Interview with Bella Casa

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Home Decor Interview:

Bella Casa

Straight from the heart of America's automobile belt comes Bella Casa, a housewife from Michigan who loves her home, loves her blog (Bella Casa), and loves to blog about her home.

We are very excited to have Bella with us today, and this holiday season she is in our thoughts. There is some bad news: her husband Velo was recently told that his company is going to cease operations for a month during the holidays. Velo works for a robotics company that is heavily dependent upon the auto industry. With the recent credit crisis wreaking havoc on the auto industry, Bella has been personally affected by this at the worst possible time, and our thoughts and wishes go out to her and her family. My husband was laid off just weeks after we got married, so I know how stressful this can be.

We know Bella and her strong family bond will get her through these tough times. Today we will shift gears and try to talk with Bella about a more pleasant subject: home decor.

Bella is a student of home decor blogging; she reads all that she can and takes the very best ideas and applies them to her own home. At the end of the day, isn't that what all of us are here to do too??

Let's pick Bella's brain and step inside her home for awhile. Enjoy the interview!

1. Hi Bella, thanks a lot for taking the time to speak with us today. Please take this chance to tell us about your blog and anything else you'd like our readers to know about yourself.

Bella Casa, Decorating on a Budget, Darnit! blog is my pride and joy, but also my therapy! It's so nice to connect with my readers and other bloggers about the joy of decorating, finding a great garage sale find or just the right paint color...all on a small budget. We also share laughter and friendship and just a connection that I can't really explain, it's just 'there'.

2. Your blog is about your lovely home in Detroit, Michigan. However, your bio says that it took a few years for you to really get excited about your home. Was it the home itself that you didn't like at first, or was it the fact that you moved so far away from friends and family?

When we first moved out here to Brighton, I loved our home, to us, it was our 'dream home.' But yes, then I did start to miss all of my friends and family and we then decided to put our house up for sale and move back closer to them. Unfortunately, we could not sell our house...and well, when you don't want to live somewhere, your passion for it dissipates.

The more I neglected the house, the more I hated living in it as well, it was hard to shake the cycle. Finally, earlier this year, I discovered decorating blogs and seeing all of those beautiful homes and decor, got me back in the mood to make my house a home again.

3. You often show pictures of furniture and accessories that you renovate to look like new. Where did you learn this special talent?

I really just learn from other bloggers. Spray paint is a gal's best friend!

4. You recently published a post about your husband Velo, who works as an electrician. What does your husband think about your decorating hobby, and do he or your sons show any signs of sharing your knack for home d�cor?

Velo is a sweetheart and lets me do just about anything I want when it comes to decor, although lately he is starting to get more involved.

For example, he is on a mission to get rid of all of our vertical blinds in the house, ever since he heard someone on HGTV refer to them as "Doctor's Office blinds." *laugh* I have to agree with him though, curtains are so much prettier than blinds!

Our sons get excited when we paint a room, they love to see the new color on the walls. My younger son is very much into decorating with his mom though, he's a little Ty Pennington in the making!

5. Pictures of your son's room proudly adorn your blog. In reality, how much say did you have in his d�cor and how much say did he have? How did he feel about Mom getting involved with redecorating his room?

I pretty much was in charge. I researched the Internet for ideas and came up with 2 that I loved, but he made the final choice. He did get to choose the lighting and sports posters. He loves his room, so it worked out pretty well. I have a feeling with our younger son, *he* will bring me his ideas and tell me to pick one! *laugh*

6. I was amazed by your "Oh So Pretty Candy Dish Project," in which you took some items from garage sales, added some creativity, and designed a beautiful candy dish.

Where do you get this idea from? If it was your own idea, then what inspired you to do something so inventive?

I got the idea for my candy dish project from Joy at Joy of Home blog. Joy is amazing! She has the most creative ideas! I just took her idea and made a few changes, I still love how it turned out...I just started crafting this year, so I still get excited when I complete a project like this.

7. The holidays are coming upon us; what is your favorite holiday to decorate for, and what plans do you have for it this year?

I love to decorate for all of the holidays, but of course, Christmas is so much fun. This year, we needed a new tree and lights and I let my sons choose the tree, lights and many of the ornaments, too (which came from The Dollar Tree, of course!). It really looks like a fun, kid's tree, too, with its multi-colored lights and even multi-colored candy canes!

8. Bella, thanks again for allowing us to interview you. For the last question, please tell us what it was that first got you interested in home d�cor, and what is it that keeps you interested in it?

I think I have always been interested in home decor! Even as a child, I played with my Barbie Townhouse for hours and hours. I also rearranged the furniture on a regular basis, thankfully my mom never minded! I love having a pretty home, but most especially, a comfortable and loving place to call home...so I am sure I will always be interested in keeping that feeling in my home.

Thanks so much to Bella for taking the time to interview with us at a very difficult time. Please stop by and visit her Bella Casa blog today to meet Bella and her lovely family.

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