February Inspiration

As the month of January nears its conclusion, Bel Furniture looks forward to February, the continued cool weather, and the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. With spring approaching, we found a number of interior design inspirations that channel the ideas of newness, rejuvenation, romance, and natural beauty.


The Motion of the Ocean

It's moving to relax on the beach and stare out across the ocean, imagining the thousands of miles between lands and people. To add energy to your home this coming February, we suggest incorporating the hues of the oceans and seas. Small accent pieces, like this delicate side tables, would look great alongside one of Bel Furniture's rich, leather sofas. While not many people have a blue rug at their disposal, we think both sofa and ocean table would look great on dark tile or deep brown, wooden floorboards.

Extraordinary Lighting

Unique light fixtures can enliven your living space. The example we found below is modeled on the scrawny branches of a willow tree. Instead of flower buds, small light bulbs have been incorporated instead. At Bel Furniture, we think this is an interesting pairing of natural beauty and creative innovation. Light botany would be an excellent addition to a child's bedroom. Add a green duvet cover and woodland creature wall stencils and you have a small forest realm for your little one to play in.

Spring Forward, Spring Flowers

While we know that spring is not quite here yet, we don't see anything wrong with preparing for it. We stumbled across this gorgeous "floating flowers" duvet cover and had to share. We realize it's not a Monet. It would, however, make a lovely addition to a daughter's bedroom. The vibrant flowers pop against crisp white sheets, and a bed frame that is also white. Bel Furniture has a number of bedroom set options that would work perfectly.

Where your Heart on your Sleeve

We cannot talk about February without bringing up St. Valentine's Day. After all, it's where the expression, "wearing your heart on your sleeve," stems from. How can we apply this to interior design and accessories?

Below, we've found one beautiful example. Scour a few antique stores (or the storage shed) for old sheet music. Simply cut the music into paper hearts and arranged them along the length of sturdy string or piece of twine. It's a small gesture, but it could speak volumes on Valentine's Day. If you sweetheart isn't a music aficionado, perhaps you could create a similar design based on their hobby or interests. If you have any ideas, please share them with us in the Comments section!

Outdoor Dining

The weather is perfect for outdoor dining. It's not too cold and not yet 100+ degrees in Texas. We suggest taking full advantage of the upcoming February coolness by hosting an outdoor dinner party. It's amazing how far a dozen white candles will go. The centerpiece bowls in this photo are also decorated with floating candles and flower heads. What would your outdoor feast entail? Let us know by leaving your suggestions below in the Comments section.

Romantic Music

Valentine's Day was still on our minds when we found this beautiful photograph of a violin. We'll leave you with this image and urge you to think about music that brings you joy. Make February the month when you rekindle your love of music. Music, especially classical, has positive impacts on the brain and development. It's never too late to introduce your little ones to Mahler, Bach, or Beethoven. As always, we would love to  hear your thoughts of our blog on our Facebook Timeline. Come on, February!

Spotlight: The Mollai Collection

When it comes to home furnishings and accessories, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of style and innovation. It's our goal to provide our valued customers with living room, dining room, and bedroom sets that complement their personalities, existing home décor, and design aspirations. For this reason, Bel Furniture takes pride in creating its own special furniture collections. One of our exclusive lines, the Mollai Collection, was designed by the owners themselves. Below, we've featured four of our favorite sets we think you'll love.

1. Fine Vintage & Victorian

This first set will lend a regal air to any room. With its 100% leather upholstery, richly carved back frames and feet, and reversible, designer accent pillows, it communicates an elegance that is hard to find in most large furniture providers. We just love all the trim details with marble accents that make this living room set one-of-a-kind: http://ow.ly/gZSuZ

2. Fine Dining & Entertainment

For the ultimate experience in fine dining, the Mollai Collection features this eight piece set that includes a double pedestal extension, perfect for visiting family and dinner guests. Each intricate wood detail glistens in a well-lit dining room. And, the upholstered chairs match perfectly in a brownish, patterned fabric:  http://ow.ly/gZT1A

3. Sleek & Relaxing Sleep

In addition to dining and living room sets, the Mollai Collection also boasts a few bedroom sets that are modern and subtle in their elegance. This first one, with brushed nickel hardware and a warm, antique white finish, stands out in any bedroom space with curved details and an attractive headboard:  http://ow.ly/gZTur

