Decor Furnishing Advice Needed!
 

Hello everyone,

We are coming for our second LSV next month and we are very excited. We are also just starting the process of downsizing (nightmare!) and determining what we are bringing, etc.

I have been a collector for over thirty five years. I have lovely dark wood mahogany and walnut furniture (very traditional), oriental screen, oriental rugs, etc. I absolutely love them and love the look but....

I'm worried that I will miss my furniture! :ohdear: Is that crazy? So I'm wondering if I can incorporate some of the darker furniture with the florida lifestyle or if I should just sell it all. I know that it will cost to move it and I can't help thinking that a more or less clean start would be great and I do love some of the lighter colored decor. Mostly I'm talking about living and dining room areas.

I would love to hear 1) has anyone else felt this way and if so, any advice? and 2) where can I find photos or ideas to inspire me to decorate my retirement home. (I'm East Coast).

Thanks everyone!

No, it’s not crazy. I too had an attachment to my dark wood/country furniture. Our furniture was like brand new and I knew if we tried to sell it in PA, we would not get much out of it. I just couldn’t see coming down here and buying all new furniture when we already had beautiful furniture. So, we rented a UHaul truck and brought it with us. Try decorating a Florida house with Country furniture! It wasn’t easy, especially with dark wood flooring, but I tastefully pulled it off. Our cherry Pennsylvania House dining room suite consisted of a table w/8 chairs, 2 china cabinets, server and side table. We brought the table, 8 chairs, server and side table. The china cupboards are still in PA, I didn’t want them here and we have no room for them anyway. Our living room couch and side chairs from up north were never used as they were in the “parlor”, as my Mother called it. They are country but they look great here. Using accessories you can “pop” a bright color with the dark wood and have it look very nice.
If we are in town while you are here in TV I would gladly show you what we have done here at our home. Send me a private message if you are interested.
Good luck with your decision making. Enjoy your Lifestyles visit!

If you really like your furniture and it's new, you can bring with you and see how it looks in your home.

Most people would sell or give it to needy people, as they prefer to start living the Florida based lifestyle.

My son advise me to get rid of my furniture as it wasn't worth the cost to ship it down here. I gave it to needy people. It worked for me as I bought a furnished home. I just needed clothes and toothbrush. It's all about what makes you comfortable. :smiley:

I have beautiful mahogany dining room furniture and several cherry bedroom sets etc. The furniture is classic for the East Coast and costly. But during our LSV the houses we visited had furniture that was totally different.

I always imagined passing the furniture we have down to our kids but one is in LA and the other does not have room.

At the same time what we have is just not right for Florida. And who wants to move and spend thousands of dollars to do so. I can't afford to just give it away and buy new. I will have to use it or sell it - when we
move to the area.

We brought our traditional dark furniture with us and it loves living here and we enjoy living with it.

A few new pictures of Florida birds and some light sea colors in drapes and accessories made it fit in nicely.

"Old Florida" is dark woods. It can be quite lovely.

I think you should bring it.

I am not skilled but if you need a friend to bounce things off of, I have a lot of decorating magazines and hours of watching HGTV.

I am not pushy and I am free.

We also brought our cherry mahogany furniture and it fits and looks just fine. We just moved here in March. We receive many compliments on our decor

We brought furniture from NC
 

Bring what gives you a "warm fuzzy"....YOU have to be happy!

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We sold every home that we owned - FURNISHED!...Every home was different style, made the new owners happy and I got to go shopping again, Yea!

We had a Victorian home for years in NH, then built a log and timber home on a lake. I tried to bring many of my favorite items with me - ending up getting rid of them quickly. When we bought out winter home here in TV, we decided to start fresh. Smart decision. Now that we will be here full-time as of 2014, I'm so glad we didn't bring a thing. It's been fun to create a new lifestyle and home here in Florida. Like turning a page in a great book - new chapter... And the money we would have spent bringing it down, was spent on great new and consignment pieces that we now love.
I did bring down - favorite Christmas and holiday items - several items from my kitchen - and a few boxes of smalls and family heirlooms that have significant meaning to me. But they all had to fit in our car or ship by US Mail easily.
Enjoy yourself and listen to your heart. What makes you happy is truly all that is important.

Bring it with you . Live with it for awhile, then you will know if you want to keep everything you brought or change it up .

