Bringing the outdoors indoors.

Q: How do I incorporate nature into my interior design elements?

A: Nature provides numerous opportunities and inexpensive resources to utilize in decorating the interior of the home, apartment, or commercial space. Let's begin with the obvious: windows. Do your window treatments allow the sun to shine through? Are they heavy, dark and cover the windows? Allowing sunshine indoors often creates an open, outdoor feeling and can lift the spirits. If you have formal drapes, think about tying them back and adding sheers underneath, so light can shine through. The tiebacks could be made of wrought iron or dried flowers glued to cloth. Decorative blinds, shades, or shutters are a nice touch and they can be opened during the daylight hours and closed at night.

Wallpaper, depending on its color and pattern, can also add an outdoors touch, i.e., flowers, animals, the sky, moon, etc. Be careful that it does not overpower the other decorations in the room. Perhaps an accent wall would work or just paper the walls above the chair rail. Stay within your taste boundaries.

Some of the inexpensive natural resources one can use for decorating are: dried flowers, pine cones, acorns, twigs, colorful (autumn or spring) leaves, wooden sticks, tree limbs, sea shells, straw, colored stones, colored bricks, and fresh flowers and plants. All of these items come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Dried flowers can be used for potpourri and placed in decorative vases or bowls. Dried flowers can also be used to decorate lamps, lampshades, strung on mantels, around pictures, mirrors, bedposts, etc. Just glue the flowers to ribbon or stick them to tape. Then glue or wrap around the object. Or apply directly to the object.

Leaves are usually in abundance in autumn. Collect a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. They can also be glued to ribbons or stuck on tape. Besides using leaves to decorate in similar ways to dried flowers, above, one can glue them to door wreaths. Leaves make beautiful pictures. Paste them on a colorful board, place them in a picture frame, and hang. Or, place the leaves, or a huge leaf, between two panes of clear or colorful glass, frame and hang on the wall, or suspend in the air with string, ribbon, or wire.

Live green plants can be utilized in any room in the house. Besides creating a healthy environment through photosynthesis, green plants add color to the decor. Plants can be displayed in clay, brass, plastic, wooden, and iron pots, just to name a few. They can be displayed on counters, mantels, dressers, buffets, flower stands, flower boxes, cabinets, tables. sconces, ledges, on the floor, or hung from the ceiling or wall. The philodendron plant is an excellent accent plant. It is easy to maintain and its vines grow, and grow, and grow in many directions.

Branches, sticks and twigs can easily be found on the ground in most neighborhoods. Look for dead branches that have fallen off the tree or are ready to be cut down. I am not encouraging anyone to cut down a healthy tree, or any tree. Many people like the natural look of branches, sticks, and twigs. They can be used to make wreaths for a door or table. center pieces for a table, brooms, or floral arrangements. Sticks and twigs can be used with plants or flowers. And they can be displayed artistically by themselves in vases or pots. Larger branches can be used as table bases if cut to the correct height. I would suggest that they be professionally treated or sterilized to eliminate any insects or fungus. These branches can be decorated with dried flowers and hung as a wall ornament. Also, branches, sticks, and twigs can be painted with a variety of colors, depending on your taste. Spray paint is sold for $1.00 in most dollar stores. They add a colorful touch to any room.

Wrought iron is commonly used in the yard, on patios and on decks. Bring some of those pieces inside as accent pieces. For example, use a watering can as a flower pot. Use a part of a fence as a room divider. Some pieces can be converted to candle holders. Change the base of a glass table to a wrought iron base.

If creativity is not your forte and it easier to make a purchase, I suggest the following:

* Search for the best quality and price. The web is a good resource.

* Purchase handmade furniture made from natural trees: Beds, tables, chairs, chests, cabinets, lamps.

* Purchase accessories (clocks, pillows, lamps, throws, draperies, sheers, cornices etc.) that contain outdoor scenes of rivers, lakes, mountains, grasses, flowers and/or animals. Use sparingly or abundantly, depending on your taste. Be careful not make your room look crowded.

* Plant a small tree in a planter indoors.

* Have a friend paint a mural of an outdoor scene on one of your walls.

* Lastly, there is one suggestion that pleases almost everyone: five flowers displayed in a vase on a piece of furniture. The selection of flowers is endless. Hopefully, you don't have allergies! Organically grown flowers tend to look fresher and cause fewer problems because they haven't been treated with chemicals.

Bio Jacqueline M. Bell-Ajabu is the owner of JMBell Interior Designs in Athens, Georgia. She has over twenty years experience in interior decorating. You can reach her at [e-mail].