Aug 11 - Count Counsellor

I'm finally moved in and my apartment is all ready. And so today I'll share some pictures with you. It's definitely the best apartment I've ever lived in. I'd even go out on a limb and say it's the best apartment in Shanghai.

I've moved into a building called the Georgia Apartments, which is a historic Shanghai building. It's in the middle of the French Concession, in what is one of the best locations in the city, in my opinion. And it's actually super convenient for me to get to work, too. Or at least about as convenient as it is from anywhere else. My new building was completed back in 1942. It's an art-deco style building designed by Fan Wenzhao (or Robert Fan), a famous US-educated, Shanghainese architect who also designed the Shanghai Concert Hall and Majestic Theater, a couple of the more prominent Shanghai landmarks.

The Georgia Apartments back in 1943

As you can see above, the building is kind of a T-shape with an east and a west wing (west is the one close to you in the picture above), and the central wing which goes towards the back. I'm in the west wing on the 2nd floor, and so I look out at the gardens behind. That park is not there anymore, and the whole area obviously looks nothing like this picture anymore, but the garden between the T is still there, and I can see it from my balcony. Due it's famous architect and art-deco style, it's now on the national register of historic buildings. And I'm sure it helps that it was the first serviced apartment in the city, so when it first opened it was full of celebrities. The original tenant of my apartment was an animator, I've been told by my landlord. Now it's me and a bunch of old people living in the building.

The landlord has redone the apartment really, really tastefully, mixing the art deco history with a lot of Chinese elements. The place felt like somewhere I wanted to live as soon as I first walked in, so I couldn't say no to it. The furniture and everything is fantastic, and mostly custom made. And the landlord has used the space amazingly well to make everything fit together perfectly, create tons of storage space, and make the most of a space that, while not small, isn't huge.

So now the tour. When you first come in, you've got a nice little entry with plenty of storage for all my shoes (there's a lot) and sweaters and coats (there's a lot of those too).

My African masks hanging in the entry

This is connected to the living room to your right, and the kitchen/dining room to the left.

My living room

Like I said, he's combined the art deco elements through small things like the sconces on the lamps and the lines of the place together with some Chinese elements, such as the opium bed couch and red lanterns hanging on the balcony.

My bedroom

The living room also connects to the bedroom, which can be separated by a wall of sliding wooden panels. You can see them on the sides in the picture above, if you notice the hinges. Again, more Chinese elements in the bedside lamps and the carvings on the base of the bed, mixed with the art deco colors and lines. And so much storage!

Looking back at the entry and into the kitchen/dining room

Going back to the left of the entrance you can get into the kitchen and dining room. It's also possible to pass through the bedroom, then into the bathroom, which opens onto both the bedroom and the dining room. Again, like the bedroom, the open space between the entry and the kitchen/dining room can be separated with sliding panels, this time with glass.

Kitchen, complete with an oven you can't see, which is rare in China

Then I've got a lovely open-plan kitchen, which is actually really nice. I had a dinner party on Saturday night, and it was so nice to be able to be working in the kitchen yet still completely involved in everything that was going on.

My first ever real dining room, complete with my first ever real wallpaper

And then we've got my lovely dining room. Because I have a dining room. That's a new one for me. So yeah, I love the place. It actually makes me want to stay in Shanghai longer. I only signed a one year contract, but I never want to leave the place.

I hope you like the place as much as I do. And I hope it makes you want to come and visit. I don't have an extra bedroom anymore, but I do have the big opium couch which is great for sleeping on. And a big bed that I can share, assuming I like you enough. So come on over!

And for a wonderful new apartment, some wonderful new music. Today it's from Count Counsellor, this new band out of the UK. They just put out their first EP, & The Childhood Heroes, which I think is technically the title, but I believe it's supposed to be read together with the band name, e.g. Count Counsellor & Childhood Heroes. The first track, Cloud Calls, is great, but always confuses me because it makes me think the band name starts with Cloud and then I'm wrong. But the song is great.




Also great is the next track, Disco Dodo. This was the first song I heard by them, and maybe my favorite. Although they only have 4 songs on the EP, and 3 of them are all really really good (the 4th, although actually the 3rd track, is just good, not really really good). So also Disco Dodo for today, because this is a share on facebook day and these days get two songs. Sadly on Soundcloud they only have the Radio Edit, which is about 2 minutes shorter than the EP edit, but on my Spotify playlist you'll get the whole thing.