I am so very pleased to see colorful home interiors circulating on my social platform pages these days. For a long time, I have wondered why people want to live in mortally boring beige homes when we live under a blue sky filled with the light of a yellow sun, surrounded by brown mountain, green grass, thousands of colorful flowers and food available everywhere (so I said in my book: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors).
Listening to realtors who want your home in a beige or white tone is deleterious to your spirit. A few times I have been indirectly involved in the selling process of homes. One time a client passed away and I had to take care of all her stuff. She surrounded herself in colors and not for one minute I thought it was going to be difficult to sell all those colors. Another time a client moved quickly to a new work in a faraway city leaving me and the realtor in the selling seat. The realtor preoccupied herself with the notion next buyer wouldn’t accept all her colors and she was so wrong. The third time I added colors in a totally white home I staged for sale. In all three cases, the houses sold in a week time.
(Click on each photo to view it larger)
My new-found Facebook friend posted this colorful, vibrant, imaginative set of her homes, and I jolted for joy. This is a person with courage, I thought. The feel is Bohemian style, it is a playful style, not a matchy-matchy style, and difficult for some people to live in. Bohemian style is a mixture of textures, colors, shapes, and style. It is the style hippies of the ’60s adopted for their free-living concept and before them, it was the style of poor gypsies roaming around in the Bohemian area of today Czechoslovakian Republic. The chair, in particular, struck me. I remember reading her post, this is a chair remade from upcycled fabric, trims and decorative pieces found in vintage or second-hand shops.
Photo: Robbie Coole
Why does the Bohemian style still attracts many people today, including me? It’s a free-form style, it has no boundaries, no rules, and no constrictions. Most of all, it is a very personal style, a reflection of creative people who like to express themselves through colors. So, well done Robbie! I know the rest of your home is as colorful as this room.
Photo: Robbie Coole
Another true shocker this week was this stunning mosaic floor. Although many people commented positively and added so many likes on this post, I doubt many of them would do it in their homes. It takes a lot of courage to cover in mosaic the entire floor and three walls of a room, in this case, a bathroom. I can already hear someone says: “I don’t want to clean all that grout!”.
Decorating a home is fun, but then comes the challenge of cleanliness.
Who will dust all the items in a Bohemian style? Can you keep the Bohemian style orderly and organized in its “designed chaos”?
Who will clean this beautiful mosaic floor? Can you live carefully enough not to break this delicate work?
If you want to be yourself these questions should not discourage you from pursuing your dream home. Hire a cleaning person to help you or be diligent to do it yourself. This style will make it easier to accumulate items and will put you out of control in no time. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
Copyright © 2019 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in interior and exterior, color analysis, kitchen, bath, wine cellar, and outdoor kitchen designs. Often people describe her as “the colorist” as she loves to color her clients’ world and loves to create the unusual. “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. RAI–Italian National TV invited her to appear in Cara Francesca Show and she has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Author of four published books, one of which is on the subject of colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The newly published book is ©The Road to Top Of The World –
Valentina Expressions 
Jan 14, 2019 @ 12:24:03
Here, around DC, they think adding “a pop of color” means tan. And they shudder thinking that it too much.
These colors are a visual feast, Valentina. LOL, it makes my eyeballs happy. That’s the most truthful way for me to describe my reaction. Hugs!
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Jan 14, 2019 @ 18:29:12
Teagan, unfortunately, it is the same here around San Francisco. Only a hand full of people will dare. I have studied colors and its psychology for a long time. My deduction is the mass doesn’t like to stand out and brings into their homes the same feeling.
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 18:21:56
Valentina, what lovely colors! I’d say the Bohemian look would do well in specific parts of cities like in the NYC boroughs. In SD, southern CA, not so much. The staging is beige, white, neutral, with splashes of muted color in modern or mid century design. Maybe the beach areas have more free will color selections! 📚🎶 Christine
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 23:08:21
You are right Christine, Bohemian is appropriate in certain areas and not even for everybody. Some people feel this style puts them in a confused environment. Thanks for the visit and the comment.
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 05:12:55
Your designs are gorgeous. I especially like the cabinet. Wonderful! Full of life and whimsy and COLOR!
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 05:34:52
Hi Cindy, I must thank you for your kind words, but the designs you see here are not mine. I have just talked about how other people see their rooms. Thanks for the visit.
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 05:11:21
“I am so very pleased to see colorful home interiors circulating on my social platform pages these days. For a long time, I have wondered why people want to live in mortally boring beige homes when we live under a blue sky filled with the light of a yellow sun, surrounded by brown mountain, green grass, thousands of colorful flowers and food available everywhere (so I said in my book: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors).”
I couldn’t possibly agree with you more! Plus I have lived this this worship of beige and austere interiors in the 1950’s. It was awful then and awful now. I too notice color coming back, which is great, but it does make me think how important it really is to decorate and wear what you like, not what you are told to like.
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Jan 13, 2019 @ 05:39:51
Exactly Cindy, more people should think like that and we would have a happier world because it has been proven colors make the human being happy.
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