With Valentines day just around the corner, thoughts turn to romance. To set the right mood throughout the year, here are some simple decorating tips and a handful of extra special touches to dress your house. So whether you are planning a Valentines Day bash or some intimate time for two, check out these romantic ideas.

For lighting, that mood maker extraordinaire, consider changing your white light bulbs to pink (available in most grocery stores and 3-way too.) These cast a softer, gentle glow and will be sure to bring complements from those nearby. In fact, my favorite tale is from a client who mentioned that her husband commented almost daily for a week on how great she looked, and she never let him in on the secret of pink bulbs!

A collection of whimsical or more traditionally elegant angels, cherubs, and cupids can be delightfully fun to create. Consider printed pillows, woven throws, porcelain figurines, classic framed prints and the like. These can be gathered and dedicated in one room or creatively displayed throughout your home. They have a way of lifting ones heart during a potentially dreary time of year, and reminding us of those closest to us.

Treat yourself to flowers. And, yes, do go beyond the grocery store! There are not only florists, but great sources on-line and in catalogues for a wealth of pretty posies. Top picks include Calyx and Corolla, 1-800-Flowers, Gardeners Eden, Pick of the Crop in Alpharetta, and Memes in Roswell. While roses are the original symbol of romance, tulips in white, red, and pink or even a bouquet of carnations can brighten any room. Paperwhites and other bulbs will bring a welcome touch of Spring, as well. Consider using paper or silk flowers if live arent your bag.

For those with a sweet tooth there is always a treat for holiday munching. Consider well placed candy dishes, heart-shaped of course, in crystal, silver, or ceramic. Whether filled with chocolate kisses, or pastel melts, it adds a sense of festivity and sweetness to the season. Get the kids involved with baking special Valentines sugar cookies, heart shapes with pink and red sugar sprinkle topping to share with family and friends.

Honor those close to your heart. Choose favorite pictures of your children, spouse, significant other, or friends and group them in heart shaped frames. Or create a collage on cork board of the same pictures, in a heart shape with a ribbon border. You can even make your own frames by cutting out hearts from construction paper (red, of course) and taping or gluing pictures to each. These can be put on the refrigerator with magnets, or pinned to a bulletin board. They can even be strung on decorative yarn and hung on the mantel.

Stairrails, mantels, mirrors and more can all be festooned with ribbon in white, pink, and red, reflecting the heart of the holiday! Papier mache cupids and angels are now available in a variety of sizes and finishes (gold, silver, or unfinished) and can be perched strategically on newell posts, mantel corners, the top of cabinets and such.

If red, pink, and white arent your favorite colors, go with gold or silver, but do promote the sense of romance with sparkle and elegance. What makes you feel romantic' These days the opportunities are endless, take advantage of the day and make it special.

Melissa Galt

Defining Melissa Galt is like capturing wind in a glass box. She is fascinating like her famous mother, the late Academy Award winning actress Anne Baxter, innovative like her great grandfather, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and has an innate sense of style like her well known godmother, Hollywood costumer, Edith Head. But she has made a name for herself as owner of Linea Interior Design, without borrowing on the glory of her gene pool.

Recently renaming her company, Melissa Galt, Inc. Melissa works with lifestyle design clients throughout the Southeast. Focusing on the tastes and desires of each client, she creates interiors that are a seamless mix of old and new, crafted to be a comfortable, collected environment that works with the client?s life style.

Originally from the West Coast, Melissa received a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel administration from Cornell, and began her career in the hospitality industry. She quickly rose in the industry moving from one large hotel to another, ending up at Callaway Gardens in Columbus. Frustrated with the lack of creativity, she decided to pursue a design degree at Southern Institute in Birmingham before moving to Atlanta in 1992 to launch her design career.

Having taught adults for over a decade at Evening at Emory, she is now addressing audiences nationally on how to use design as the catalyst for ?creating the life you?ve always dreamed of?.