My name is Lingling, and my husband is from New York
We have been married for 12 years and this is also our 12th year in Shanghai
Our family live in this house
In a cozy and intimate lane
The total built-up area is about 300 square meters, 3 storeys
With a yard about 80 square meters
I’m a perfectionist Virgo
Many things can go wrong in an old house
Leaks, termites
When we remodeled the house for a second time
We broke the partitions on the first floor
You walk in through the door and you are in the kitchen
There is a glass courtyard above
I like cooking
So I want a big and well-lighted kitchen
The glass ceiling finishes the picture
We never thought about putting in a television in our living room
There is a dining table
A couch
It is a place where we spend time with family and guests
You can see our yard in the living room
We have a pond in the yard
Fancy carps swimming in the pond
As a lane house
It is not as private as a single-family detached home
We have planted bamboos around the walls
They are beautiful to look at and they create some privacy
I like arranging flowers
I will cut off flowers and arrange them in a vase
The staircase is very different after our remodeling
It is an entire chunk of marble floating in the air
There were two rooms on the second floor
But the space was far from enough for us
So we merged the two rooms into one
So we have a spacious closet and a bathroom
There was a balcony in the main bedroom before the transformation
We tore it down and converted it into a French window
Now I can lie in bed and see the views in the yard
The third floor was a terrace about 10 square meters
Terrace is not really a practical design in Shanghai
Why don’t make it into a sunroom
It is very nice in winter with the sunlight
My son is 11 years old and sometimes he asks us to watch movies with him
And we would go to the third floor and watch cartoons together
My husband speaks excellent Chinese as he loves China
And he loves Chinese contemporary art, and he is a collector
Art work is a necessary part of our house
The simplistic decoration leaves us space to display paintings
My husband and I are very different people
We grew up in different environment
Family
Is a place where we tolerate, give and compromise
When my husband comes back from work and my son finishes his homework
And cats and dogs snuggle under my feet
We share some talk
A subtle feeling rises slowly
Oh this is life