Hi Ramses, You are right, I should have said "rarely" or overpriced rather than never! I know there was money in the US at the time (several branches of my family are counted in Burkes Peerage and well documented in American history ... on a minor scale!). I have a library full of art and architecture books on Newport (toured some of the houses as well), Philly Main Line, Long Island, McKim Meade & White (architects), and even one book dedicated specifically to the Vanderbilts. If one looks at Vizcaya in Miami, Deering and Chafin shopped endlessly in Europe while the house was being built. And let's not forgot Fifth Avenue! The difference is that for those houses there is a big financial gap in the purchasing power and "scale" of the antiques of those home owners from the "average" wealthy American. A lot of the really great stuff is either still in private hands or in museums. Still, the stuff is fab. Yes, great "Grande Tour" items can still be found in the US! I think what Igloochic is probably going to do is take advantage of the fact that antique furniture is not "hot" here like it is in the US. Better prices here (dirt cheap) if you can fill a container of one's own and ship it home. I think she is going about it the right way. And NOBODY has ANY right to guilt her as Mother for taking this trip. I AM DISGUSTED and APPALLED!!!!!!!!!! This is not a diaper forum (although the amount of S**T comments I often read on here makes me think otherwise). Igloochic asked for antiques recommendations, NOT MOTHERING ADVICE! GOOD GOD LINDA, LET IT GO and mind your own family!!! Before Igloochic's question I had stopped coming on here because I was tired of the all-knowing, judgemental comments (yes, NOW I'M MAD!!!) And Angeldog! I, like you, enjoy new people piping in (just sorry for so much defensive piping on this one)! I will try to post a couple of pics of my Swiss flat (be warned, I am not a very good photographer, lol!) I will include some pics of my NYC flat before I moved all of that to this place. Like Igloochic I am working on filling my filling my Victorian house (I have a container in Connecticut waiting for me) so my "work in progress" will be awhile. And the farmhouse! AH! My beloved farmhouse! It is a 1790's house built from the remains of an even older barn. The interior beam framing in the attic is SPECTACULAR! It is an "ancestral"/family home I am grateful to have ... except I haven't gone in about two years, lol. The Victorian porches were just removed last year and I'll see if I can find the pics that were sent to me. I will do a separate post. Igloochic, GO FOR IT! I cannot wait to see how you progress along. You are inspiring. Tschüss, Baer

Look at who carries your short list locally, then make an appointment with each to talk about your project. Ideally, you want someone with at least 5 years under their belt, and who has worked in the specific brand you are interested in for at least 2. Look at their portfolio, or Houzz or website presence. There just isn't anyone who isn't online these days. See if they've done projects that you like. You don't have to like all of them, because what's important is the customer that they were designed for likes them. But if your style is transitional, and all the designer dispays is modern, you may not be a good fit. Talk generalities at your first meeting. You're not trying to drag out prices, you're on a blind date, learning if there will be a second date. ''Tell me abut a past project that challenged you, and how you approached those challenges.'' Remember that they are interviewing you too for a good match! Telling someone that you ''don't have a budget'' is a pretty flag in an interview. It shows that you haven't done preliminary research, and will most likely experience denial and sticker shock over what things cost. I would stop, and repeat the question. And no design work would occur until I was provided with a budget. Give a number. A real number. This is the ''do you see yourself as a parent one day'' question of 30 year old daters. This no point in going any further with an incompatible match on something so basic. You're just trying to find someone that you can move on to the second date with. That second date may involve measurements of the space and some initial ideas, ir some may want to jump ahead to engagement and want a retainer. That's why your interaction with them is important. Working local is always easier than working long distance. Long distance has a great dependency on your local skilled trades and a strong installer to make things work out. By all means if you have a GC in your area whom you trust to collaborate well long distance with the designer, then go that route if you are comfortable! As you know rom your past experience, long distance can certainly work out if you have the right people involved.

Wow. I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted. We are still chugging along. Husband got a new job and works 7 days a week and nights, so progress has been much slower. We still love our new master suite. It has really increased our quality of life tenfold. We call it our oasis. :) We ended up going with light blue lamps and I'm still not 100% on them. I've purchased and returned multiple lamp shades that didn't look right. We just got a new set yesterday and I'm trying them out. I think/hope they might be keepers, but I'm still deciding. We've been picking away at the trim throughout the house. It's very time consuming to cut, sand, stain, hang, and poly every piece. But I am happy to report we are sooo close to being done for now. We are actually having an open house party this month, so we are really really trying to finish most of the projects up. That of course doesn't account for the major kitchen remodel, and the new duct work and floors we would like in the original house. Those large projects will be several years down the road. Right now we are focusing on the new hallway. After unsuccessfully looking online for weeks to find a statement piece of furniture I decided to design and build a narrow shelf myself. I LOVE it. It matches and fits perfectly, and it so simple. Just our style. Plain. lol. Yesterday we went shopping and got some decor for it. The room is so small but it's fun to see something finished and styled. I can't wait to go room by room and pick out furniture and decor we actually like rather than hand me downs. I will try to get some pictures soon.

I've never been impressed by the quality from Pottery Barn and RH, and think they tend to be overpriced for the quality. My thoughts were confirmed the other year, for RH at least, by this blog post, https://laurelberninteriors.com/2016/08/10/shocking-truth-restoration-hardware I seem to recall a friend buying a furniture at Barrymore and being pleased, but can't recall any of the details. I'm in Alberta, so most of my lighting purchases for our new house have been online/mail order. For lighting, try Don's Light House in St. Catherine's, very good selection and some of the best prices in Canada. I also had good luck with Wayfair Canada, with some great pricing and fast shipping, but they have a habit of changing the name of the light fixture AND the manufacturer, so it helps considerably to know your lights by sight; Google's image search can be helpful when you're double-checking.