Where do you start when decorating a house?
At the beginning I guess.
So I have this new project. We bought a house in the mountains of North Carolina. You can find the post about it HERE. I’m going to be fixing it up and taking you along for the ride.
But first things first. I usually am a bit more sloppy in my design process, but this planning needs to be tight. I will be doing much from a long distance.
We will be doing some VRBO rentals on the house, so it needs to be furnished right away.
We need to have a bare minimum of furnishings to rent it, so we need beds, mattresses, a kitchen table, sofa, you get the point. But every nook and cranny does not need to be filled.
I need to get this right because we’ll be paying to transport the furniture to the mountains. If we get there and I have bought a sofa that won’t fit through the door, we are in trouble.
We need sleeping for about 8 to rent it.
STEP 1 Take measurements and photos of every room.
STEP 2
Write a list of furniture needed for each room.
KITCHEN
new island (want antique)
I want to remove the current pennisula because the kitchen is too tight. If I remove the current one and add a new one in front of the kitchen I think it will feel more open.
DINING AREA
kitchen table and chairs
LIVING ROOM
sofa
2 chairs or another second sofa (second might be cheaper than 2 chairs)
coffee table
end table
BEDROOMS
bed (headboard, frame, and mattress)
chair
dresser
nightstand
DOWNSTAIRS LIVING AREA
daybed and coffee table
UPPER DECK
bistro table and chairs
LOWER DECK
seating
hammock
STEP 3 Decide whether I will buy furniture here and transport or buy in NC.
I decided that it would be easier to find things here and transport them than to take a buying trip there and spend time finding stuff there. If I had loads of time, I would just go shopping when we visit and find stuff here and there. But if we are going to rent this puppy this summer, I need to be able to spend a week there getting it all set up. I don’t know where to shop in the Asheville area, so I decided for me it would be easier to buy things in Houston as much as I can then transport them.
The next step is finding the furniture for the house and figuring out how to get it there.
On a completely different note, I have sale going on right now for my online shop. So I’m clearing out some things to make room for new things. Many of these things won’t be restocked so if you want them, grab them now. I have a limited quantity of the items.
Near Asheville area there is a great consignment store in waynesville called scallawags. They have everything from sofas,chairs, light fixtures,etc. look them up online as the have a great website with pictures. I just redid a house in franklin,NC and got several things there. Did I mention they also have rugs? Good luck with redo. Long distance remodeling is for the birds. Sorry to say but it is.
Also in Asheville is a great place called tobacco warehouse. It’s as big as a football field full of AMAZING JUNK.
GOOD LUCK
Hi Anita,
We moved to western NC a couple of years ago. I bought a lot of my new furniture at Tyson’s right there in downtown Black Mountain. Frugal Decor in Asheville is a good consignment source. Good luck!
OH yes Tyson’s!!
I can’t imagine how much it would cost to transport furnishings from Tx to NC, but I bet it’s a lot! Just for the sake of saving $$$$ why not go online and see what’s available in the Asheville area…bet you’d be surprised how buying local would save you mega $$$…probably would pay for that antique island you want! I’m not cheap, but frugal…it’s an ancestorial thing! lol Oh and with your savy experience I know you’d coordinate everything to arrive at your mountain cabin within a day or so of your arrival and then you can begin to work your magic!! Are sleeper sofas in the mix too? This will be so exciting to see how you progress from one day to the next to completion (I know it’s NEVER done!). Welcome to our world of the mountains!
It’s a big thing with lots of moving parts, but I’ve been coordinating getting everything there at the right time. I would prefer to shop in NC, but I will only have a week to get everything set up, which means I need to have everything purchased and ready to go when I arrive. Yes I have the transport cost, but I have to stay another week to buy everything or pay for shipping. It’s an expense either way. And I would have to pay individually for everything to be delivered to the house. Oh well.
Great ideas for sure! I think we are not doing sleeper sofas, but I am doing a daybed downstairs.
I am so excited for you. It sounds like we are saying the same thing. I did a home in Banner Elk, NC just three hours from my main home. It was so much easier to buy everything at the wonderful consignment shops. They have almost new and very nice furniture to de orate a mountain home and all the lamps etc. I would check the Asheville area, waynesville, Cashiers etc.
Have fun, this is exciting.
Debbie
I can’t wait to find fun places to shop there. I’ve never been able to buy anything there since we had to haul it back to Texas. It will be a treasure hunt.
Anita,
Whew!!!
Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!
I’m wishing you the “Best of Luck” with your furnishing selections, dear friend!!!
Being a retired Military Wife, I can tell you from experience, sometimes it’s better to buy where you are than transport across the country.
I’ll be holding you in my thoughts as you make these important decisions!!!
I know whatever you choose will be fabulous!!!
Fondly,
Pat
I came to the same conclusion. I will have 1 week to get everything set up, so I don’t really have time to do shopping that week. I think we found an economical way to transport the furniture also.
Hi Anita,
I know you will have lots of advice but I thought I would tell you how we did it for our house in Highlands anyway. I think you are right about shopping locally, you know where to find everything, you can shop sales, have coupons, etc.. Also garage sales are great places to buy tools, kitchen stuff and things for the garden. I purchased all of our upholstered pieces at a half price sale of Lee Industries furniture. They were great to deal with and we loved that the furniture was locally made in N.C.
They recommended a trucking company that picked the furniture up, stored it until we were ready for it and then delivered it to us. I mentioned before that we were able to get tables, chairs, chests, etc. at Scott’s.
