnel from country to country. They also assume that many foreign service officers already own a home and are being housed "temporarily" at the government's request.
The Result for Us
The result is that when I get off the plane in what ever country I am to serve I should have a home to live in that is appropriate for my pay grade, position, and family size. Also in many countries (Norway not included) the houses come fully furnished with furniture from a company called Drexel Heritage.
Every couple of years we get to anticipate, imagine and eventually fill and decorate some new home. In most cases the homes are somewhat different from what we would find in the US. Take our current home for an example, it has a grass roof.
In the end the best thing for us is that we have been able move out of our cramped two bedroom apartment nearly two hours from the office in Virginia. Although I had what would have been a good salary outside the DC area, the market was such that we were struggling to get to the point where we could own a home. Also since we don't have a mortgage we will be able to save the money we would have otherwise paid on rent and a mortgage.
Our Housing Details
Here is quick rundown of the home we were assigned to live in here in Norway.
-Grass roofed duplex
-2 car garage detached garage
-3 levels
-3 bathrooms
-5 bedrooms (2 on the first floor, and 3 on the third floor)
-Walk in fridge
-Backyard
-Kitchen, living room and laundry room on second floor
-A big open downstairs and a toy room
I don't know the total square footage, but it is somewhere right around 2000 SF.
For me and I think maybe for Janet, the absolute coolest part of the house is the first floor. It has a play area, toy room, office/bike workshop, and storage room.
Toy Room Before
Here is some a couple of before pictures of the toy room. What a difference compared to the after shots.
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Toy Room After
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| The shelf system from Ikea is awesome and makes the room what it is. |
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| A home for Barbie and Ikea toy shelves. |
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| A green Ikea shag rug. |
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| Art work by the kids. |
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| A perfect stable of horses along with the books. |
Entrance
The entrance has been this big open space that was hard to figure out, but I think we have it now.
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| The bench and chair were in the garage unopened. It was an awesome find. |
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| We also found the table in the garage unopened and bought the chairs at Ikea. |
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| Soccer in the corner and a new rug from Ikea. |
Office and Bike Workshop
This room has been a long time dream for me. I just love it. It is perfect. The kids also really like it. James likes taking the tools off the wall and fixing things and Maddie likes to put her bike on the bike trainer and ride. For me it is a place to keep the stuff I've accumulated over the years.
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| Bookshelves |
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| A view of my closets, storage, and bikes. |
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| My Pride and Joy: A BH carbon fiber, Dura-Ace, Studded Snow Tire Cyclocross Commuter Bike. |
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| Desk, Workbench, and Bike Trainer |
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| Bookshelves and Bike Stand |
The Storage Room
Once we start getting food orders from Ramstein this room will fill up. It is kind of fun to have a room dedicated for the most part to consumable items. It is the first time we have been able to attend to any sort of food storage. I guess we'll have to really get serious and start ordering some long shelf life items so that we can really do the proper thing. Also not shown in the picture is a freezer we were able to get from the embassy warehouse.
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| I love these Home Depot shelves. |
The Kitchen
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| Very white. The refrigerator is a typical smallish European fridge/freezer. |
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| The stove area isn't very functional but it works well enough. |
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| New Year's Eve breakfast in the kitchen with an italian pandoro. |
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| Our kitchen table and looking into the living room. |
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| Washer and dryer. The little cubby in the upper left side of the dryer is a drawer that fills with water and needs to be emptied between loads. |
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| This was a cool find and really nice to have for the holidays and I suspect once we get our Ramstein order it will be put to good use. |
The Living Room
The living room was a really awkward space, and we may not be done, but for now we are happy with the results.
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| A reading area for the kids. Again, Ikea chairs. The kids love the chairs and it was a wise move to get three. |
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| We had most everything. We got the couch pillows for Christmas from my parents. Janet order the curtains from Walmart and I got the rods at Ikea. |
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| The kids coloring table is nice but rarely used. They like the kitchen table. |
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| We bought a number of floor lamps to supplement lighting. |
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| The flower picture was a Christmas gift. Janet got the rug before coming. |
The Bedrooms
In Virginia the bedrooms were multi-use rooms. Here they are very much for sleeping only and maybe if you are looking for some quiet moments alone. I didn't include pictures of our room because it is the final work in progress. I need to get on the Norwegian equivalent of craigslist and find some stuff to fill out our room. The website it is www.finn.no and they have a free section where people are giving away things like leather sofas and other nice stuff.
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| Does this look like a boys room or what? |
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| Dinosaurs. |
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| This is a beautifully finished dresser that Janet worked on with the help of my mom and dad back in Virginia when they came out for a visit. This is in the girl's room. |
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| The horses on the wall are an exact match to Madeline's blankets. |
Conclusion
I respect the fact that people's hard earned tax dollars pay for the dwelling I live in and the salary I earn. I am very aware of the financial situation our nation is in and I am working my hardest to assure the money spent benefits the American people and furthers our national interest.
That said, this job was truly an answer to prayers. I could list a hundred reasons why it was exactly what both I and my family needed. The house is only a part and we are grateful for it.