We sold our "Maine" furniture before we moved; turned out to be a good decision. But, as they say, you don't have to be "matchy matchy" with decorating today and can incorporate some dark wood with light wood. Have fun!

Gracie's done a great job and to emphasize what she said, "Old Florida" is dark woods. So is Caribbean, if you gone into some of the fine old houses on the islands. The more important thing is to consider the scale of the room. The rooms in TV, at least in all but premier homes, seem to call for smaller scale furniture that doesn't overpower the space.

Live with what you love
 

We had darker, heavy furniture when we live up north. Knowing that in a few years we would be moving to Florida, we kept our furniture purchases to a minimum when downsizing from a house to a town home. We decided that if we were going to move to a warm climate we would sell the heavy furniture and start over when we got here. It was the right decision for us. I would not have been happy with our northern furniture. However, it costs a lot to refurnish a home so,if your furniture is newer and you love it I wouldn't part with it. Move it down here and see how it works. You can really make anything work here. I've seen some very nice homes with darker woods. If you can't afford to replace it then make it work!!

I thank you all for posting pics and may take you up on offers to assist. The pics tell me that I probably could make it work, especially if I lighten in other ways. I know that the CYV that we stayed in for our first LSV had dark (that caribbean look) furniture and it looked nice - I think the fabrics paired with it make a difference. But then again I see some of the light and airy more Florida style decor and it seems so light and minimalistic.

Well my furniture is not "new" but is either great quality traditional purchased 20 - 30 years ago (can't find that quality now) or is antique. I certainly can't afford to just donate the expensive/nicer items but probably will some of my things I consider more as used furniture. I will take anything I make on the sale of furniture as my "mad money" for new furnishings.

I'm going to try to post some pics to give you an idea - it is more traditional, asian, etc. than dark caribbean but if I change the accessories, maybe I can pull it off. I'm terrible - instead of redecorating every few years, the only things I replace are upholstered pieces - I tend to love my furniture!

Also, the glass dining table and needlepoint chairs - I'm just over them so they will not be coming!

And please please please, disregard the clutter - we are in process of trying to downsize and there is "stuff" everywhere - on the floors, on tabletops, etc.

If one pic works, I will post a few more.

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Here are a few more of the pieces I would like to bring... but I'm just not sure... the scale is small on some of these and one of the things I liked about the CYV that we stayed in was that the scale of furniture was bigger, which you would think would dwarf the space but it didn't.


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Sorry that the pics are so LARGE and dark. It is really overcast here today and I have no clue how to make thumbnails that you can click to make bigger - but I will figure it out.

I just am afraid that my lovely old oils and prints and "pretties" as I call them might just be too heavy.... I can see both sides and I just don't know what to do. I hate to pack and bring them and then get there and be sorry. I think alot of people do that. And keeping just a "couple" of pieces, makes no sense if I'm planning on changing direction.

I have two grown boys - neither of which has any interest in my beautiful things! It is sad, but not unusual I think.

If you think you can't live without it and it brings you pleasure then by all means bring it. You can always sell it if it doesn't work out. I found over 35 years in living in Florida I tired of the light Florida look and now have some lovely antiques among my pieces.

I love the few pieces you want to bring. I like the idea of the desk and the curio cabinet since they have the same molding details used in the guest bedroom instead of standard bedroom furniture setup. I would lighten up the curio inside by having towels etc. you know things a guest may want or need. I feel you can bring a few of your "pretties" too.
Ok thats my 2 cents, I am back to packing here in Fort Lauderdale. have a wonderful day.

Thanks, and I didn't think about keep a few of the pieces for "alternative" locations like guest room or office. That is a good idea.

I have a guest room here with a gorgeous Victorian Eastlake bedroom set - it has the huge tall headboard, footboard, two marble top dressers - I love it but I think I will try to sell it to a Bed and Breakfast - it is just too heavy for the villages, I fear.

Thanks everyone, I've enjoyed seeing how you decorated your homes in the villages and the pics have inspired me! I can't wait to get there - hopefully within six months!

You have some beautiful pieces. I am sure they can be worked into the decor

I so agree. You have beautiful taste and you certainly don't need help. Whatever you do will be beautiful and welcoming.

Welcome home.

