Shopping in Santo Domingo

singletravel

Active member
Oct 13, 2003
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Need some help. Planning to do some home shopping in Santo Domingo in a few weeks and don't like getting stuck in traffic for nothing (who does:))

Some pointers if possible in SD.

1.) Contemporary home furnishing -- inside and out. Like the comfy type (big pillows etc) and modern. In Santiago only Heche (sp?) I've found.

2.) Home improvements (i.e.Ochoos in Santigao, is there better in SD??. Tile, windows, bath, kitchen stuff ....

3.) Electronics. Age old question, is it better to import a nice TV (Plasma) or buy it in SD?? I know Plaza Lama (sp) in Santiago, is there better in SD??

Oh, can anyone tell me the proper taxi rate these days from the airport to Boca Chica?

Thanks in advance,

singletravel
 

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
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My favorite subject, Shopping!

Home furnishing:
I would recommend these places:
- Casa Cuesta: 27 de Febrero / Lincoln (Second Floor Supermercado Nacional)
- La Curacao: There are closing and all the furniture is 30 to 50% off. Plaza Naco Tiradentes / Gustavo M. Ricart (They also have Electronics)
- Conforama: Big furniture store. In Mega Centro, San V de Paul 361

Home improvements:
- Ferreteria Americana: Ave. John F. Kennedy / Lincoln
- Ferreteria Hache: Ave. John F. Kennedy (Between Ortega y Gasset and Tiradente)
- Ferreteria Cuesta: Plaza Naco

Electronics
Not an expert here!

Taxi..sorry?can?t help you there either! :(
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
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You can also try:

Plaza Lama - 27 de Febrero corner of Abraham Lincoln
- For furniture, electronics and interior decorations

Novotec - Roberto Pastoriza between Lope de Vega and Tiradentes
- Terrific interior decorations and knick knacks you won't find anywhere else

Have fun!!
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
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www.dominicancooking.com
We moved to our new home a couple of months back and we did so with only our clothes, toothbrush and my husband's golf stuff. We started from scratch and we (well I) wanted modern things. I am a sucker for contemporary design and loathe the heavy, dark, frilly and downright rococo-like furniture that you find here everywhere (spit, spit). The problem is that contemporary furniture is either hard to find or downright criminally expensive.

Hache carries a decent line of Scandinavian furniture (Scandic and other brands), an IKEA-like line of furniture that looks awesome but has a little problem: engineered wood doesn't like the weather here and Hache's prices can give you a coronary. Simply ridiculous.

After having spent a house-worth on gas looking for some decent sofas I found them, and fell in lust with them at first sight, and when I sat on them I knew we where made for each other. Chiri was with me, and she can bear witness to the birds chirping and cherubs flying around at that moment. The funny thing is that I found them in an office furniture store: Maicys on N??ez de C?cerez. In fact I ended up buying a lot of stuff there.

If you have so much money that you don't mind paying through your nose for stuff you can find in IKEA then Hache by all means. If you want a bit more quality and better prices then hit the office furniture places, they carry contemporary furniture at good prices. Two other shops where I saw things I liked were Ilumel II on Lincoln and CasaBella on Bolivar.

Plaza Lama is good for decent appliances, if you want top of the line (Viking and such) then go to Molina (Plaza Central and Plaza Naco) and there's another shop that also carries Viking on Gustavo M. Ricart in the mall in front of La Nacional Home Gallery (pay LNHG a visit for good sofa-beds).
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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Getting furniture that is (a) tasteful, (b) good quality and (c) affordable is certainly a challenge in the DR. :tired:

Some great recommendations from the crew so far. I have one or two additions:

Furniture:
MUEBLES VON in Julieta, tucked away in one of the residential streets behind the Multicentro (Av. Churchill). Good home-grown modern design and superior quality, but slightly scary prices.

PORTICO - branches in Bella Vista Mall, Av. Sarasota and in Naco on Pastoriza between Lope de Vega and Tiradentes. They have a great range of household items (cushions, fabrics, lamps, stuff for the kitchen, lots of ornaments) and some furniture, mostly in very good taste and reasonably priced.

I got some furniture made in a workshop in the Zona Colonial: either you give them your design or you select one from a US store catalogue and they make it for you. PM me if you want the exact location. I scribbled a design for our dining table based on one I remembered liking in a furniture shop in the UK on the back of a cigarette packet and they more than did it (the original, not my sketch) justice.

Definitely check out Meicy's as Pib suggests. I covet those sofas. :devious:

Chiri
 

Pib

Goddess
Jan 1, 2002
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Darn! How could I have forgotten those stores. I've spent a fortune at Portico already. And as Chiri said, custom made is the way to go in a lot of cases. It's cheaper than factory-made and they will be exactly how you want them... if you are patient.


Who do I have to sleep with to get an IKEA here? :classic:
 

dcareamama

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Jul 22, 2004
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Actually Pib, what you want down there is Scan, not IKEA (grin). While my taste is more traditional/transitional, I can dig some Scan stuff. You know, I think stores like Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Storehouse would do great in DR.



Pib said:
Darn! How could I have forgotten those stores. I've spent a fortune at Portico already. And as Chiri said, custom made is the way to go in a lot of cases. It's cheaper than factory-made and they will be exactly how you want them... if you are patient.


Who do I have to sleep with to get an IKEA here? :classic:
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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Oh, but IKEA has EVERYTHING not only furniture. :classic: And it is so cheap... guess what? I have a lot of IKEA stuff here.

I have seen some Scan catalog, cool stuff but it is more expensive than IKEA and has a much more limited selection. About the other stores you mention I only know Pottery Barn (from catalogs), and you won't catch me dead with anything from them. It's too... girly. Give me good, contemporary, bright-colored, clean lines, functional, easy to care things any time.

Von is a great store as Chiri said. A case study in industrial design in the D.R. (I know, I did study them).
 

dcareamama

New member
Jul 22, 2004
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Next time you are in the States, check out Crate and Barrel, just for fun. They have everything, from barware, kitchenware, linens to furniture. Their furniture is mostly contemporary, very reminiscent of Scandinavia. I think you will like them...not too girly :classic:

We have a lot of stuff from C&B, (not furniture). My cousin in the DR has your taste exactly and it seems like a lot of people are leaning towards the clean, contemporary lines and away from the perennial mahogany. That is why I think a store like Crate and Barrel would do well - heck Ethan Allen is down there. Oh, and I do like Pottery Barn, but my REAL weakness is Pottery Barn Kids!!! I need to stop going to that store, I need to stop going to that store, I need to stop going to that store...

http://www.crateandbarrel.com

Pib said:
Oh, but IKEA has EVERYTHING not only furniture. :classic: And it is so cheap... guess what? I have a lot of IKEA stuff here.

I have seen some Scan catalog, cool stuff but it is more expensive than IKEA and has a much more limited selection. About the other stores you mention I only know Pottery Barn (from catalogs), and you won't catch me dead with anything from them. It's too... girly. Give me good, contemporary, bright-colored, clean lines, functional, easy to care things any time.

Von is a great store as Chiri said. A case study in industrial design in the D.R. (I know, I did study them).
 

jerryme

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Feb 1, 2004
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I hear there is an indoor mall in Santo Domingo that is the largest in Latin America about 1 square mile under roof. Is this true?

PS: Dcareamama I doubt if many people know what IKEA is only being a few in the US (yours at Potomac Mills and the one in my hometown White Marsh, MD) Love those Sweedish meatballs.