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We are buying a home in Punta Leona near Jaco. Unfortunately we won’t have enough time to decorate and furnish it ourselves and also we are unfamiliar as to where to go to purchase everything. Does anyone know of any reputable interior decorators in the area? We found one but the packages seemed pricey at furnishing a 3 bedroom for $50k. Is this what it truly cost down there? Or am I being taken for a ride?
Thanks for any help.Hi,
That seems extremely pricey; of course it depends on the kind of furnishings you want. I just did a 4+ bedroom house with nice furnishings and a pool table for about $20,000. You could probably do it cheaper if you really shopped around or had furniture made. Contact me personally and I can give you more information on where to look.
Hmmmm! Cindyc – Please tell me this is not a “commercial posting”! Or are you referring to what you did for your own house only?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. We have hired an interior designer to do her ‘thing’ with a new home in Santa Ana and we’ll be doing lots of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs so if she does a great job, we’ll feature her in an article.
$50K is high, but maybe you also have expensive tastes? If you can make a trip to San Jose area, then there are many good stores such as:
La Artistica
Aliss
Cemaco
Monnry
Searson
Espacios (Santa Ana)We furnished our house from these places. Most places will deliver. They aren’t necessarily the “cheap” route but should be far less than the $50K you mention and these stores have articles that generally appeal to North American tastes.
If you have more time and patience, then you can do the ‘custom’ design route with various group in Sarchi. In my experience that can sometimes be more trouble than its worth.
At one point, we did consult with an interior designer and I thought her prices were definitely the ‘gringo gouge’.
As for appliances, I dealt with an Israeli guy named David. He was very good and honest, and had the best deals on new appliances with guarantees. He sometimes puts an ad in Tico Times.
No Scott, not a commercial posting. I’m not in the decorating business! Just wanted a little more personal info on what she was looking for. I’ve done a lot of looking to furnish my own house. I’ll share some of what I told her. Some web sites to start:
http://www.atocha.net
http://www.grupoakiro.com
http://www.laartistica.net
http://www.octubre54.com
http://www.acuarium.com (outdoor furnishings)
http://www.pacifichomefurnishing.comThere are also some others in the Escazu area that don’t have web sites. Tamarindo Pacifico (Very nice but very expensive), Penichet, and Urgelles. It really depends on the style and price range you are looking for. Akiro has nice furniture for a pretty reasonable price; things kind of go up from there. I started with an interior designer and have a word of warning; not only will they charge you for their time, but will also take you to places that they get “kickbacks” from. So, they won’t take you necessarily to places of good value or to your particular taste. If you find a good one, then by all means let us all know!
Cindy
Edited on Apr 30, 2007 05:12
Thank you Cindyc. I really appreciate this information, as I am in the market for furniture for a condo we have bought in CR and so far have not found anything to suit my tastes. This helps my search.
Many thanks to Cindyc and Jneiman. Your information was quite helpful.
I am sure there are many people like myself and happygirl that are having problems furnishing new homes and such.It is difficult to do being in a new country where everything is new and as we have experienced where some people try to take advantage of you. Any information from anyone else’s experiences are quite helpful.Also is there any stores in C.R. like a U.S. Target or a Wal-Mart where you could get all your housewares in one whack?
Carolync4@aol.comA couple more things. Always ask for a discount, I received 20-30% off just for asking and buying more than a few pieces in one place. They are more willing to do this if you do a wire transfer or direct transfer to their account and don’t use a credit card. Also, if you buy from more than one place try to consolidate the shipping if you are out of the San Jose area; it adds up quick!
Cindy
FYI:
I furnished my home in Playa Bejuco after the builder put a furniture and appliance basic package in the house. He gave me what is “adequate” stuff. All wood and very servicable. 1 queen bed & two night stands, 2 twin beds & a night stand, and a entertainment center for TV.
I had a sleeper sofa built and upholstered in Alajuela for $600.
I used Lynn Gessemer in Jaco, Chungo designs, to make me lined drapes and put in wood blinds too. She provided great stuff that makes the house look wonderful. I bought a washer dryer at Importadora Mongo in Jaco and got a regular style frigidaire set for $600, paid with my master card. I also got a color TV, the cheapest they had at $135.
I bought a pub table and two swivel stools at Costa furniture that is very very nice but I paid $880 (tourist price).
