getting new home ready to live in

What kind of furniture do you want? We furnished our condo with rattan and wicker furniture made by a factory in Santiago. We like it very much and it is appropriate for the tropics. If you could place your order during your short stay and take delivery when you return, you could do the same.

We also wanted "local" furniture rather than pieces like you find in the US and Canada.

The furniture we have is well made and strong, and the factory stands behind it. We noticed there were bugs getting into the leg of one of the beds and the factory sent a truck (from Santiago to Sosua) to pick it up). It was repaired, put back into their extermination chamber, and returned--at no charge.

The factory is on the outskirts of Santiago. It is Artesania Rattan, CxA. It has an excellent reputation. When you go there, you will see examples of many of their pieces, and a warehouse of pieces lacking only the final touches. They also have catalogs showing more than they have on the floor. If you see something you like, but want it modified a little, they will make whatever changes you want. Their prices are very reasonable and they are very good people to deal with. The best person for you to talk with there is Yolanda. The phone number is 809-971-6440, fax is 809-582-7097, and email is artesana.rattan@codetel.net.do Should you contact Yolanda, please tell her than Ken in Sosua recommended her.

We got our window coverings from Manrique Industrial in Santiago, phone 809-724-0206. There are other possibilities, depending on what you want, but they offered the style we were looking for.

If you order furniture from the rattan factory, you have the choice of using the fabric they supply, or supplying your own. We prefered the latter. There are many places in Santiago where you can buy material, but there are two that we prefer since they stock not only the "standard" stuff found in the others, but also offer many great fabrics they import from Spain--which we liked much better than the more common patterns.

If I can help you more, click on the email button and send me your questions. My wife and I would be happy to help in any way we can.

Artesana Rattan

I agree 100% with Artesana. They will email you pictures of the sets and fabric samples. You can arrange everything from here and they will deliver while you are there. The furniture is sturdy and the material selection extensive. They are very accomodating and professional. We did everything from Canada and they delivered ON TIME!! to Cabarete. I was impressed! We love the furniture.

Artesan?a Rattan C x A is owned bythe Sang Ben family and old Miguel Sang made our first living room set nearly 40 years ago. It is still quite servicible.
There is a very good place in Navarette-Mimbre y Rattan Navarette. It is owned by Tito Bueno and his wife. they have made our living rooms (2). Very good stuff. It is lasting and standing up under the stress oft he grandkids quite well.
My daughter also had some stuff made out of treated pine wood for the young boy. Not expensive and holding up well.
If you want fine furniture there is Nouel Nacional on Bartolom? Col?n, betweenthe entrance to Elegido and the Airport. They are in the phone book. Leonardo Nouel is the boss there.
As we get closer to December keep in touch and maybe I can find you some good stuff... I think that one of the posters here is liquidating his house hold goods and you might find a good bargain there, too. Planta, neveras etc....as well as furniture.

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Although you could do it via long distance, since you will be in the DR for 20 days in December, I would really encourage you to go to the factory. Before you go, look through magazines showing rattan furniture and think about what you would like. If you should see something that you really like, they will duplicate it for you. Also, by doing your homework, it will give you ideas as to how you might modify the furniture they make.

When at the factory, don't just look at the "samples" in the display area, walk through the warehouse. Some of the furniture we ended up buying we found in the warehouse. Also, if you see something you are interested in, but would like it a little different, tell them and they will make yours to your specifications. We did that with several pieces that we bought.

With respect to the fabric, at the time we bought our furniture (about 1 1/2 years ago) the selection wasn't large. But there are a couple of fabric stores in Santiago that have a great selection, including imported fabrics. So we asked the factory for the quantity of material required and bought it at the fabric store. The factory gave us a credit since we hadn't used their fabric. It was the difference between choosing what we liked best from the selection of the factory, or getting exactly what we wanted. Since this will probably be our last home, we wanted it furnished the way we really wanted it to be.

Everything that we did leading up to the ordering of our furniture could easily be done within the period of time you will be visiting. When you place your order, you will need to make a substantial down payment, then pay the rest when your furniture is delivered. Tell them what your schedule is and they will program the preparation of your furniture accordingly.

During the interim, you can communicate with Yolanda (who speaks English) by email. Should you have a brainstorm about something you would like done or changed, you can communicate this to her by email. Up to the time they actually start on your furniture, you can make changes.