Arrangements of cut flowers are an easy way to add beauty and class to almost any room in your home. RELATED LINKS Watch video on how to buy and arrange fresh flowers.

Freshly cut flowers can add charm and elegance to almost any room, but their beauty often fades too quickly, necessitating an expensive trip to the florist or further cuttings from the garden. Is there any way to keep cut flowers fresh, and colorful a little bit longer?

Sheila Bridges is president of Sheila Bridges Design, based in New York City. Her own Manhattan apartment and those of many of her clients have been featured in magazines and books, including Designing Women, Martha Stewart Living, House & Garden and House Beautiful, and Time Magazine named her "America’s Best Designer," in 2001. Sheila is also the host of the series Sheila Bridges: Designer Living, on Fine Living Network. Here she explains how to care for cut flowers and make the most of their beauty.

• Re-cut stems. When you get flowers from a floral shop, says Bridges, the first thing you should do is cut the stems again, on a diagonal with a knife.

• Water and bleach. Put the flowers in clean water that is warm, rather than cold, and make sure to change the water in your vase daily. You might want to add a capful of bleach to cut down on the bacteria in the water.

• Food. Definitely use the little packet of flower food that came with you flowers, or buy a similar product at a flower shop to use with flowers from your own garden.

• Location. Excessive heat can be hard on cut flowers, so avoid placing your vase in direct sunlight or near a radiator.

• Beauty. Bridges’ favorite flowers are hydrangeas, and she just loves how a simple arrangement, like a single type of flower in an elegant vase, can brighten a room with color and class. If you take care of your cut flowers, they can be an easy and inexpensive way to keep your home looking gorgeous.

HGTV.com: Conditioning Flowers
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_floral_arrangements/article/0,,HGTV_3418_1396065,00.html

The Gardener’s Network: Caring for Cut Flowers
www.gardenersnet.com/flower/cutflower.htm

University of Minnesota: Keeping Cut Flowers and Flowering Plants
www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG7355.html