We were in the very same boat as you with two properties in completely different states. After arriving at each, we had 2 weeks to furnish and outfit them.
I love looking for items that are eye-catching, whimsical, or otherwise unique, but 2 weeks just wasn’t enough time to dilly-dally. As @Emilia42 said, you can add the unique, specialized items over time.
I pre-ordered 2 of the beds online, and scheduled them to be delivered while I was there. They have these beds these days that come in a box and expand when you lay them out. The high-quality ones are super-comfortable. One place not to cut corners is beds. A good night’s sleep keep your guests in a good mood to enjoy the rest of their stay.
I found a leather couch and loveseat on Facebook Marketplace, and hired a small company to deliver them. They were like new. I felt it was a fluke that I found something so nice out of the classifieds so quickly.
Besides IKEA, Wayfair is another place to buy end tables, shelving, side chairs, and other smaller pieces of furniture. I haven’t bought from them for our rentals, but we have couple of practical pieces from them in our home.
Most of the rest of the main furniture, beds, area rugs and a couple of wall art pieces we got through small and large local furniture stores. Much of our time was spent hunting down and selecting items from these stores. This is not the most economical choice, but we felt it was doable in the 2 weeks we had.
And then there are all the small appliances, kitchenware and utensils, bathroom items, linens, towels, and toiletries if you provide them. Don’t underestimate the effort it takes to create lists and make sure these items are covered adequately.
Also, since we live remotely, we have a co-host that is local to handle any immediate problems that arise. If for some reason a delivery had been late and we would have had to leave, I would have asked my co-host to handle the delivery. We got lucky, though, and the items were delivered successfully while we were there.
It was a whirlwind trip, both times. Tensions ran high, but I must say it was a lot of fun. Very few times (well, actually, never) in our lives have we been able to go on that level of shopping spree.
We spend at least a month in both properties every year, which I highly recommend. It has given us insights and time to really make sure our places are practical and comfortable for our guests.