July | 2016 | Valentina Expressions

Trending This Week | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

30 Jul 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2016SummerFashion, #BallonSkirt, #FunkyBags, #LowHeelsSandals, #MikitaGlasses, #SummerFashion

Welcome to a new episode of Friday Fashion.

We are in the middle of summer enjoying gardens, beaches, vacation, or backyard fun, but the fashion industries wants us to think of fall and winter. Collections for the next seasons are in stores already, ready for us. I have already seen Halloween and Christmas decorations. Living a year in advance is really awful and I want to linger on lightweight and breezy clothes, light colors, sandals and bikini for a little while longer.

I found a few curious things this week that will make the rest of the summer really fun.

(AliExpress.com)
I am crazy for crazy bags. The lipstick and the mushroom bags are great to start a conversation. They are not the usual bags, take them to a party and watch the effect on others.

Polka dots purse from DressLily

The Paris street scenes, balloon ‘50s style skirt is perfect for the office and the city daily life, especially with a soft breeze…. (From: Chicwish.com)

Sunglasses: either use them as side table or wear them. Rounded frame sun glasses this summer are the novelty.

(Above photo: francesscholz Designer, SculptorOwner – Backyard Spectacles – Optical Sculptures & Tables)

Mikita makes them in silver white python. They are $899, just a snip!

Nicholas Kirkwood’s ‘Casati’ sandals have been crafted in Italy from rose gold patent-leather. Let’s not call them “slavery sandals” as Dolce & Gabbana did and offended the entire world. These are low heel T-bar sandals embellished with a row of gleaming faux pearls. $695. Another snip!

Nicholas Kirkwood's Casati Dolce & Gabbana shoes

I choose low and high-priced items for every taste. I am sure out there plenty store carry similar items at a more affordable price. Let’s’ enjoy another month or two of summer before we can think of warmer clothes, rain, gray days and hibernating for the winter. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Let Pictures Out Of Darkness | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #GalleryWalls, #HowToDisplayPictures, #IlluminatedPictures, #LuminaeCrystalPanel, #PictureFrames

One of the many items that dress the house with class and elegance is the selection of picture frames, the particular way pictures are positioned on the walls, and how they are illuminated. It’s very common for me to see chaotic arrangements of pictures on people’s walls. They are either too high to look at the subject, or scattered all over without symmetry and meaningful effect.

Generally, picture frames must follow the style of the décor, antique frames with antique furniture, modern frames with modern furniture. However, this is not a rule set in stones and I like to break rules. It takes skills to break this rule and a good eye for scale and proportions, then walls will become attractive galleries of memories, subjects, and themes, just as perfect as a museum. One can choose very expensive or elaborated frames, floating frames, digital frames, shadow box frames, gallery wraps (painting spills over all sides of the canvas and needs no frame) and various style frames all on the same wall, but what about a device that illuminates the artwork all the way around. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

I was arranging pictures in a corridor of a clients’ home. The corridor was dark and all her family pictures made a confused composition on the walls. While rearranging, I thought of a better illumination to enhance the beauty of the people in the frame and the corridor too. The budget was a bit restrictive and I opted for a simple LED flexible cable light. The corridor looks better and the pictures are very symmetric and orderly. I asked myself what I could have done if the budget had been more generous.

(photo credit http://www.soophotography.com/blog/)

I roamed online and found this attractive light device. It is a real beauty called Luminae Crystal Panel, on the market already since a few years ago.
Luminae Crystal Panel uses 7-12 watts LED light, it is a long-lasting, most efficient light panel in the world and it is so thin only ½” of thickness that the only thing the viewer sees is the photograph inside. The panel illuminates the subject evenly without color cast. It sort of captivates in a modern way. It complements any photograph and illuminates as well the area where is positioned. Don’t let the modern look fool you, Luminae Crystal Panel will look good even in a traditional décor. This will make an amazing gallery wall. I can’t wait to try it in my next project.

