Quick Summer Style Tips

As summer approaches, schoolchildren count down the days until freedom and parents start planning family trips to the beach or cooler climes. At Bel Furniture, we find no reason at all why your very own home can't serve as a rejuvenating summer sanctuary. Before you leave for this year's summer adventure, try these simple decorating tips that will transform your living space.

Striped Cookouts
Summer weather is perfect for cookouts. You have the grill and you certainly have the friends and family. All you need now is a picnic table and a table cloth that will make your feast pop! Durability doesn't hurt either. To accomplish this, we recommend outfitting your table with a simple painting drop cloth from Lowe's or Home Depot. Paint stripes the color of your choice. We recommend subtle blues. By taking preliminary measurements and marking off sections in painter's tape, your stripes will look neat and uniform.


Natural & Delicate Candles
Our second tip is great for indoor and outdoor entertainment. As you comb the beaches this summer for the perfect shell, be on the lookout for ones that can serve as candle holders. Once you have washed off your shells in a solution of bleach and water, you may choose to either melt candles you already have-or paraffin wax-in a double boiler. Simply pour the wax into your shells and be sure to secure a metal wick holder at the bottom. It will cool and harden in about 30 minutes. If the shell is too wobbly for the wax to cool uniformly, we suggest placing it on top of water glass, where it can rest evenly.

A Live Centerpiece
These shell candles make a wonderful addition to the dining room table. Kick it up a notch by including a live, miniature herb garden as the centerpiece. This will not only add fresh aromas to the atmosphere, but will encourage conversation. You may even pluck fresh herbs right off the stems and branches to add flavor to salads, entrées, or desserts. When you're not entertaining, the herbs are easily transportable back to the porch or garden.


Are You Stumped?
Our fourth tip is equally as earthy as the fresh herb garden centerpiece. Add a little fun variation to your interior décor by incorporating a table made from a stump of wood. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, we encourage you to try making one yourself. For step-by-step instructions, see this enlightening blog by "17 Apart." After several rounds of sanding, applications of "Wood Juice" and satin spraying (and more sanding), this stump table was given a final top coat and little legs to stand on. We think a trio of stump tables would look great together even without legs.


Pillows, Pillows, Pillows!
Our fifth and final tip this week is easy enough. It involves a keen eye for design. Transform the ideal summer space like the front porch, stairway nook, or sun room into a haven of comfort and luxury by adding plush and brightly colored throw pillows. The image featured to the right is of a sun room with pastel-colored walls and rugged, wooden floorboards. All of the textures are working in harmony to create a summery artistic space. You can never go overboard with too many pillows if you are working with an unconventional piece like the makeshift couch in this image.

Final Words
If you have more interior or exterior décor tips that are perfect for the summer, we would love to hear from you! Simply comment on this post below or send us a message on any of our social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to featuring more tips like these five throughout the summer season. Additionally, we'll be announcing some amazing giveaways, so stay tuned!   

Perfect Summer Pairings

Here at Bel Furniture, we must admit that we are in total lounge mode as the spring season winds down and the hot summer approaches. It’s a good thing we’re surrounded by comfy furniture sets all day long because the only way to beat the heat is to stay indoors where it’s cool and cozy. While the official start of summer is still over a month away, we've already thought of the perfect snack and furniture pairings. Bear with us. This may make your mouth water.

First up (above), we have a decadent dish of Balsamic Honey-Pulled Sliders. The smoky flavors of pork and the light, sweet taste of honey is topped off with a sprinkling of coleslaw and radishes. These tasty burgers are best eaten at our Tuscano marble top bar, which features Italian leather inlays and two bar stools.

Our second pairing features homemade ice cream with divine chocolate flakes and a savory berry sauce. To appreciate this cool treat, we suggest trying it in front of the big screen while you watch your favorite film and relax on our 3-piece Home Theater Set. Covered with top grain leather, each seat luxuriously reclines and has a beverage holder.

Perfect for the summer, our third and final pairing is succulent, wholesome and flavorful. Dine on shrimp skewers marinated in orange juice and served with a refreshing side of zucchini. Enjoy this with the whole family atop our stylish Butterfly leaf table. Burnished edges, sleek upholstery and a dark cherry finish make this a unique piece. Check back in for more perfect pairings next week! 

Our Day at the Houston Food Bank

As a company with roots right here in Houston, TX, we strive to support the local communities that have  helped make our business a success. Recently, Bel Furniture was pleased to spend a Saturday volunteering at the Houston Food Bank, a wonderful organization that serves 18 southeast Texas counties. Each week, their mission is to feed at least 137,000 people. As our General Manager, Coleman Callahan, stated in a recent press release, "The Houston Food Bank is an organization that is very dear to our hearts" and we are always honored to help them reach their goal.

Many of the families in Houston, including loyal Bel customers, struggle to survive on incomes that are below the Federal poverty level. The majority of these hardworking families have young children and find it difficult to make ends meet. As a father, the President of Bel Furniture, Sid Mollai, was more than happy to help unload and store frozen food and organize care packages with members of his family and employee team. To show his gratitude and support for Houston families, he regularly contributes to charitable organizations like Pathway of Del Rio and the San Antonio Food Bank.

As the fastest growing furniture retailer in Texas, Bel Furniture can make a real difference in the lives of its community members. Their day of volunteering at the Houston Food Bank followed their sponsorship of the 2013 International Festival of Fort Bend, an additional volunteer day with the San Antonio Food Bank and a successful "12 Days of BELieving" during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons of last year. To learn more about Bel's charity work, please visit their website or follow them on Facebook.