April | 2020 | Valentina Expressions

I Am On Electric Press | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Apr 2020 3 Comments

by Valentina in Books Blog Tags: #ColorEmotions, #ColorTalk, #ColorVibrations, #DesigningWithColors, #ElectricPressArticles, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

The publisher of Electric Press opens my article with a question: “An article about interior design in a literary magazine…are we crazy? No, we are not.
He continues: As Valentina explains in this article, the interior design of our homes and workspaces have an important bearing on our health and wellbeing and, ultimately this is reflected in our creativity”.

My article “Colours and Emotions” was published today and perhaps it came at the right time when the entire world is on a painful lockdown, sheltered in our homes. We can beat our seclusion by surrounding ourselves with colorful homes, colorful food, and scented plants. During this time, we all have less to do, it might be a good time to learn how to use mirrors to double the image of all pretty things in the home, how to use lights to create great atmospheres and see colors as our friendly aid to positivity.

Nothing beats seeing vibrant colors as soon as we open our eyes to a new day.
Of course, the chirping of birds, a kiss from the loved one, and the aroma of fresh brewing coffee are part of this corollary I call the good life, a natural consequence of a harmonious environment colored the way we like, because you see, before you slapped colors on your walls, or you selected colorful clothes, someone colored the world just the way it is with blue sky, yellow sun, green grass, brown trees, colorful flowers, blue waters, colorful fish, white mountains, and on and on, he was sure we were going to like it.

What is there to be afraid when using colors? If I can keep converting people to colors, I will keep on being happy.

Click on each picture to view the article and enjoy it.

Colours and Emotions – Page 54-55

Colours and Emotions – Page 56-57

Click here to read Electric Press May edition. Thank you, Paul, for publishing my article. Ciao,
Valentina
Amazon Author’s Page

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. Some years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host producing shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire, and inform, while she is living her passion. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Space and Inspiration | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

24 Apr 2020 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CeilingDesign, #ColorAtmosphere, #ColorsAndLight, #FantasyRoom, #Inspiration, #InteriorDesign, #WritingRoom

I am so honored I have been featured with my article Space and Inspiration on the site of Author James J. Cudney IV, in the Tips and Advice section, where authors can share their tips on any subject they love. My topics always gravitate around design, style, and colors, that’s what I do the best since I have conducted my design business for three decades and not showing signs of wanting to quit.

In this article, the ceiling is the protagonist. I talk about how the ceilings might play a good role in inspiring writers. Some of my pictures show extravagant ceilings of places I have visited in Europe. I am not saying that to have an inspiration, a writer must have one of those highly decorated and historical ceilings to be able to write.

Inspiration can come from anything, even from a stone, or from a dollop of butter curled in an unusual way. It happened to me a long time ago, when looking at that dollop of butter on my plate, I ended up designing the exterior part of a home in Italy.

It’s easier for me to look up above if I am waiting for something to come to me, a spiritual, artistic, or a fantasy inspiration. That phrase my father pronounced “You are not going to find it on the floor” stuck with me ever since.

Tips-Advice by Valentina Cirasola

Click the graphic above or the link below here to enjoy the article.
I hope you have an inspirational space to write or do your creative work. If you don’t, I am an email or a phone call away.

https://thisismytruthnow.com/2020/04/24/tips-advice-products-services-valentina-designs

Permit me just a little shameless promotion of my book on Colors, available in paperback and ebook version on Amazon and Barnes&Noble:
©Red- A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition. It will help to shed a light on all the benefits, including health and wellness, colors will bring into our life.

RED-A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition

Thank you, James, you are a great person with a big heart, I would have never met you without the internet. Ciao.
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host producing shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire, and inform, while she is living her passion. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Reminiscence | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

18 Apr 2020 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #1950sHomeMagazine, #ColorfulHome, #DesigningWithBoldColors, #InteriorDesign, #SplitFloorHome

I don’t know why suddenly one of my clients came to my mind today, she was the owner of this house. She was a very tall woman, her weight, which was well distributed on her body gave her a powerful presence. She met me at one of my “colors” speaking engagements when I surprise people talking about the emotions colors produce on human beings. She hired me just to fix the grey and beige colors of her home, interiors, and exterior. She gave me permission to go bold with colors but not the furniture. She left all her traditional furniture in place.
The colors I selected required very modern and stylish furniture and although she was very happy about the vibrant colors, I was disappointed to not being able to finish her interiors with great furniture that would have emphasized the colors and made her home an artistic place.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Kitchen Dining Area – Original colors

This home was designed with a split floor, a very popular layout in the ’70s and ’80s. I love this concept of open views from any level while maintaining each area separately. She left this world at age 42 and only enjoyed her colors for a short year. Her sister, who still lives in New York, left me and my realtor in charge of the sale the house and all the contents. It was on the market for only one week, an Indian family fell in love with the colors and bought it.

