Window Shopping

So, not in the literal sense, nor in the usual sense. Lisle spent Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday at an interiors store, with the property managers scoping out other houses for interior look and feel and meeting with people who 'fit out' the house for a living.

Lisle met with Sheila. He interviewed her, and she made it very clear the she was interviewing him. She is not an interior designer, not a personal shopper. She will not pick your colours. She won't buy your artwork.

She is a procurement facilitator and logistics coordinator. She starts 12 weeks in advance of occupancy and will ensure everything you want and need is in place.

She has relationships with suppliers and fabricators. You tell her the specifics of what you want and either her suppliers have it, or her fabricators can custom make it. The instructions are to compile a workbook of photos for each room - one or maybe two photos of each item we want - by September.

In addition, she has standard checklists - are you a routine cook, or are only renting the house v. a gourmet cook - the difference, a basic kitchen gadget package or everything a cook could dream of.

It will make for an interesting summer - shopping on the internet and magazines!

Lessons learned?

Too many people are trying to recreate a North American home in this tropical paradise. If you want the look, feel and convenience of a Toronto condo - maybe that is where you should have stayed. Let the culture, environment and climate in!!

Things are different in Costa Rica for a reason. For example, they don't use bed frames - the legs are bolted to the box spring, and the headboard is bolted to the wall - reason - - the rails, gaps and other dark spaces created by a traditional bed frame are great places for unwanted critters to live and breed.

You can get anything you want for a price - both now and when it needs service. Again, this isn't downtown Toronto. If you want European appliances, they are definitely available and about 50% more expensive than here. And the one guy in the country trained to fix them lives in San Jose - the clock starts when he leaves home and stops when he returns, so that starts the job with 9 hours labour on the bill.

Remember the local conditions. It rains - a lot - and there are termites (which is why the houses are made of concrete). So, you might want to rethink your love of pine furniture. Teak, rattan, and the local hardwoods are a must, and are not as expensive as you might think.