Go "Green" to Defeat the Winter "Blues"

During the long winter months when nothing "green" is in sight we often suffer from the wintertime "blues". This lull in activities after the rush of Christmas and before the much anticipated colors of Spring produces a feeling of the dull-drums and a longing for the outdoors. So why not bring the outdoors "in"? This is the perfect time to spruce up your tired flower arrangements and greenery or arrange some new creations to give your home a splash of color and life.

At Bella Interiors, flower arrangements are created and sold as key components to the finishing touch in your homes accessories. Artificial flowers and plants have come a very long way in quality and variety from the past. They look more realistic and are offered in a beautiful array of vibrant colors. There is also no limit to the size, style and shape of the containers available to create your arrangement in.

Don't let flower arranging intimidate you. Select the container you need for your space . Think about height and mass. Will your arrangement be an eye-catching dramatic focal point that makes a statement? Or will it be just an accent that will compliment but not compete with what is around it? Next, think about color. Choose between a splash of accent color or all neutral greens, cream and white. Your main flower is the one you want to showcase - everything else around it is just filler to compliment it and add fullness to your arrangement.
Selecting odd numbers of each stem creates the best balance. Gather a variety of materials. Stems with leaves are good fillers and stems that create movement such as straight, tall sticks or curly willow add interest. Even using feathers adds another dimension if you choose.

If flower arranging is not your cup of tea, come to Bella Interiors, bring your favorite container and we will be glad to create for you. Or select from our many beautiful vases and point out which flowers and materials appeal to you and our designers will be happy to chase away your winter blues.When your beautiful, colorful work of art is complete it will bring a burst of life and breath of fresh air to your cold interiors this winter. It may even make you smile!

Scents Can "Spice" Up Your Life

Isn't it amazing how the simple act of smelling a certain scent can evoke detailed feelings, emotions or memories of a certain time or event in your life? During the holiday season this phenomenon especially rings true. The smell of the wonderful homemade holiday treats, traditional Thanksgiving dinners, and the fresh evergreen scent of the Christmas tree can fill the air with memories of past, present, and future. We dont even have to spend hours baking cookies or cutting down a tree to enjoy these special aromas.

Bringing these scents into your life all year round is easier than ever before with the growing trend in fragrances for your home. A multitude of fragrances in different forms is available in candles, sprays, diffusers, soaps, and lotions. The variety and options as well as quality is endless! Bella Interiors is showcasing an Evergreen home fragrance spray, and cinnamon scented star shaped candles for the holidays. Several everyday favorites are citrus soap and diffusers that smell very fresh and clean, as well as Linen, Cashmere and Birch candles for a more perfumed scent. Keep the memories alive and well year round by " spicing up your life" with scents from Bella Interiors!

Nikki Wiygul
Interior Designer
Bella Interiors

Mantle Madness

Does the thought of decorating your mantle and door for the holidays give you "Mantle Madness"? Sometimes looking through a box full of decorations after storing them all year long creates stress, and creativity goes null and void . Make everything look fresh and new each year by coming up with a starting point. What do you know you want to use again? Do you have a theme or color scheme? Is your style inspired by nature, traditional and true, bold and beautiful, or cutting edge contemporary and cool? Pick one and run with it. Give your Holiday decor a definitive style. If you use certain colors every year such as red, green, and gold, eliminate one and only use green and gold for a new twist. Or, add one color such as silver - use red, gold and silver. Then start by layering.

If you want year round decoration, the new trend is keeping grapevine around the front door and altering it by adding to it for each season- adding theme and color. Add lights to the vine-Christmas white lights or rope lights. Your next layer for Christmas would be green garland or colored mesh fabric or wide ribbon. To this layer add sugared fruit,red berries or ornaments throughout, securing them by wiring them into the garland. On the mantle have fun by adding unexpected items into your garland for height and variety. Topiaries on each end, figurines or candlesticks in the center or even vases, picture frames or architectural items such as column bases or finials. Again, continue your selected theme or color scheme and begin your layers.

Taking your decorating projects and breaking them down into manageable steps helps you from becoming overwhelmed with the final result. Take pictures and keep a file for next year to easily recall what you have, what you need, and what you want to do differently. Don't stress through the holidays. Have fun with your decorating and sit back and enjoy!

Nikki Wiygul,
Interior Designer
Bella Interiors