Furniture and meeting new people 😊

Welcome Carla from Canada.

Sadly we are no longer allowed to make referrals or recommendations on the forum. It all must be done privately.  How dad is that?

There are several furniture makers here on las terrenas. As you may already know, las terrenas can be very expensive for expats for many things. You really need to shop around ( ok understand that you don't know any hence the question) feel free to DM me. But I can tell you to ask the people that you know here.  Post the question on the Facebook and just wade through the replies. Their are some expat furniture makers here who charge expat prices. Their are excellent local Dominican craftsman here...send a message

@couldbecool hi there. I'm new here in Las Terrenas too and would be happy to meet up for a drink. I've been here 8 weeks now.

There are many furniture makers in the Puerto Plata area as well, and probably in Nagua as well!

If you're interested in “live-edge” tables, I have a Canadian friend who makes them. DM me for his info.

as always, be careful how much money you put up front!

Agree with the suggestion to post on the Everything Las Terrenas group on Facebook. Recommendations are allowed there. Just be sure to see previous work and have an agreement in writing (even if it's just in WhatsApp) before making a payment. We got screwed by a guy making stone sinks for us - his two-week estimate turned into over 5 months and we didn't get what we wanted.

We've been in LT for three years now, so if you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Denise

@LT American

Hi,

I just read the answer you gave to the furniture forum.

Would you be kind enough to give in info about the Dominican Craftsmen in Las Terrenas?

We are moving next month and that would be an immense help.

Thanks

@patsimrey62 If you know what you need, he, and others, can provide better info. For example, are you looking for indoor or outdoor furniture? Do you want Caribbean style or more modern? Inexpensive or investment quality?

Thank you for your answer ddmcghee.

We are looking for indoor furniture: live edge table, chairs and most immediately for new bedroom furniture and mattresses. It does not have to be in LT.

Secondly, if someone wants to sell their car, we are in the market too. Thanks!

Panoramix is highly recommended. I've seen pictures of some of their work, and it looks beautiful! They have a very large woodworking studio in town. There is also a new place that recently opened called Woodstock. I don't know if it's custom-made or if they have inventory, but the place always looks full of furniture when I drive by. Kif-Kif has a lot of inventory for the entire house - we ended up buying a tabletop from them, and they connected us with a metal worker to make us a custom base. Hogar Design has recently started carrying furniture in addition to their kitchens. Comercial de Leon has some furniture, but it tends to be "blingy" and overly ornate.

As far as individual craftsmen go, many are hit-and-miss! I reached out to several when we wanted to discuss tables with them. At least one person highly recommended all. Some took several days to respond to my WhatsApp messages (sent in Spanish), and a few were very responsive at first, but when it came time to meet with them to see slabs of wood, they disappeared or waited a week or more to respond. It seems that many don't worry about work if they have money in their pockets. Once they run out, they start bugging you to buy something they've already made or can be done quickly. For every positive review you hear, there is probably at least one equally negative one.

We brought our bed in our container but purchased the beds and mattresses for our guest rooms at Ikea. We bought our living room furniture from Ilumel and our outdoor furniture, including the chairs that go with the table we had made, at Ilumel Outlet. Ilumel charged (in May 2022) $360 for delivery to Las Terrenas, but we were able to combine purchases from both the main store and the outlet in the same delivery.

Thank you so much for your answer and the numerous pieces of advice!

We will check everyone when we get in town next month.

@ddmcghee

Hi ddmcghee,

Appreciate reading all your posts and making notes.

I'll definitely check Facebook LT too - my wife and I have been wading through it.

Max

@couldbecool

Hi Carla,

I'd be very interested to hear about your discoveries hunting for furniture.

@couldbecool

I have things to share. Also would like to hear if you found any contacts as well.