4. Dreaming Big

The last bedroom set we will feature is a great option for a growing daughter. Bel Furniture offers many bedroom sets that kids will love for years. Say goodbye to buying a new bedroom set every couple years. This three piece queen bed comes in a cute cherry finish and has a 100% leather headboard. The foot-board is set with individual brass nail heads to give it a sophisticated look that your daughter's friends will envy: http://ow.ly/gZUc7

Free Lady Gaga Tickets Only from Bel and 104.1 KRBE

If anyone knows how to throw a ball, it's Lady Gaga. The first three shows of her "Born this Way Ball" tour were sold out, a story that isn't any different in our lovely city of Houston, where Pop Music's new Queen is set to perform on January 31, 2013 at the Toyota Center downtown. Based on the recent Internet buzz, we're sure this show is going to be even more spectacular than the "Monster Ball" tour.

After a successful partnership with 104.1 KRBE over the 2012 holiday season, we decided to pair up with them again and offer our customers a chance to win a pair of tickets to see the Queen of Pop at her Toyota Center performance in two weeks. KRBE listeners also  have a chance to win while enjoying tunes and news during their commute to and from work. Or, Houstonians can enter to win online to improve their odds.: http://ow.ly/gNECl.

Bel Furniture has made it very easy for their fans and customers to take part in this "Enter to Win" by providing a promotional link right on their Facebook page. For a chance to see Gaga appear onstage riding a mechanical horse with an Alien-style backdrop and all her Little Monsters in fine dancing form, all you have to do is Like Bel and enter to win the pair of tickets through the promotional tab on our Facebook page here:   http://ow.ly/gNFr6.

The only way to win a pair of tickets to see Lady Gaga in concert is to Like Bel Furniture on Facebook while you enter your information into our promotional tab, accessible right above the Timeline.

The Big Three (Movies) You Must See on the Big Screen

Each generation has a film they all remember seeing on the big screen. Whether it was Elizabeth Taylor lavishly costumed and doe-eyed in "Cleopatra," Dustin Hoffman serenely floating in his swimming pool in "The Graduate," or Tom Hanks running back and forth across the country in "Forrest Gump," we all fondly remember those cinematic moments that captured our hearts and imaginations, while we nervously or emotionally munched on buttery popcorn in a dark movie theater.

In honor of our current TV package promotion, the film aficionados at Bel Furniture have compiled a short list of movies that absolutely must be seen on the big screen. While the HD and 3D HDTVs we are giving away are not the size of traditional movie theater screens, they are definitely big enough to give you an at-home movie theater experience you can enjoy with the whole family. Learn about our special items or room packages that come with a free HDTV here.

The Big Three you Must See:

The first big screen must see film on our list is "Jurassic Park," by Stephen Spielberg. A small TV just wouldn't do the impressive 13,000 pound animatronic T. rex justice as he snarls and snaps his way after Dr. Grant and the other paleontologist enthusiasts (some not by choice).

The second box office smash on our list is "Independence Day,"starring Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. It's our opinion that this film lived up to its massive 90s hype by delivering breathtaking shots of the alien mother ships, strategically positioned above key cities all over planet earth. And, who could forget Will Smith's close encounter with the pilot of the alien fighter craft he shoots down over the desert?

Our third and final film for this installment is one that is a little more contemporary: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Each film was a visual feast even more dazzling than the one before. Peter Jackson brought each stone, each castle, each mystic city, and each character from the books, to life. Watching this film on the big screen is almost like dreaming.

When you have a free HDTV from Bel Furniture, you're not just limited to our movie picks. In fact, we would love to hear your top movies that you consider to be big screen must sees. Leave a comment below or let us know what you think on our Facebook  page.

2013 Home Decor: Spruce up that Front Door

While we often make many resolutions when the New Year comes around that we hope will positively affect our personal lives and relationships, we may not always think of home decor resolutions. At Bel Furniture, we're always coming up with new ways to make the spaces in our homes reflect our unique personalities, while fulfilling the practical needs of day-to-day living at the same time.

An often overlooked part of our homes is the front door. We're determined to give this space (including the entire porch if it applies to you) a face lift that will make knocking on the door or ringing the door bell an adventure for families, friends, and visitors, letting them know who you are and what you're about right away. Below, we've compiled a few do-it-yourself ideas that can be easily implemented. You can even involved the whole family!