If you have a mismatched gallery wall in your home or office, give me a call, we can organize it together. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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 anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Don’t let limited bathroom space cramp your style! | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BathroomColors, #BathroomDesigns, #BathroomLayOut, #CustomBathVanity, #CustomDesignedFurniture, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

The aim was to pamper a teenage girl by creating a modern bath that was comfortable, dramatic, elegant and functional. The space did not exist in the previous floor plan, it was created ex-novo from one of the rooms. My challenge was to use all the hard surfaces left over from previews projects my client had done on his properties. I had to work with what was made available to me and I still managed to play with my fantasy. I have designed many pieces of furniture for this home, this bathroom was one of the many challenges. As I progressed in the project, I realized I wasn’t designing for the 17 old daughter, I was designing more for the mother, two very sophisticated women, who knew exactly what they wanted. No time is ever wasted with people who have clear ideas of what the style of the home should be. The girl knew that in a year time she would be gone to college, she trusted her mom’s taste and let her have fun in choosing nothing but the best for the only girl in the family.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Valentina happy at the cabinet maker’s shop)

An Italian master ebonist built the vanity cabinet in Mahogany with inserts of Lace Maple. Its door handles and pull are real silver 925. The area for counter top was minimal, therefore purchasing an expensive stone, a beautiful Opera Fantastico marble was not a big expense at all. Flooring and the shower enclosure were the two areas where leftover stones from previous remodeling projects were used. A combination of Italian marbles and stones created the contrasting colors. Italian made wall lighting and a delicate seafoam wall faux finish set the tone for this small bathroom.

One day, the client sat with me on the freshly installed hardwood floor to shoot the breeze. In a rare moment of confession, she showed me her collection of original jewelry made of precious, semi-precious gems and told the story of each piece . They were beautiful examples of lapislazzuli, quarts, corals, African copal and much more. All of those eccentric pieces led me to my inspiration for the bathroom and the bedroom of the girl.

A small bathroom is one place a designer can propose expensive material without breaking the budget and almost have the license to do it. It is the right place a designer can show off abilities to make everything fit in a reduced space, still produce a functional bathroom with all the amenities and do it with style. Furthermore, using material from previous projects and know how to put them together in a new space is a magic only the expert with clinical eye can pull off. The results exceeded even my own expectations. Many designer magazines published this home and it was on designer tours many times. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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 anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Arrow To The Front Door | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

08 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CurbAppeal, #DrivewayRemodel, #GardenDesign, #GardenFengShui, #GardenIllumination, #LandscapeDesign, #OutdoorRooms, #OutdoorSpace

Choosing a design for an interior space, a garden or outdoor space for some people is an overwhelming task. To get ideas a long process of collecting things starts: photos from magazines, roll millions of Pinterest and Instagram images, color chips, textures and hard material. Some people put those pictures in folders, some create visual boards, some other scatter them all over tables, on the floors, stick them on the walls, fill up their computer, get confused and make the task more difficult than anticipated. If all the ideas are there, why is it so difficult to choose colors, style, appearance of a room, or create a nice corner in the garden? The reason is simple. Each design has its distinctive style, if the designer’s work has been done correctly, each room we see in magazines and online reflects the customers’ personality. Trying to compose a puzzle with a color from one picture, a detail from another picture and a style of furniture from one more picture will never work. Designing to follow own personality and lifestyle is the way to go to assure a successful design. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Before)

This project was developed online, I knew nothing about the virtual client, but soon everything became clear during our conversations online. She mentioned the existing driveway was too straight and long, too gray, too much concrete, too much grass and no harmony or colors in the vegetation. To her eyes the driveway seemed more like a spear shooting straight to her front door. I also kept hearing themes of mysticism and Feng Shui in her conversation with me. Right there I had her answer. I thought of adding games of lights between plants, running water and create a moon garden with plants that would shimmer silver highlights under the moonlight.
(Before)

Her house is a contemporary Mediterranean style, in fact the area where she lives is called “Tuscan Hills”. It is located in a newly built development area, clinging to the hill where weeds grew freely and now huge houses propped in clusters take over the hill. All the houses resemble large cubes missing the true elements of Tuscan Hills and especially missing the Tuscan personality.

