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by Lance Filbert
lance.filbert@interiordecoratingschools.net
Interior Design Columnist

OK, it's official. Flowers make people smile. I think we always knew that, but now scientists at Rutgers University have studied the subject and proven our hunch right. Let's talk about flowers - and a few interior decorating ideas for bringing the joy of garden décor indoors.

Mutual Benefit

One of the most interesting facets of the university flower study was the theory that when flowers make us happy, we make them happy. Well, flowers don't exactly smile, but the human reaction to pretty, blooming things over thousands of years have been an important part of survival and development of flowers. Instead of rooting them out as weeds when humans turned from hunting to agriculture, the earlier humans preserved the flowers and allowed them to grow. All that history and psychology just to put some pretty colors into your home décor or office décor.

Creative Interior Decorating Tips for Using Flowers

There's almost no place in your cozy nest that can't be brightened up with a few fresh flowers - or even dried flowers. Lance says, "Avoid artificial flowers, even the expensive silk ones. They don't give the same sense of life and color to your home interior design - and they are awful dust collectors."

Use your creative imagination when you add flowers to your home or office interior décor. Creative solutions are the most important parts of the interior designer's toolkit. You don't have to put pretty flowers in those plain glass vases that look like they came from a cheap florist or were swiped from someone's funeral. Try everything from a $1000 crystal vase (you have a few of those, don't you?), to a garden watering can, to a beat up old hat with a short vase hidden inside. Put them on shelves, in the bathroom, in a fireplace you are not using. Put them everywhere!

About the Author

Lance Filbert is known for his witty and innovative design ideas. He has an extensive arts background and has an arts degree from the City University of New York. He lives in San Francisco with his partner, Bertram, and their cairn terriers, Toto and Toklas. Posted on June 28, 2005 at 03:02 PM