Thursday, December 15, 2011

Furnishing your Mexico Home for Living & Rentals

When I moved to Puerto Morelos from Michigan, I had A LOT to learn about furnishing in a tropical climate.  Now, it's pretty comical...

When we moved down here full time, Caden (my son) was just beginning to toddle.  So, the first thing I did was buy large area rugs for our living room and his bedroom to soften a tumble onto the tile floors.  First things purchased & first things thrown out...within a month.  I had bought "carpet" style rugs.  They molded.  They collected the sand (and the sand's sand fleas).  They were huge and required moving all of the furniture two or three times per week to beat them outside.  It was ridiculous.  Lesson learned.

I've also learned that the least amount of fabric, the better.  Those woven rattan couches, now made in PVC for indoor/outdoor use, with only seat and back cushions are fantastic.  Less Fabric = Less Material to smell musty.  By the way, if you buy the PVC type of furniture that can be found in the outdoor sections of furniture stores, their cushions are already covered in outdoor fabric -- which is almost a must-have.

Indoor/Outdoor fabric has come a long way since the days of that plastic and canvas materials of years past.  Companies, namely Sunbrella, now make indoor/outdoor fabric that feels just like normal upholstery.  I will submit to you that while more expensive -- you'll only cover your cushions once!  These fabric are UV resistant so they won't fade -- even in front of your picture window.  They also are mold/mildew resistant -- another "must have" for our humid summer months.  They are also virtually stain-proof!  Originally designed for boat furniture, they stand up to sun, salt, and stains.  You literally can use soap and water to remove almost anything.

My living room furniture is covered in Sunbrella, in a sunny living room that has no curtains, and is continually abused by 2 boys.  I have NO stains after years of use.  None!  Was it cheap?  No.  But, in the long run, it was less expensive than having to recover the furniture frequently.

Having a company that offers vacation rentals also means NUMEROUS shopping trips to buy the list of things that houses need to be stocked with.  We've got it down, almost; we're always tweaking the list.  But, if you are furnishing a new home or adding the details to your existing to rent, we have a checklist that you can use!

Our tips that we have for furnishing a home and the household inventory list is available online!  It is tucked into our Homeowner's Packet.  Check out pages 11-16!




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Amber Pierce-Schulz is the Broker/Owner of Mayan Riviera Properties, specializing in Puerto Morelos Real Estate and Puerto Morelos Vacation Rentals. We are members of AMPI and Federally Certified Realtors.