For some reason, today I was thinking of her. I looked at all the pictures of her project, upstairs, downstairs, the garden patio and I noticed that the style of her furniture would have done very well in a 1950s magazine.
I played with photoshop on a few pictures and turned her colorful home into the mid-century style.

Kitchen-Dining Area – 50’s magazine style

Comparing the mid-century style I created with the original pictures, I must say, I still like the games of colors I put in this house.

Living Area – Original Colors

Living Area – Sepia tone

This is her cute patio, we sat there for coffee many times when I was overseeing this work. All her plants, garden fixtures, statues, and table sets now live in my garden.

Garden Patio View 1

Garden Patio View 2

It felt good to indulge in reminiscence, I heard her voice and the expression of happiness when the paintwork was completed.

Do you want to know how colors affect you emotionally? This is the book you want to get in Kindle or paperback format.

RED-A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
Amazon Author’s Page

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host producing shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Get a copy of her books here:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Be Inspired In My Design Universe | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Apr 2020 7 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AuthorJamesCudneyIV, #ChefRosaMariotti, #InspirationalShows, #PaolaBallerina, #ValentinaDesignUniverse

Watching people getting marriage proposals, getting serenaded, playing neighborly bingo, and singing from balconies in Europe has been my latest divertissement. Me, I am OK being quiet on all fronts, blogging, on social platforms and with my design work. It’s even hard to write when there is no life around us. I am keeping in touch through video calls and messages with people who had disappeared from my life and I am happy to know they are all alive and kicking.

As the world turns, days have become all the same, Sundays, Mondays or Friday are all mixed in as if making a cake. I am allowing myself to feel what I feel in this strange situation, instead of beating myself up for not being a superhuman and not producing as I did a few months ago. Some days, I do see a glimmer of light and I think rebirth is approaching, it will be better than ever before when it will happen, I am excited already.

Due to the closing of many businesses, I can’t even produce TV shows in the studio with cameramen and the whole crew of technicians, we are still on the social distancing mode for a little while longer ☹️🥺. I miss being in the TV studio, preparing the stage and the shows. I thought why not bringing online the same shows? I started a mini-series called “Inspiration From…” My guests are varied and speak about their trades, specialties or quirks.

Click on each photo to view the show or click on each name to visit their web homes.

The first guest was a young Ballerina, Paola. She catapulted me and the audience in her fascinating world of classical dance and the glamour of theatre performances. She is very disciplined in how she spends her days and pursuing her dancing career goals. With her will, she can inspire the stones, if that is possible.

Paola Ballerina

Author James J. Cudney IV talked about his art of writing. Is it challenging being an author of contemporary and mystery fiction? I believe it is. To produce these kinds of novels, one must include good drama and a good dose of suspense without giving out all the secrets until the very last page. Two of his books have been translated into the Portuguese language, how lovely. 😀

Author James J Cudney IV

How can the day not be delightful with a chef on board? Chef Rosa Mariotti makes extravagant fancy food look so easy and maybe they are to those who cook for passion or for work. Her food is spiced up with the right salts. Who knew so many salts from all over the world are available to us !!!!
Her food and her food photography are a huge inspiration, if you like to eat well like I do.

Chef Rosa Mariotti

A musician specialized in Renaissance music, Gabriella Perugini, performed on the show with a lute. She says a sound is a form of energy produced by vibrations, which in turn are caused by the movement of particles. The sounds she produces with Medieval and Renaissance instruments are multisensory, as she involves all the senses of the audience using scents, chocolate, flowers, poetry, paintings to amplify the experience.

