How many of you have taken your darker wood "Northern Furniture" down to TV and not been happy with it after you had the expense of getting it down there ? Did you make it work or start over? We are coming down in Aug to furnish our Gardenia in Buttonwood. My orginial thoughts were Pottery Barn with a touch of Asian BUT now I've gotten sentimental and have the movers taking quite a few of my New England things. So, I don't know what the heck I'm going to end up with !!!!!!!!!!!! My best thought out plans just got thrown out with the stale wine.

That office sounds wonderful!

Sometimes you just gotta go with what makes you FEEL good to surround yourself with. People mix styles by trial and error, so if you have something you're especially fond of, give it a try and bring it along!
Eclectic mixtures can be so interesting.... just think of people who artfully collect antiques!

Decorating
 

Both of us have the same taste but every home we have bought or built has been soooo different that we have sold every house we have owned FURNISHED.....Living in NC, the furniture capital of the world, made this easier. Our home in TV is spanish as so many of the homes north of 466, so we went with that theme...

A friend took a decorating class at Lifelong Learning College and the decorator said that dark wood is accurately the "old Florida" style and fits very well with the white wood work. The earlier homes were furnished by well heeled people who brought their dark wood furniture with them. She said to make it blend by adding some touches of tropical and beach. I would like to take that class.

Well I should have listened to my innerself and sold my furniture up north. Now that I am here I would like to sell and start new. I realize it sounds crazy but I just want a different look. We have a Gardenia and are in Buttonwood. Love the model. I don't want to rush things but would love to get some ideas.

Gracie, I love the idea about taking the decorating class. Once I get going on decorating and can visualize the room I'm ok.

You can also join the Home Decorating Club which meets at Bridgeport Rec Center on the 4th Thursday of the month. They have speakers and various activities..often local professional designers speak and some are members of the club. You can get inspiration and help there.

Decorating advice
 

If you go to the furniture stores - not resale shops - you can get an idea of what is popular now. Dark wood is in, as is lighter tones. A neutral scheme with pops of color that you can change when you feel like it seem to be the trend. Also, hit the open houses at TV. They've already paid decorators to do the job. Great ideas come from there. When you're ready to go for it, then hit the resale shops. And really, is there a hurry? That's also part of the fun of a new place. When moving here and trying to decide if you should bring what you have, I say bring along any piece that makes you happy. It still will when you're at TV!

Thank you Cricket 1!

As I am up to my nostrils packing my wedding china to give to my ex son in law, I needed a little shoring up. I grew tired of the pattern about 25 years ago, but I am getting real possessive of other things and we are downsizing a LOT in this new house.

I know the guys at GoodWill really well now, been visiting them every day for at least three weeks..........

Big girl move getting rid of your china. I packed my Grandmother's china that I haven't used in 40 years and I am hauling it to TV with us. I don't think I will get another 40 out of it so I guess my kids will dispose of it and not look back.
What are you're thoughts on silk flowers? I've always liked them but I notice my friends stay clear of them. I know we "gotta do what we gotta do" with our own style BUT are there some things that are really out dated and no one has the heart to tell us?

I packed some silk flowers but they probably will be crushed and I will have to throw them out anyway. Silk flowers are supposedly an awful no no to the real decorators.

I brought two other newer sets of good china and two everyday...

Thanks for the advise on the silk flowers. So, if someone knocks on my door I will have to ask " Are you a real decorator?" before I let them in or at least be really quick to find a place to hide them.
I will be glad to get to TV and start the process of putting things together. My husband says that some woman actually have fantasies when they go to bed at night. I agree that for the last 3 years I have had fantasies of furniture placement, color swatches and I could go on and on.

Many of the decorating sites on line - such as One Kings Lane - feature quality silk flowers. There are some there in one of the boutiques open today.

We have quite a few - but I am picky about what I buy. If the color didn't exist in nature - then I don't own it!

k

When we bought our house, it was empty and beige. Knowing we would be renting it for awhile, we went to Showcase Direct with the idea of getting furniture that would be the opposite of what we thought we'd like so that we wouldn't be upset if "something" happened to it along the way. Worked with a wonderful woman, Heather, and went for a package deal to fill our floor plan. We added a piece here and there, changed this and that, but still managed to get a nice comfy look. We went with darker furniture, which actually looks great against all the beige. We have another great woman from our realty co. who filled in the empty walls, kitchen cabinets, got all the necessities and yes, added lots of silk flowers and guess what? We LOVE it!
Just makes us want to move down sooner than later.