Thank you for the kind words but I have to admit that I've had a designer (whose work I loved) that has assisted me over the past almost thirty years. Sadly, I am now on my own as far as decorating and since I want a different "look" than I've had for thirty plus years, I'm looking for inspiration. Also, being retired will mean relying on friends, magazines and websites for advice as opposed to hiring someone. So I appreciate all of you!

I really want to have alot less "stuff" and just enjoy entertaining casually. I have stopped entertaining in past years just because I've been too tired after working, etc. We barely know some of our neighbors here and we have lived her for over ten years! I am so looking forward to the Villages and new friends and having them pop over for a coffee or a glass of wine!

Gracie,

I absolutely LOVE your dining room, especially the color of the walls. And your home is absolutely lovely. I absolutely would love your advice. I'm leaning towards keeping some of my pieces I think, especially the ones I love. I think putting a lighter color on the walls will keep it from being too dark.

No matter what my flooring is that I buy, I anticipate putting in laminate wood flooring in the main living areas. I would love a tour of your home when we finally arrive. You are a very sweet lady and certainly make many on the boards feel so welcome. You have a good heart!

This is my first attempt at posting pix. Hopefully this will show you how I used our dark/country furniture here in our Villages home.

I don't know why people think dark furniture doesn't fit Florida.
It would be different if you're moving to a beach condo.

I think the age and condition of your furniture and whether it fits the size of your new house matters more.

We bought all new furnishings when we built our Tampa house because what we brought from the north were not the right scale (moved to a much bigger house).

If you love your furniture, it's in good shape and works for the house bring it!

I told my husband "the more we bring from our current house" the more the new house will feel like HOME.

p.s. At this age who wants to buy a lot of new furniture?

Looks beautiful!

Your furniture is gorgeous - I would bring it!

Wow! These rooms are lovely!

Gracie, your dining room is beautiful. Now do you eat off that daily or do you have another area to eat at?

During our LSV we stayed at a really small cottage, but one thing I liked about it was how relaxed it was and how casual the furniture was. Regardless all these pics are giving me new idea.

I love these photos. Cassie keep us up to speed on what you are doing. It is so much fun to see a house become a home.

We have lived in 9 different homes. Each one had a different flavor--from traditional to country to modern. Every time we move, we discard something and buy something. Our current TV home started out being a second home, and then it became our permanent home. I now think that we have 9 different decorating styles in here!

We are going to replace the living room furniture. My husband just doesn't know it yet. :evil6:

Bring the things you love. See what you can make work. You can always change things out. We did that with our beachy dining room furniture from Lake Michigan. It just didn't work in this Mediterranean-style house. But I loved it and would have always wondered.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and photos. It is great to see how you have all made your houses into homes. Ginger snap, lovely photos! Im leaning towards bringing my favorites and if they dont work, I will replace them.

As much as I love my home and furniture, Im excited for this next move to be hopefully one of the last. It is just not easy to do all of this as I get older.

We came from New Hampshire with oak, dark cherry, and maple furniture. We had a dark hickory wood floor installed in the bedrooms as well as in the living and dining rooms and the walls are painted white. The decor is striking. The contrast between the walls, floor, and furniture really pops. Our kitchen cabinets are dark maple and our bar stools are made from a dark black wood as well. Our tile floor is light grey. Typical homes in Florida tend to stay in midtones and beiges. We felt we could have our own style. We are comfortable with that. Our master bedroom has dark, hickory floors, white walls, and colonial maple furniture that looks like old Key West during the 1920's. We also have installed white plantation shutters on all the windows throughout the house so they give a nice traditional, tropical feel to the house. We have our lanai outfitted with a Henry Link Smithsonian collection of wicker furniture with antique lamps from the 1920's. We love it. If you like your furniture bring it with you, there are enough beige sofas in the Villages already!

[QUOTE=CassieInVa;782176]Thanks everyone for the feedback and photos. It is great to see how you have all made your houses into homes. Ginger snap, lovely photos! Im leaning towards bringing my favorites and if they dont work, I will replace them.

As much as I love my home and furniture, Im excited for this next move to be hopefully one of the last. It is just not easy to do all of this as I get older.

I think you have a good sense of what works for you. I find, that the older I get, the heavier things get. :smiley:

I agree with everything Gracie said .