[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by SantaClaus

Just my 2¢, I don't think northern comfort cues work well with the Fl lifestyle. Eastlake walnut dressers, Hooker entertainment centers, mahogany dining rooms, dark stained moldings are things that make a house feel warm and cozy when it's cold and dark outside. At TV (and FL in general) light and airy feel comfortable, and contemporary styling seems to convey that best. As was advised to me recently, it is probably best to sell everything that isn't precious to you and arrive with a small moving truck and a big wallet, rather than the other way around, and make TV a fresh start.

Dear Santa: Respectfully, I feel the need to disagree with you.

I moved to southeast Florida in 1983.
We happened to have brought most of our furniture with us.
I got my real estate license in 1984 and and got my certification in
home staging to better serve my customers.
Between then and now, I have been in and out of well over 100s of houses.

Over the years what I have found is that when people move here,
they think they want the light, white, airy, etc. furniture and chatchkas with that look
(shells, pelicans -- you know what I mean), in addition to palm trees, of course!

After one of two summers they still like the palm trees,
even though they don't know how to care for them,
but they want shade from trees!
That bare white look gets boring and wood and interesting fabrics have taken their place.
Over the years I'm sure you have seen the change from mica furniture (OMG!)
to warm woody tones, overstuffed, comfortable sofas and chairs, and even fireplaces.
It works up north and works very well here in Florida.

Mixing period furniture with traditional or contemporary pieces for an eclectic look,
or going with a "set" of something is personal choice, and can and does look right in Florida.
Truthfully, it's the older and 'newly moved to Florida' folks,
that think they want that plain, monocromatic, pale look.

I would never advise anyone to "sell everything."
I would say that new residents should bring what they like
and perhaps mix with some new things for a warm, different
and inviting look that no one else has and is all your own.