19 Comments
Mar 27, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield

I would be too overwhelmed if I had to furnish a place all at once, so I really like the idea of going slow and figuring things out as you go.

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We definitely don't need any more "overwhelmed." Plus, we have a tendency to fire before aiming anyway. This new approach goes against our nature but is likely to yield a better result in the long run.

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Mar 27, 2023Liked by Amy Redfield

Good luck! At Wesleyan I once moved a full-sized mattress from one house to another by balancing it on a shopping cart and pushing it along the street.

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You have always been, and always will be, my hero.

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Mar 27, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield

Did you buy a box spring with the mattress? If you can find and buy a Harvard frame (metal, cheap, holds both mattress and box spring), you won't have to buy an expensive bed. What will you sit on while you are looking for easy chairs or a sofa? You'll figure it all out, I know, you're the most resourceful people I know , but it exhausts me just reading about it. I've been through it all myself, and never want to move or furnish anything ever again. I kinda liked the Ikea white table ( not the chairs so much).

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We have not yet bought anything but the mattress. We're considering frames that allow for storage underneath. We need to take some measurements - if we can fit items like our Christmas tree, dehumidifier, and off-season clothing in there, it might be worth the cost. I'm not sure how box springs work in relation to frames. Deciding on one may lock us in to the other.

We've each picked out a chair we like from IKEA - one's the same one we had in our den in St. Louis that I used a lot - and we might go ahead and buy those soon and have them delivered around when the mattress is due to come.

The sofa is one of our biggest questions. How big it should be, where to put it, whether we'll be wanting to move it when we have company ... we'll need to live in the space for a bit before we can figure all that out.

I kinda like the table, too, but there are others that are probably a better fit for our apartment from both a color and size perspective.

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Mar 27, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield

We're with you on IKEA. Especially with our kids when they were little because they got things dinged and "decorated" (markers, stickers, what have you) so we were not going to invest in anything white, fancy, breakable, etc. The beauty of your furnishing problem is you have time to make thoughtful and functional choices. That's the fun part!

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Mar 27, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield

It's a good thing IKEA is not closer to me. I w

Old be in trouble. I have a dresser and nightstand and a bookshelf. And yes, loved putting them together! Have fun! 😁

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Mar 28, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield

We are in the same boat. We rented an unfurnished place with the hope of living there for at least 3 years, furnishing it as we go.

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We're selling some IKEA wardrobe units and a bench if you're interested :-D. The one thing we have at the new place is storage, which is all we needed here. Happy furnishing!

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Thanks! I would further consider your offer, but we don’t have a firm arrival date. Hopefully soon.

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We will be in that boat in .... EXACTLY 2 weeks. Wishing you excellent finds.

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Thanks for the mention...is anyone is interested, the final look can be viewed here https://expatinportugal.substack.com/p/furnishing-a-home-in-portugal

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Apr 1, 2023Liked by Scott H-K

Going slow is a great idea--Ihave to say, we're glad we included our dining table and chairs in our shipment to CPH, because neither of us love the "minimalist" Swedish aesthetic that all IKEA dining room tables follow. That table design is in Every. Single. Apartment. As are the incredible hard and uncomfortable plastic chairs.

As for moving stuff--well, we bought a couch at Costco once, and it was light enough we were able to heft it on top of our Saturn sedan and get it home :)

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Must have been quite a sight to see you driving down the road with a couch on your Saturn sedan :-D.

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Apr 5, 2023Liked by Scott H-K

Glad it is you and not me! I sure would not do all at once especially with the " High Heels"" Amy!!

God Bless You! Enjoy and it is a good way to get to know your new Area!1 Aunt Peggy

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Thank you, Aunt Peggy! It's always wonderful to hear from you!

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Feb 12Liked by Scott H-K

We are fully furnishing the 4/3 home we bought in Portugal and also gave ourselves a $15K budget. I'm frugal af so I feel like I can make it work. :) Facebook marketplace is my jam.

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Boa sorte!

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