Our Little Dutch House

When we made the decision to move to the Netherlands, we began to look for a home in which we would live during our seven month stay in Holland.  Jim enlisted the help of some of his contacts, and Jim and I both searched on Dutch real estate websites for furnished homes available for rent.  We quickly discovered that, because of the location in which we were searching and the time period for which we needed to rent a home, our options were very limited.  When Jim's contact suggested that we rent a home in a bungalow park that is located just 15 minutes from Jim's office, we felt that it was our best (if only) choice.  

On Wednesday morning, it stopped raining long enough for the twins and I to take a short walk around our "neighborhood".  We live in "recreational housing" that is available for both vacation and short-term rental. We live in one of eighteen bungalows in the De Mors Bungalow Park located in Delden. According to our settle service guide, the area is bustling with both tourists and Dutch alike during the summer months.  Our bungalow park is situated next to Mooi Delden, a campground for tent and RV camping, as well as a soccer club which has held practices and/or games from 7 to 9 each night of our stay thus far.  Just around the corner from the Bungalow Park is the Aparthotel Delden, a family, golf, spa, and conference hotel.  In the area just outside of our park are a swimming pool (now closed) and tennis courts.  

With only pictures on which to base our expectations of our house, Jim and I truly didn't know what we would find here when we arrived last Sunday.  Although my initial impressions of the house were not positive, it is starting to grow on me.  Large windows on the first floor promise an abundance of natural light, perfect for indoor photography; the doors that separate each room from the others serve as built-in baby gates to keep the twins safe and confined to one space; the bathtub in the "master" bathroom is better than the tub in which I bathe the twins at home.   I certainly miss all of the comforts and conveniences of our home (i.e. huge refrigerator with an attached freezer, comfortable furniture, electric stove top, garbage disposal, oven, stairs that do not rise at a 90 degree angle, etc.), but I *think* I can, I *think* I can, I *think* I can make do in our Dutch home for the half-year during which we are here.  I don't really have a choice in that matter, do I?  

I know that when we return home in the spring, we will certainly possess a new appreciation for it and all that it holds within.  I don't think that I'll ever again take for granted the use of our fast and reliable internet service or the space within our large walk-in closet.  

Tiny refrigerators, washer/dryer combos, no basement storage...I just don't know how these Dutch people do it!

Our Settle Service Guide believes that SV Delden will stop soccer practices/games in December.  Until then, we will continue to be serenaded by the sounds of the soccer ball as we eat our dinner.  

The swimming pool is located right outside of the entrance to the bungalow park.

Looking into the bungalow park

De Mors Bungalow Park

To the left are the bungalows; to the right, the campground.

The view from the mailboxes; although it wasn't pictured this way in the movies, I always imagined Privet Drive to look similar to this when I read any of the Harry Potter books.

Our bungalow is the one in the middle of the three on the left.  Note the row of small bushes in front of both our home and the bungalow across the street.  They will most likely not survive my driving.

That's our house!

Everyone's address starts with 8; we are lucky number 8-7!

View of the living room from the "dining room".  If it should ever stop raining here, I look forward to taking pictures in the natural lighting coming in through those large glass windows (They're actually doors.  I would imagine that those on summer holiday keep them open to allow warm air into the house.).  

We've already made one of what will most likely be many visits to IKEA.  We purchased the storage bins for toys that you can see on the floor near the windows/doors as well as two small stools for the twins to sit on at the two small tables that are in the corner of the room.

The entire home appears to be furnished by IKEA.

Our red pleather furniture is not extremely comfortable, but it's easy to clean.  The tall bookshelf on the right is one example of the few ways in which the house is not baby/toddler friendly.  And of course, Will is drawn to opening and closing the cabinets at the bottom of the shelf.  

View of the kitchen from the dining room table; the tiny refrigerator is on the far left and hidden amongst the cabinets.  To the right of the refrigerator is a standard sized dishwasher (Thank God!), with the small sink located just to the right of the dishwasher.  In the corner is the microwave that may be a "combi"(Microwave and Oven), but we just came into possession of the instruction manual yesterday.  Along the wall is the gas stove top and a basic coffee maker.  The door on the right opens to a good sized storage closet that we may need to use for the storage of the contents of our LDN container.

Actually, some of the contents of our air crate will be kept in this small shed in the backyard.  Jim has already lugged our luggage out there.  Our backyard is small, but there is enough for room for the twins to burn off some steam if need be (and if it ever dries out)!

The living room door opens to a hallway that leads to the stairs to the second floor.

Off on the right of the hallway is our laundry/utility room.  It's big enough to park the stroller in it when it's not in use.  The same couldn't be said of our laundry room at home!

There's room for our shoes and coats, too (It helps that we have a combination washer/dryer that I have yet to use!).

Also off of the hallway is a bathroom with a toilet and sink.  It's small, but it serves its purpose!

Steep, winding stairs bring you up to the small second floor.  Other than when we're sleeping, we haven't spent much time up here.  It's much darker than the rest of the house, and we (Jim and I) keep hitting our heads on the damned sloped ceilings!

Our small wardrobes holds all of our clothing and shoes- for now.  When our LDN container arrives, we will have to use one of the wardrobes in the twins' rooms to store the clothing and shoes that we packed inside of it!

To the left of our bedroom is the main bathroom, which includes a bathtub (a must for the twins), sink, and a shower.  We are grateful that the bathroom is of an adequate size for Jim and I to share it, as we each have our own bathroom at home.  

View of the shower

A look at the sink and mirror; the lack of storage space in the bathroom was resolved with storage bins from IKEA.

These stairs have thrown a wrench into our routine; I typically carry both Maddie and Will up and down the stairs at home, but I would never attempt to do so here.  These are one-at-a-time, hold on for your life kinds of stairs.  

The twins' bedrooms made me the saddest.  After all the work and thought that we put into their nursery back home, they now need to sleep in rooms that are...well, cold.   White walls, white curtains, and no furniture except for one wardrobe per room.   Jim needs to find time (and patience) to assemble the cribs that we had ordered (from IKEA).  Until then, the twins are sleeping in their Pack n' Plays.   We don't spend much time in the twins' rooms, but I'm hopeful that we will be able to add some touches of home once our LDN container arrives that will help make the spaces warmer and happier.  

The twins are still living out of their suitcases, as I haven't had the chance to clean the wardrobe before putting their clothes on the shelves.  

Maddie's bedroom is to the right of ours.  Like Will's room, Maddie's room just contains a wardrobe.  We will most likely be storing our clothing in her wardrobe once it arrives.