Last week I visited a house for the first time, the new person could be a potential client. She lives with her husband six months out of the year in Florida and six months in California, not too shabby!
Her house climbs the mountain of California, it is surrounded by a golf course and a lot of luscious vegetation covers the property almost entirely. All her windows face the mountain and rugged mountain scenery. However, at the door, when I rang the bell, I had the impression of being at the beach. Her door wreath made of seashells, seahorses and sea stars screamed of beach. Flamingoes and seagulls decorated her porch. I entered the house and my impression was confirmed. Blues, aqua, cream and beige colors filled every room, beach home accessories scattered everywhere decorated the house meticulously as if the beach was right outside the windows. The house was nicely decorated, but totally out-of-place.
I also noticed all the cabinets around the house looked like kitchen cabinets with granite countertop, no distinction of room and function, even the master bedroom had wall to wall kitchen cabinets with granite top used for office stuff and medicines. That’s the way builders conceive homes today. They raise walls and stick kitchen cabinets everywhere as fast as they can, without paying attention to details, design or style, but this is another matter. So sad, homes are without charm!
Would you decorate a home set on the rustic, reddish and mystical Grand Canyon with snow scenery of the Swiss Alps, yodeling sounds and cowbells hanging everywhere?
Would you decorate a house set in Hawaii with pictures of rainy days of Paris, just because you like Paris scenery?
Decorating a home is very personal and I understand people decorate with things that make them happy, even when they are totally out of contest.
Long time ago, I had to bend to a client’s request, a single man, living in the center of a metropolitan city, who wanted his bedroom to look like a jungle. It was tough to accept his ideas, I developed the project regardless of my disappointment, but I never took photos of that design work.
The exterior environment plays a large role in home décor. In order to bring harmony in our soul, we must feel connected with nature surrounding the home. Colors and texture of the outside should be respected and taken into consideration, that’s when we can say to feel completely at home.
Visibly the woman I visited had a revelation moment when I explained the reasons her interior felt awkward to me. I am sure she liked the décor of her home and I could almost hear her saying: “I like the beach scenes, do I have to change everything now?” Somehow I felt her discomfort with certain elements of her spaces and décor.
People can live the way they want in their spaces, there is no rule saying a beach décor belongs at the beach house. My function as a professional (as all the professionals in any fields) is to stir people in the right direction for optimal results, the rest is up to the client to follow suggestions or not. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
Copyright © 2014 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.
She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge any where in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
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Valentina Expressions 