Wardrobes and other furniture....

Oh blimey......I sent hubby off on an expedition to Homes R Us.....he has sent me pictures. Let's just say that I can see why everyone is so excited about the possibility of an IKEA! But 2015, seriously? They'll have even managed to build the flipping bridge to Bahrain by then! Lol!

aargh, I'm so sick of the beige! and I'm a neutrals kinda girl, million watt lightbulbs wouldn't go amiss. But what I meant really was don't go for cool tones, (blues and cool reds etc) we bought a beautiful taupey/grey coloured couch but it looks really wrong against all the beige. The windows are all tinted to cut the light out so even the daylight becomes beige coloured! Yeah I like beige in England, where we have tiny rooms and cosy cottages, but I am definitely thinking bold colours for Qatar. I'm not sure what sofa covers to get - I was going to go for quite a dark grey actually, and set it off with bold curtains, rugs and cushions - do you think this would work? I want a dark coloured sofa for practical reasons.

I would suggest you think colour....lots of it. Everything here is beige. Beige outside and beige inside. Rooms are often dark due to small windows and window coatings to keep the heat out. So you often end up having lights on during the day. Ooh yes, I was definitely thinking colour - I had kind of toyed with the idea anyway for our next house, whether that was England or wherever. As soon as I found out we were moving to Qatar that kind of pushed me into thinking of some really bold colour schemes. I am going for dark furniture, not the plain white stuff we have now (which is great in tiny English rooms but would look horrible and cold in a big white villa). I am also loving the idea of lots of hot colours set off against the dark furniture - hot pinks, oranges, teals etc. I feel like really having some fun with it. (I know it's a risk with the floor colours, but I'm prepared to chance it). The colours will all be in the soft furnishings, so it will be easy to change around. I always find villas in hot countries can look quite cold and clinical, so I want to use lots of colours to make it feel nice and cosy.

I am soo jealous of your container! Plain cushion covers (if you are not into sequins and tassles), plain white/black empty pictures frames, art in general, books, a decent vacuum cleaner and a years supply of bags (because you honestly can not buy bags here without huuge hassle and the bagless cleaners don't cope with the dust). If you ship a bed also ship the sheets as the sizes are funny here. The power point plugs here are the same as the UK so any appliances should be good but you can buy that stuff here easily. Plain lamps from Ikea though, houses are dark in general. The more minimalist your taste the more you should bring, any extra space use to bring food! Anything from Ikea sells like hotcakes here so you will have no problem on-selling anything that you don't end up needing. When picking your colours for rugs etc, walls tend to be painted warm whites, creams, beige etc and you will often have peachy terracotta floor tiles to deal with so you might want to go for warmish tones or neutrals. Thank you Kiwi, that's brilliant info. I was thinking that maybe I could get cushion covers made in the souk? I do prefer plain but not sure on colours yet and they're something I can live without for a while I think. Peachy terracotta floor tiles....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Aaaaah charliedog, thank you so, so much for that :) You have totally validated what I was thinking of doing anyway, that's really helpful. I've been looking at rugs and thinking 'should i'? It's so hard without knowing the house I am buying for, but I guess I can bank on them all being pretty big rooms and I will kick myself if I don't bring something I end up really needing. And I guess it would be easy to sell stuff onto other expats if I find it doesn't fit or suit the house?

Haha thanks everyone, but I don't think I will count on IKEA opening any time soon ;) Catonclan, I definitely don't want a furnished villa - I would really prefer to have our own furniture, although white goods would be useful. JillMV - thanks for the useful info, that's really helpful. I will try and get some wardrobes out here and bring them with us.

Hubby and I were only planning on bringing 580 cu ft of stuff with us when we move out to Doha, but the smallest container our chosen shipping company does is 1,000 cu ft - so they've said we can fill the whole thing for just £100 more than their current quote, which is a really good deal. Originally, we were only planning on bringing 3 sofas, a dining table and chairs, a Welsh dresser and a desk and chair (this is all included in our 580 cu ft). We're definitely selling off all our current beds and bedroom furniture before we leave for Doha, as we don't think they will survive another house move. However, now we seem to have an extra 420 cu ft to play with, I am thinking of buying new bedroom and lounge furniture here in England to bring out to Doha with us, so I have a few questions. 1. Is the furniture in Doha really that expensive/naff to make it worth bringing our own stuff out? We are particularly fussy about quality..... 2. Are all the villas the plain white, flexible, spacious dwellings I imagine them to be (with big rooms)? Therefore, if I buy all the stuff I am thinking of, I will definitely be able to find space for it all? 3. Do most villas have built-in wardrobes, or should I include wardrobes in my shopping spree? 4. Does this sound like a reasonable shopping list, and will I be able to fit it all into most 'typical' 3-bed villas? LOUNGE: Coffee table, book case, side table(s), console table for TV. BEDROOM: Super king size bed, 2 x bedside tables, chest(s) of drawers, wardrobe? SPARE ROOM: Not sure if it is worth kitting this out now or leaving it until we get there? Is there anything else I've not thought of which would definitely be worth getting here in the UK before I come out? I figure I may as well make use of the space in the container! Amy edited by amy77 on 16/01/2011 <em>edited by amy77 on 16/01/2011</em>