Musician Gabriella Perugini

Next week, my guest will be a sweet woman from London, England, Sandra Phillips, who is not in the fashion business but loves being in fashion her own way. She uses pre-loved clothes to make her own interpretation and then she produces a daily drawing of every outfit she wears. A fun way to see her style combination though each day. Instagram as DressIntoArt . She will inspire people to reuse and upcycle clothes while saving the environment and limiting child exploitation. I will post the link to her show next week.z

Dress Into Art

Would you like to be in my Design Universe and be an inspiration to other people? The series “Inspiration From…” will continue only for a short while, please contact me if you like to participate. Ciao,
Valentina
https://www.amazon.com/Valentina-Cirasola/e/B0031A02H2

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A few years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host producing shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion.
Get a copy of her books here:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Inspiration From An Author | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

06 Apr 2020 5 Comments

by Valentina in Books Blog Tags: #BookTalk, #InspirationalTalk, #InspirationFromAnAuthor, #JamesCudneyIV, #TalkShow, #WritingBooks

My Saturday started with an inspiration. Author James J.Cudney IV was a great guest on my online show Valentina Design Universe. I am starting a new short series of shows, called “Inspiration From…” for only a couple of weeks, to help people coping with the forced shelter-in and social distancing. The topics will be related to various fields, just to keep people interested. This is a tough time for everyone, I am doing what I can to alleviate the solitude we feel at this time.

James was a gracious guest, he is not camera-shy and a pleasure to listen to. Watch the show here.
He has a few books in the making and I hope we can see some of them by the end of this year. Perhaps, when he publishes the new book, he will return to the show.

I learned that when writing a mystery novel, it’s best not to disclose all the secrets at the beginning. That would be my downfall if I were writing a novel, it would be a short 3 pages novel.

James inspired me to continue to write the two books I had started last year when I was launching The Road To Top Of The World and Red – A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition, and I had to leave the half-written books in the funnel.

After the show yesterday, I prepared the dough for bread and focaccia for the week, while the dough was rising, I looked at the files of one of the two books and wrote two chapters. This morning on Sunday I wrote one chapter. Sometimes, we just need a little push from outside and for this, I will say thank you, James, you relieved me of my momentary torpor.

Who knows, perhaps the world was turning too fast and we all needed to slow down. I don’t want to get into political discussions, it’s pointless, the damage is done. However, I can say I was doing and feeling good the way I was turning before this pandemic. Now, I feel like a sack of potatoes without even one sprout growing.

My guest for next week has been infected with the coronavirus, she is so sweet, I wish her well and a speedy recovery.
If anyone wants to participate in my short online TV series “Inspiration From…” please contact me and we will have a show remotely on your favorite topic and you will talk how you can inspire others.
Stay safe, stay well. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. Three years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host and she produces shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. https://valentinadesignuniverse.com
Get a copy of her books here:
Amazon and Barnes&Nobles

What’s Up Peeps? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Apr 2020 13 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeHistory, #HomeStyles, #HomeTallk, #InteriorDesign, #InteriorDesignTalk, #ValentinaDesignUniverse

The coronavirus has brought all of us to our knees, everyone I know is sheltered-in, but not everyone I know is doing good emotionally. Some of my friends cannot work due to the nature of the work they do and some others work from home. Some people are getting depressed and some are very happy with the slow, downtime as they realized their life was on the accelerated mode. Many people have rediscovered their homes and the people they live with and some other people are getting farther apart, too much closeness might not be a good thing for them and they are just finding out.

I heard the divorce lawyers are on stand by. I also heard that in China, after the lockdown for the coronavirus was over, there has been an increase of divorces by 30%. I also read a funny advertisement from a realtor, it said:
“At the end of the quarantine, if you decide you can’t stand the people you live with, remember I’m your Realtor” and I will add: “I am your Designer, I can design a new home for you, finally the way you want it”.

Everyone is doing something online to spend time in a productive way. Since we must stay home, why not loving where we must be for a while? I am producing daily short videos on how certain home items have come about, their history, their meaning in dreams if we happen to dream about them, and how they have evolved through time. I came up with the idea of “The Evolution Of A Home”. I love history, the human race wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t made history good or bad.
My daily episodes are intended to inform, entertain and keep each other’s company. I hope you like them.

So far I produced nine shows, all on my Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/designsvalentina
Follow me if you like and if you need me at this time, I offer consultations online. Nothing is simpler than to connect with a video and give you some of my sage advice. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Amazon Author’s Page

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.
Check out one of my books on the subject of colors, ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, Second Edition.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Bxhq08
Barnes&Noble: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w