Bella Collina is one of Central Florida’s most architecturally distinctive luxury communities — an Italian-inspired, private club and golf estate set across the rolling hills of Lake County, where the architecture, the landscape, and the lifestyle all speak to a particular aesthetic vision. Designing inside Bella Collina requires a designer who understands that vision — someone who can work within the community’s Mediterranean character while creating interiors that feel genuinely personal to the family living there, rather than a generic interpretation of a style. I am Marilou Stones, an award-winning, licensed interior designer with 40 years of experience. I have worked inside Bella Collina, and I bring to every project here the design depth and precision that these homes deserve.
Whether you are designing a new build from the ground up, renovating and refurnishing an existing Bella Collina residence, or refreshing specific spaces within your home, I work as a true design partner — with an appreciation for the community’s architectural character and an absolute commitment to making the interior your own.
Professional Experience
Interior Design
State of Florida
Professional Body
Multiple Awards
US, Mexico, UK
A full interior design service for Bella Collina residents — from concept through to completion, with a sensitivity to the community’s distinctive architectural identity.
Bella Collina is architecturally specific — its Mediterranean and Italian-inspired character creates a design context that rewards designers who understand European residential aesthetic traditions as well as Florida’s climate and lifestyle realities. With 40 years of experience including international projects across residential, commercial, and hospitality design, I bring both to every engagement here.
Whether you are designing a forever home, renovating a property you have lived in for years, or furnishing a vacation rental that needs to impress from the first listing photo, I bring the same level of care and expertise to every project.
Bella Collina homeowners have made a deliberate choice — they have chosen a community with a strong and specific aesthetic identity, and they expect their interiors to honour that choice while reflecting who they are. The best interiors in Bella Collina feel simultaneously connected to the community’s character and unmistakably personal to the family that lives there. That is what I design toward on every project.
I welcome the opportunity to speak with Bella Collina homeowners who are considering a design project — whether that is a new build, a significant renovation, or a considered refresh of an existing home. Please get in touch to arrange a private consultation.
I offer a complete interior design service for Bella Collina residents — including full home design, new construction projects from structural selections through to complete furnishing and styling, whole-home or room-specific renovation, complete turnkey delivery, bespoke furniture procurement through European and domestic sources, and indoor-outdoor and terraced space design. Every engagement is tailored to the specific scope and vision of the project.
I begin by understanding the architecture — the proportions, the materials, the way the home sits within the Bella Collina landscape — and then I work with you to understand how you want to live inside it. The design strategy I develop holds those two things in balance: a deep respect for the home’s character and an absolute commitment to making it yours. At Bella Collina, the architecture gives us a beautiful starting point. My job is to take it further.
Timelines are set by scope and the complexity of procurement. A full new construction or renovation project is a multi-month engagement, and I provide a detailed schedule at the start of every project. For Bella Collina projects that involve European sourcing or bespoke furniture pieces, lead times are factored in from the outset — so they never become a disruption to the process or the timeline.
Yes. Bella Collina has a strong and specific architectural identity — Italian and Mediterranean-inspired, with a particular palette, material language, and design DNA that runs through the community. I have worked inside Bella Collina and I understand that identity. My work here is always about honouring the architecture while creating interiors that feel completely personal — not a pastiche of Mediterranean style, but a sophisticated interpretation of it that is entirely yours.
Ready to transform your space? Let’s talk about your
home and bring your vision to life — with a design that is
as functional as it is beautiful.
Marilou Stones is an award-winning, licensed interior designer and ASID member serving Winter Garden and Central Florida for over 40 years.
Monthly Florida design ideas, straight from Marilou’s studio.
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