I bought all my kitchen/dining furnishings at Cemacho in Alejuela just a short ride from the airport. I also got a floor lamp and throw pillows there.
I brought stuff from home in a large suitcase as checked luggage and declared nothing.I’ll recommend some other stores that may be useful for smaller home furnishings.
PriceSmart (Costco) – i think there are 3 locations
HiperMas (now majority owned by WalMart)
WalMart (new store coming soon in Escazu – across from EPA Home Center)Regarding bargaining… do it. Cash is king. Many merchants pay up to 7% for credit card processing fees, and cash also allows you to avoid other taxes. So 15% and up discounts are not unheard of and most places will automatically give you 10% for cash purchases-you just need to ask. You can only do this in stores that are not chains for the most part.
There’s a bit of a credit card ‘war’ going on at the moment here with credit cards companies advertising that if you use their cards in certain stores you’ll get 35-50% discount.
Please don’t ask me about the economics of this, I have NO IDEA how this could be good for the merchant but my point is that cash is certainly considered superior by most businesses.
The negative of paying in cash is that if there are any serious problems with whatever you have bought, you have no leverage with cash but certainly do if you had paid with a credit card.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWe recently had a good offer from a french interior designer based in Santa Ana close to the Valle del Sol golf resort. Her show room is really the best we have never seen in Costa Rica and is called “Maison Francaise” with of course a touch of french design.
Her name is Cathy and she has apparently worked before for Tamarindo Pacifico, but her prices are more affordable.
You can contact her at +(506) 282 2047There are only two large interior design firms in Costa Rica that I am aware of: FUSION and INTERDISENO. Most architects in Costa Rica will provide interior design services after you work with them so there are few specialized firms in the field. FUSION is the firm that decorated the Marriott Los Suenos, the Marriott in San Antonio de Belen, the Four Seasons Hotel in Papagayo and they are now working on the Regent Papagayo and the St. Regis. FUSION is owned by famous architect Ronald Zurcher so expect very high fees for their services. INTERDISENO is a newer firm located in Escazu and owned by Rodrigo Trejos Montealegre, another great local architect. INTERDISENO is more into luxury homes, condos and offices. Personally, I am currently working with INTERDISENO in the renovation of a Hotel and the construction of 14 new condos in a Resort in Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste and so far the results have been fantastic and they have worked with my budget.
There are lots of independent interior designers in Costa Rica but very few good ones so watch out. I hired a small firm from Guanacaste called DECOARQ owned by Rita Gaggion to decorate my condo in Playa Hermosa and the results were fantastic. I highly recommend her if you need an independent designer/architect. She is a very good interior designer and will be less pricey than the large firms.
Scott, this is not an advertisement 🙂
Dear alachner:
There are a lot more interior design firms in Costa Rica and also bigger than Fusion or Interdiseño.
For example Mandalay, Habitat, or Tamarindo Pacific they are being working everywhere for more than 6 years. They are very expensive but also very recognize. At this moment you can go to big stores like Lifestyle, Altea, Bo Concept, La Artistica and they have there own interior design department. Even have links in their website to the projects they are working with.
Also Costa Rica is being experience a big boom in interior design in the last 10 years a there is a lot of good and certificated people around. By the way the design office for Marriott Los Sueños is run by Mandalay and also they are just delivering and installing the furniture for St Regis because the interior design comes directly from the main office. Fusion is not involved in those projects.
The problem is when somebody that open a store and call them selves interior designers, that is becoming a problem for the real companies. An there is a lot of people offering furniture Sarchi style that is true sometimes it looks good and is cheap but let me know how much it last, and the same thing happened with fabrics and drapery. People are looking you good quality and durability when they a condo here, because they are not just thinking about coming for vacations, but also as an investment that can be inside a rental program. For all that you need to know what you are buying and also be sure what is the best for your needs.
I recommend Carolyn to look for a firm and ask these questions:
Do you have a certificated interior designer in this company?
Where he or she graduate?
Where he or she works before?
Do you have a portfolio of other projects that I can see?
What kind of furniture you have available?
Which brands?
Where they built that furniture?
What type of wood do you use?
What kind of fabrics they use?
What is the difference between the furniture that I have to buy for a beach condo instead a city condo?
And the most important question… Do you have a WARRANTY on your furniture and fabrics?A lot of companies and people offer “interior design services” but there are only a few that really know what they are doing.
Regards
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