Decorating secrets

Now that we'll be moving in to the new house, we're trying to slowly divest ourselves of our um, "eclectic" furniture. Granted, we have a cute apartment.


View from the front door.



From the kitchen, looking into the living room. I'm going to miss the built-ins for this place. And yes, the blinds and curtain in the left window are all wonky because Jack likes to try to attack them.




The kitchen, with the six boxes of china/crystal I managed to pack. Notice the eleventy billion bottles of wine, and alcohol stored on the countertops that I can no longer partake of. Oh. and the giant duster? Best $1.99 I've ever spent at IKEA because it conveniently doubles as a cat toy. Jack & Ennis HATE that thing with the power of a thousand blazing suns.

But it's just very, "apartment-ish" and our furnishings are going to look really out of place in the new house. When I left my old house, I left almost all of the furnishings behind. They were my ex-MIL's cast-offs, and while I was very appreciative of having the furniture, it just wasn't my style. And I felt weird about taking it after the divorce. So, aside from my bedroom furniture, I left it all there.


So, we're currently looking for almost all new furniture for the house. We have a little table that will work for the breakfast room, and his IKEA bedroom set will work in the guest room until we're able to buy something nicer. We've bought some vintage mid-century Thomasville furniture for the baby's room (three small dressers and a twin headboard for $300 via Craigslist). Now I just need to find a somewhat matching crib. We found a couch and chaise that I loved at Macy's this past weekend. But after spending about 30 minutes ordering it last night - the damn thing's on back order until LATE January. Screw that. I'm not waiting that long - and not paying for something that expensive (and lo, it was expensive) that I won't get for months.

So - anywho. I'm scouring Craigslist for a dining room set that is modern and clean enough for his tastes, and traditional enough - and has enough china/crystal storage for me. We're looking for random furniture, and will be largely replacing many decorative items as well.


That's where you come in.


Give me the scoop. Tell me your favorite decorating secrets, what catalogs/stores, etc. you find your best items in. We've got a somewhat flexible budget - mostly I'm just a tight ass and don't want to be spending money we don't have to for things.