First, I tackled the small courtyard at the entry by adding flag stone on the pavement, travertine quoin stones around the door, round travertine landing steps with step lights, window sills and a colorful mosaic fountain with lights. A gazing globe and two larger planters with tall plants would close the vignette. I got rid of the dolphins jumping in the air without water in sight. In a beach house dolphins would have been perfect in a running fountain.

For the driveway I choose an “S” shape designs to avoid that feeling of a straight arrow going directly into to the entry door. Nice colorful pavers would substitute the grey concrete with inserts of medallions in contrasting color pavers forming designs of the sun, moon and star. If she wanted to keep the driveway in a straight line, the view of the second concept offers a harmonious vignette to look at while driving on the long driveway.

The two design concepts I submitted to the client are self-explanatory. I played with colors and architectural balance. As the eyes follow the “S” shaped driveway, they will also go the up and down the tall and short plants, stop at the roundness of the rocks and feel joyous looking at the variety of colors. At night the moon will illuminate the silvery plants and in the daytime the sun will touch all the other colorful plants making them even more cheerful.
At this time all flowers and plants are in bloom, this is the time to redo a front yard, landscape, or your outdoor rooms. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Featured on Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California, appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V., my story as a designer continues. Find copies of my three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I Rather Be The Good Wine In The Small Barrel | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

01 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HighWaistPants, #HighWaistSkirts, #RulesOfDressing, #ShortPersonDressingRules, #ShortPersonFashion, HighHeelsForShortPerson

Welcome to a new episode of Friday Fashion.

I know many women who are not as tall as they would like to be. The mirror test in the shopping hours is the moment of complain: “If I were a little taller I could wear this and that….” Well, we are what we are. We can alter our exterior look with colors, with the right shapes, or with plastic surgery, but we cannot alter the height, matter as well accept our body without hesitation, regret or envy and make the best of it.

There are tricks to adopt to make us appear taller, as there are tricks to make bags under the eye disappear or make teeth whiter. It is easy when it comes to fashion to lapse into the ridiculous. Ridiculous for me are violent prints and overlapping fashion in elements which lead to great confusion; excess of vulgarity, inconsistencies of certain combinations; wearing shoes that makes the ankle coarse or a skirt that cannot be wore due to physical conformation.

(Photo: DressLily)

To rejuvenate is very important, it will affect soul and spirit. Anyone wants to feel younger in a younger style and lines, however to rejuvenate with an aggressive look is not a winning move. Who cares what everybody wears, be different from others, find your personal style and learn not to blend in. With the right proportions, the right outfit, and the right colors, the goal is to feel good in the interior and exterior with what nature has gifted us.

I am a short person too. I should have suffered the missing inches as most of my friends are taller, but I didn’t, I have learned to hide my small defects and to exalt my virtues.

(Below photo unknown – Credit given to the author or maker).

To look taller follow these basic rules and go on with life:

Avoid long skirts with a lot of fabric flapping between the legs. If you must wear something long wear a pencil long skirt or dress. However short skirts on a short person are a better choice.
Avoid bell bottom pants and low-cut waist pants or shirt. Pencil bottom pants are better and high waist pants and skirts are also a better choice.
Avoid long oversize jackets. It will swallow a short person.
Avoid a ton of print, use vertical stripes or monochrome color scheme.
Avoid hats with large brims and large bags.
Avoid flat shoes and high heel above 5” including wedges, but never give up the right heels. In addition to the height, a short woman in high heels will gain a more feminine sexier walking style.
Whenever possible wear shoes of the same color of the pants. It will help elongate the figure at least visually.
Avoid long hair unless they are collected and tied above. A short dynamic cut is better for a short woman.
Avoid long nails.

Dynamite comes in small packages and I rather be the good wine in the small barrels.

I am here to help if you need to rejuvenate your look. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w