1. Old School Chalk Board

Hang a mini chalk board from your front door and you may just come home to surprising messages left by friends and family. "Mom, we need more cookies!" Or, "Stopped by to drop off tomato seeds. Call me! - Anne." This can easily be made out of a small piece of slate, available at many home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot, a sturdy piece of twine, and chalk. To cut the hole in the piece of slate, you may need to bake a drill-owning friend some cookies.

2. Don't Eat our Front Porch Garden

Ideal for homes that get a lot of porch sunlight, this second DIY tip is green-friendly and totally edible. Customize your front porch for 2013 by planting herbs and other greens that you can literally transfer from porch to table. It's been proven that having plants around is calming! In case you forget which plant is which, you can easily make labels out of old wine corks. Shop for your front porch plants at local farmer's markets, home improvement stores, and local garden shops.

3. A Door Mat you can be Proud of

Adding a door mat to your porch or in front of your apartment door is an added touch that certainly won't go unnoticed by guests - especially when it rains. While it has been admittedly much dryer in Houston the past couple years, it does still rain. With that rain comes great cleaning responsibility and mud. Give your guests something fun to wipe their feet on by customizing a wooden door mat. The kids can definitely help with this project by giving each segment of the mat a paint job.

4. Wonderful Wreaths

At Bel Furniture, we love a huge welcome, and what better way to welcome your guests than a beautiful wreath hanging on your front door? The option we found above even includes the address number of the house, fresh flowers, and a decorative bow. To start off, we recommend buying a plain wreath made of sticks and then customizing it yourself. If you decide to go with the fresh flowers look, you'll have to be sure to replace them when they wilt. Fake flower arrangements, however, are a good option, too.

Check back here for more DIY tips for the home. We'd love for you to give us ideas for more 2013 home inspiration below or by commenting on our Facebook page.

Surprising Santa Desserts

We see more decorations during Christmas than any other holiday in the year, but every year, there are so many new, cute ideas that it's hard to catch up!  Luckily, we also have some holiday downtime to do just that.  Here are some adorable dessert ideas we've pinned to our Pinterest boards.  Share them with your kids.  They're easy!

Take some Strawberry Santa Caps to the school holiday party and everyone will turn pink-cheeked and jolly.  Our try some surprising strawberry Christmas Tree treats and have everyone saying "O, Tenenbaum!

KRBE 104.1 Radio and Bel's Last Chance Winner

We are so excited to share the success of our partnership with KRBE Radio's "Christmas Wish" as a part of the Roula & Ryan Show tradition. These charismatic radio personalities have been  sponsoring the charity event for nearly 20 years, asking folks from the Houston Metropolitan area to send KRBE 104.1 a letter (snail mail or online) nominating a deserving individual or family that really needs financial help during the holiday season. While we did partner with KRBE last year, we've beefed up our role this year to include hosting an Awards Breakfast at our Sugarland location in honor of the recipients and their families. Each winner will receive a check for $1,004, courtesy of KRBE and the Bel family.

We encourage all of our friends, family, customers, and KRBE loyal listeners to tune in to 104.1 the morning of the Awards Breakfast, December 19th, because "Special K" from the Roula & Ryan Show will be broadcasting live and accepting call-ins starting around 8 AM. The feasting will be underway by 9 AM and Bel President, Sid Mollai, will be presenting each "Christmas Wish" recipient with a Memory Foam Pillow. We want everything about the holidays to be comfortable and joyful for all the deserving families. After this lovely Awards Breakfast, there will still be time to submit letters nominating a Last Chance Winner, to be chosen by Bel Furniture.

“Partnering with The Roula & Ryan Show of KRBE has been a pleasure for all of us at Bel.  The letters are wonderful reminders to us that people really do care about their community, and we can’t wait to read the ones that come in as we get closer and closer to our Awards Breakfast,” says our Bel Furniture President, Sid Mollai.

The last day to send Bel a letter using their online form OR submit a letter to the drop-box at any Bel store location is December 20th at 10 PM.

We can't wait to meet all the individuals and families who have been chosen and are looking forward to learning more about them. If you have a friend or family member (who does not live in your household) that you think deserves a little help this year from Bel and Roula & Ryan, we encourage you to send us a letter. To see the official rules of the "Christmas Wish," click the hyperlink. Simply scroll to the bottom of the page and choose, "Official Contest Rules." We look forward to sharing the success of the Awards Breakfast soon. Have a wonderful weekend!