Ahead of the Curve

1 Have a party. If your idea of entertaining is as likely to be a cocktail reception for 75 as a dinner for eight, work with your builder or designer to see that the flow of the house encourages guests to mingle rather than trapping them in one or two hot spots. Before you start cooking up your big bash, hire a party planner to go through the home with you, pointing out potential pitfalls and how to avoid them (Memorable Moments, 239-443-0880).

2 Get professional help. When you’re admiring a neighbor’s home or a furnished model home, don’t be shy about asking who created it. Arrange to meet with more than one designer before you commit to a project, and make sure your personalities click before you start picking out furniture together. In Florida, certain home projects require an ASID-licensed designer, so check their credentials (www.myflorida.com).

3 Live with the elephant in the room. Maybe it’s a collection of African tribal masks or a massive Shaker cabinet your mother picked up in Vermont. If your cherished antique doesn’t exactly say Southwest Florida, use it as a focal point to build a more casual room around, softening it with lighter accessories and colors. To scout out a conversation-starter of your own, cruise the antique shops on Naples’ Fifth Avenue North and Third Street South or hit the mini-antique-mall Gannon’s in south Fort Myers (239-489-2211).

4 Cover it up. Gulfshore home-owners have a soft touch for textiles, one of the easiest ways to update your look. When you’re tired of seeing your living room through rose-covered slipcovers, browse the fabrics at Kravet (239-948-4422) and other showrooms at Estero’s International Design Center. (Make a point to tour showrooms that are “to the trade only” by dragging along your own designer or hiring one by the hour through the IDC’s Designer on Call program.)

5 Hide out. Everyone needs a room of his or her own—think rugged “man spaces” with leather sofas and big-screen TVs, a home office or a correspondence nook outfitted with pretty settees for the lady of the house. The great outdoors is a great getaway, especially if you hire one of the area’s many certified landscape architects to build your own secret garden (www.asla.org).

6 Make a scene. Want to see Naples, Italy, from your dining room in Naples, Fla., or watch an Everglades sunset from your Lee County lanai? Festivals featuring local artists are great places to meet would-be Picassos who double as muralists and faux painters (updates at www.uaccollier.com and www.artinlee.org). Or learn your own trompe l’oeil tricks with classes at Naples’ von Liebig (www.naplesartcenter.org).

7 Buy right. Nothing can take the place of a personal relationship with a realtor, whose familiarity with the market may give him or her a better sense of where you and your family will find a good fit. Call an agent who has listings that interest you and explain what you’re looking for. You’ll have another set of eyes watching out for you—and a friendly face to greet you when you arrive (www.swflrealtors.com).