The rest (lots of stuff) I purchased in Houston. When the time came to take it to NC. we rented a 16′ Penske truck and hauled it up there ourselves. Actually it was kind of a fun adventure. We turned the truck in up there, rented a car and flew home. In the meantime don’t forget to have fun , Lynn
Great advice!!
We originally thought we would rent a truck, but I really don’t like driving those things. Sounds like you had a blast.
Anita you may want to reconsider shopping in NC. Not only is it tradionally the furniture Capitol of the country there are MANY who purchase then furnish second homes there and then for one reason or another they give up that home. So the resale shops are loaded with often high end, quality, American made furniture. Time restraints are obvious but an additional “shopping trip” could be worthwhile in the saving you’d gain…and just think how fun.
I am having a hard enough time doing our remodel, let alone in another state! Good luck! Can’t wait to see what you come up with for this house!
Thanks Maggie, I can’t wait to see what I come up with also!
You will absolutely LOVE summers in the mountains of Western NC. My husband and I live in Florida in the winter and spend spring, summer and much of fall in Waynesville. We have a fabulous consignment store in Waynesville called Scallywags. They have great furniture and accessories and are reasonably priced. There are lots of places in Asheville also. We bought things in Florida as we were having our WNC home built, and I can tell you from experience, it will be much easier and less costly to furnish the home in NC. Please feel free to email me if you have questions about the area… Welcome to NC.
Thank you Donnie!!!!
Anita, An extrovert can “become” an introvert. In midlife, supposedly we start to seek balance and integration, so we experience more of the other side. Have you ever taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? That would reveal how strong your preference is. Just FYI.
I did years ago and I didn’t think you could change, but my personality has definitely shifted over the years.
Oooh how exciting. Buy where you are and have it in storage( garage) then get a furniture removal company to move it for you. Don’t do it yourself. Your health and back is more valuable than whatever the cost is.
Can you take that wall out in the kitchen that the current ‘island’ is on? That would make a whole world of difference. Maybe a nice big beam across if it’s load bearing. Xx
Excellent point, and no worries, we’re too old to do that ourselves! Definitely worth the money to hire someone.
We also have a home in N.C. I did ALL my shopping in N. C. and was very happy with everything. I was armed with a notebook of measurements, color samples and I photographed everything. I bought the beds the first day so I could stay in the house. Being in the house while decorating was great . I was finished with EVERYTHING on day 4. I have no regrets. It worked much better for me to shop there.
Linda, I am SO impressed, wow you are fast!
Keep us posted when you go live on VRBO. The mountains sound like a nice short trip for us from Atlanta.
I will, and thanks Kathy!!!
Couple words of advice to a fellow decorato.. I also rented my vacation home at the beach and am very keen on looks and design. Don’t out anything in the house you are not willing to lose, replace or have broken. Jeep style in mind and cost a priority. Imagine replacing a sofa every year? It’s happened. Slip covers are great! Muse a natural denim. I did and the house keeper could just throw them all in an industrial washer when needed…. Also, sleeper sofas are GREAT for rentals and they too can be slip covered! This also allows for u to “wash off” the renters when your family uses the hiuse! ? Good luck and happy renting!!
I figured! I won’t be bringing anything too dear to me.
Sorry for the typos… Apple changes spellings faster than my eyes catch! Btw, I live in NC and roam the entire state in a regular basis! Feel free to ask anything that might help u. Been there!?
If you are still looking for a sofa, I have a very nice Classic Leather sectional in Manchester brown with antique brass nailhead trim that I need to sell. We had a second home in the Shenandoah Valley, and have consolidated to one home since retirement. The sectional is 8′ X 8′ and has two matching ottomans. It could function as an additional sleeping area. Also, leather is much easier to keep clean than fabric. Let me know if you are interested and I can send you pictures.
Thanks Ann! I’ll let you know if we need one.
After a Thanksgiving trip to the Oregon coast, I will share a few thoughts which arise after our experience. There were 4 of us women, 3 from the Portland area and myself from Boise, planning on scrapbooking, shopping, walking the beach, eating. The house was big enough for about 6, so plenty of beds. We supplied our own food. The living area on the main level was nice, adequate seating, a TV/VCR, though with old DVDs. TV didn’t attract us so I don’t even know what the access was like. We had a perfect view of the ocean with easy deck and beach access, and weather couldn’t have been better! The problem occurred on Sunday a.m. around 6. The house had a basement level with a large bedroom where 2 slept. One got up early to go to the bathroom, which resulted in a sewer problem…obviously due to poor maintenance, and evidence of this appeared, too. This changed our plans. We spent a few hours waiting for a plummer as well as packing up sooner than we were planning to leave later that day anyway. Fortunately, we did receive a refund for the next night we wouldn’t be staying. PLEASE check the status of your place regularly and have regular maintenance on plumbing, and a reliable manager. It is a pretty easy thing to disregard, I’m afraid. This place was handled by a management service, as is pretty typical. Good luck with your venture! Sounds wonderful!!
J.G., well we’ll be going out there as often as we can. This company we will use is top notch. Of course, things do go wrong even when you live in a house. It’s fairly new and we had it inspected so I do believe it is in great shape. I am sorry for the difficult you had. This company handles some very expensive homes. I am sure they are going to do everything they can to keep it nice.
Asesome…the Asheville area is so lovely. My family lives an hour from there up in the mountains. I am sure you will have no problem renting.
Thanks Pam! That is what we are hearing.