In Europe, I was used to leaving the house, stroll the streets filled with many shops of a different kind, sit at a cafe or do window licking if I didn’t have anything to buy. Go out to walk at leisure, it’s the way of life in Europe. Shopping over there happens when people really need things, discounts come at the end of seasons, not every day, thus window shopping is a pastime. I love the feel and relationship I could create with small shoppe’s owners. However, due to the massive online buying convenience, even the structure of European streets is slowly changing and small stores are capitulating to online giant merchant corporations. A few days ago, in a networking event, I was telling a group of business women that the life of a designer doesn’t stop at 5:00 pm. Designers are in the constant “mode of searching” for clients. Sometimes, not all the accessories and artwork are in place when we finish a major remodeling or decorating. Choosing artwork is a very personal thing, is like choosing perfumes. Usually, at the end of a project, clients want to take care of their artwork selection, but if something is left open, we will keep an eye open for those details left to complete.
I just remembered this episode. I was walking in a small American town, doing window shopping and spending the afternoon of leisure with myself. Horsefeathers, I exclaimed! I spotted a huge wooden horse through the store window display selling Italian ceramics. The horse was placed in a dining area as a suggestion, I couldn’t help noticing it. It would have been perfect for the dining room in a client’s home. She liked horses and was looking for a gigantic one for her dining room, a type of playful horse, very whimsical, an icebreaker and a conversational piece. Why putting a horse in a dining room? Why not? The store must have read my mind. I took a picture, sent it to the client, told her the price and voila’ she got her horse.
(Click on the photo to view it larger)
This is just to say feel free to have an ordinary house, it’s your space, but if you want to have an extravagant, unusual and tasteful décor, the sky is the limit and nothing stops you from showing some personality, or whimsy. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
Copyright © 2018 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
It’s my hope that through my writing and my stories I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspiring you to live in beauty. I love to encourage my clients to show their personality through their home décor, or the clothes they wear. I have loved my profession as an interior-fashion designer since 1990. I am here ready to offer consultations on-line if you need. Check out my book on the subject of colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, or my latest travel narrative: ©The Road To Top Of The World.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Valentina Expressions 
Nov 25, 2018 @ 22:10:16
You created an engaging story with this post, Valentina. The flow was perfect.
The horse is cute, and yes, was a lucky find. I love the antique carousel horses.
It is sad to see small stores and book stores going away (even though I no longer go out to shop). Yet one day I compared it to the late 1800s and early 1900s when the automobile started becoming popular. So many jobs and ways of life vanished. Think about the dozens of things and jobs that were no longer useful and mostly went away. It’s a long list from horseshoes/blacksmiths to stagecoaches and all the jobs and facilities that were no longer needed.
I think, 100 years from now, we will probably think of retail in the same way.
Wishing you a wonder-filled, color-filled new week, my friend. Hugs on the wing.
LikeLike
Nov 26, 2018 @ 02:01:14
Life goes on and becomes more modern and efficient. Somehow, I think we miss the melancholy of a certain historic period, we like to relive it whenever possible and if we are not daltonic we even appreciate living in the colors of certain era. Think of the world success Dowton Abbey has had, or the Dickens Fair where myself and millions of other people attend every year after Thanksgiving just to feel the gallantry of Victorian England and shopping at the smallest haberdashery for an experience.
I want to add your interesting stories on the Mississipi River Boat. But life must go on in the name of progress.
LikeLike