When someone buys a vacation home, they are looking for a place to which they can regularly escape the pressures of their everyday life. They are looking for that get-away retreat where they can reconnect with their spouse, family or even just themselves. Their vacation home might be in the mountains, by the ocean, in some sunny desert climate, or even a tropical paradise. Is this you?

If you have recently invested in your vacation get-away, congratulations! You've taken a step toward putting balance back into your life. At this point, now you are probably planning how to get your vacation home in order so that you can soon make your escape for a weekend.

The key thing to remember when setting up and decorating a vacation home is to keep your initial goal in mind. While we all want to stay in touch with the outside world to some degree, keep that interaction to a minimum. After all, how can you escape life's pressures if you take it with you? Make your vacation home a vacation. Fill it with fun, adventure and relaxing ambiance. Plan to stay at your second home just as you would a resort.

In your vacation home kitchen, you need what you need. Don't over do it or under do it. Ask yourself what you plan to do on vacation in your home. If you love the idea of having the time to cook or bake, then be sure to equipt the kitchen with baking pans, a mixer or food processor, measuring spoons and cups and so forth. If you enjoy cooking breakfasts, you'll want a waffle iron or griddle.

On the other hand, if you don't want to have to lift a finger in the kitchen when on vacation, and plan to eat out or cook easy meals, all your vacation home kitchen needs is the basics, such as a microwave, casual dinnerware, flatware, and glasses. Stock disposable dinnerware, cups and plastic forks for those really lazy times or when you head out for a picnic. Fill a drawer with a cheese grater, wine or bottle opener, ziploc bags, spatula, barbeque fork, can opener, and a butane lighter. Under the sink have keep dish detergent and some scrubbers.

On the opposite side of convenience, If you are a wine drinker, stock real wine glasses. If you like margaritas, you'll want a blender and margarita glasses. Keep it simple, but nice. Don't resort to paper, plastic or styrofoam for the things that need ambinance. Wine from a chilled wine glass feels like a resort vacation, sipping it from a paper cup doesn't. If you plan to barbeque at your vacation home, real plates will make your steak dinner much more enjoyable that eating off a Chinette plate.

Stock the kitchen with basic foodstuff, such as salt and pepper, spices, cooking oil, vinegar, or whatever your tastes are. Some items such as flour, sugar, cereals, rices, etc might not be a good idea, since these foods can spoil, become infested with bugs or attract ants. If you visit your vacation often enough, you could keep a minimal amount of this type of food, but be sure to keep in airtight containers or the refrigerator. Insects love vacation homes!

In summary, stock your vacation home kitchen so that you don't have to bring your cooking utensils with you on vacation and then take it all back home. But just as important, be realistic about what you plan to do in the kitchen and only stock what you really need.

When furnishing your vacation retreat, strike a balance between bare and overdone. It's fun to decorate a cabin or beach home, and there many decorating resources, but don't get carried away. Whether you are decorating your vacation home with a skies-the-limit budget or on a shoestring, keep a few things in mind:

• Clutter creates stress.
• Furniture needs vaccuuming and polishing.
• Knick Knacks need dusting.

You want your vacation home to be furnished so that you can relax in it. You don't want a bare living room with a few fold-up sports chairs and a card table, but you don't want so much stuff that you feel strangled. Pick comfortable, sturdy, inviting basic items that you can spice up with fun decor.

Living Room: Look for comfortable furniture which might be a sectional or sofa and loveseat or plush chair. You'll need a few side tables and maybe a coffee table, where you can relax with a book and your coffee or glass of wine. If the floor is tile or hardwood, an area rug is a must. If you'll be keeping books, games and DVDs or video games in your home, plan on a bookcase or a TV entertainment center. Add a table or floor lamp or two.

Outdoor Living Space: Odds are that you'll spend some time outdoors at your vacation home, so be sure to have some patio chairs, outside tables and possibly a barbeque for those times.

Depending on the amenities in your vacation home, you will want to keep linens and bath sundries at your resort home. Plan to have enough towels and sheets on hand so that you won't have to be doing laundry all the time. In the bathroom in your vacation home, keep all the same hair products and shower necessities you have at home. Shampoos, conditioners, soaps and cleaning products have a long shelf life. Also, keep OTC pain medicine, first aid ointment and bandaids, a toothbrush, blowdryer, curling iron or straightener and sunscreen in the cabinets. Think about what you need at home and what you usually take on vacation and then stock your get-away with all of that stuff.

On the other hand, things that have a shorter shelf life, such as Makeup or prescriptions might be wasted if left in a vacation home that you don't visit often enough. Use common sense. If you plan to visit 2-3 times a month, you might bring everything. If you'll only visit during the summer or winter, plan accordingly.

Repeat the "Escape the Stress" mantra as you shop for your vacation home's decor. Decorating is a must, as well as fun, but your goal in picking decor items is to create that relaxed get-away ambiance. To begin with, pick a design look that is homogenous with its surroundings. Think rustic for a cabin, seashells and whitewashed furniture for a beach home or a cottage in Nantucket; create a mini ranch in your vacation home in New Mexico or Arizona! If your vacation home is in a tropical setting, pick pieces in bamboo and animal print and create a jungle safari!

For inspiration and ideas, look for books, magazines and online articles in the theme that works for your vacation home and then shop! As you shop, keep in mind that most of the time you don't need expensive, brand new items to decorate your vacation home. Sometimes weathered, gently used furnishings and decor add character and a relaxing atmosphere to a vacation home. If a coffee table has a distressed finish, you and your guests are more likely to feel comfortable to kick back and put your feet on it. A sofa covered by a furry animal print throw cover, will be inviting to curl up in; a denim covered sofa will be more welcoming than a white couch. Pick items that your kids, nephews, pets, and party-animal friends can be around without worrying you to death.

You can shop second hand stores, flea markets, garage sales, E-bay, Craig's list and retailers bargain aisles. You can take your "seconds" from your home that are sitting in the basement or garage. Many items you may own or find second hand can be refinished, repainted, or repurposed to fit your vacation home's theme perfectly.

Of course! One of the wonderful things about owning your own vacation retreat is that you don't have to pack up everything before and after a vacation. If your vacation home is a cabin in the mountains, you might want to leave your heavy coat, some sweaters and snow boots. If it's a beach home, maybe a bathing suit, flip flops, and extra pair of sunglasses and some tank tops and shorts. Keep the clothes that make sense at your vacation home, especially if you won't miss them at your regular home. And what screams "resort" more than having a a plush terry robe and slippers in your vacation home bedroom closet?

Enjoy it!  Your vacation home is there for you to enjoy and relax in.  When you get there, don't feel guilty about avoiding your blackberry, texts or emails.  Don't spend hours scrubbing the floors.  Hire a housecleaner or landscaper to maintain your vacation home, if necessary.  Show up, grab a book and escape into another world....the world you've created in your vacation home!