Another disjointed rambling post but this time back on the mountain top of Alto Jaramillo Boquete Panama. Back from two months of self imposed wandering from house to house as our remodeling project moved from stable construction to interior resurrection.
The interior is mostly done, new bathrooms, tile, paint, a new entryway and more exterior work coming over the next month. What has been interesting beyond the construction has been the acquisition of stuff. Stuff like window coverings, furniture, parts and pieces. I will share some of the vendors we used and where they were strong.
First I needed some design help, I found it at the Zapadora where both Diane and Elizabeth came to visit and helped me visualize potential changes. Because of their ideas we made massive design changes for very little money.
Our un-named contractor has been very flexible and helpful by ensuring some of my wilder ideas were tempered by the realities of what can be done in Panama. His constant site visits and supervision have allowed me to rely on him for big voids in my knowledge.
In searching for Bathroom fixtures we used Elmec and Arc Mandarin in David, both helpful. Gissel as Arc Mandrin is from Boquete and will work with you on prices. Jose at Elmec is bilingual and also very helpful but less giving of discounts.
We have purchased a great deal of furniture in the past month, most for the Playa Blanca Condo, little so far for here. Most furniture came from Conway in Panama City, they delivered to Playa Blanca and after a lot of shopping in Panama we discovered they are an excellent value. Other pieces came from Ingana 2 in Boquete. What amazed me at Ingana was the sales lady. In 2007 I purchased a dresser and returned it for a credit, the credit memo is lost in space but she remembered, located it and with no argument provided the credit on new purchases. Great customer service like that is rare anyplace, practically nonexistent in Panama.
Novey has been a great addition to David, between Novy and Do It Center we found most of the little things we needed like bathroom towel bars, kitchen stuff etc. We also discovered some nice treasures and simple things like curtain rods at La Reina in Boquete.
Lumicentro in David has good value on light fixtures and a broad selection. I did the entire house for under $200.
One of the great finds was Almacen y Tapiceria Penco in David. They are located just around a corner from the Alcala Hotel and saved both time and money on custom draperies and reupholstery. Jose there is both bilingual and very knowledgeable. One other gem was the discovery of the window covering section at Furniture City. There we discovered some new ideas in large expanse coverings and Simone. With his help we created solutions that should be installed later this month.
Many trips to David later things are coming together. I am still on the quest for a bedroom set, maybe Conway will open in David, it is rumored.
Finally we have internet that is fast, again. The pain of using Cable Onda and their murderously slow speeds is over. So hopefully I can catchup in the next few days and start doing regular blog updates again.
