Valentina

Red Under The Rain | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

23 Feb 2019 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FedoraHat, #REDColor, #RedFashion, #RedFebruary, #RedPower

It has poured down for two months straight. Rain here in California is always an event and car accidents abound during rainy days. I don’t like rain in particular, it’s wet and cold but at least I appreciate the change of season that it brings. Rain cleans spider webs around plants, everything smells fresh, and vegetation in my garden grows lush.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Walking in the street during rainy days I see people dressed only in grey or black, curved into themselves, hidden in their hood, as to protect themselves from getting wet. The streets are gloomy, lonely and nobody enjoys this precious gift from the sky. I remember, when I lived in a different latitude, going out under the rain in colorful clothes was fun, we went out for shopping, work or meeting friends in a cafe’ where we could sit in the warmth, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa and watch the rain falling on the cafe’ windows. We had clothes for rain and warm clothes for the winter, we wore gloves, hats, and scarves. Here in California, every day is a casual day. It is almost always sunny and mild, people don’t feel to dress for any occasion, thus when rarely the rain comes, they feel like fish out of the water.

I love to color my days, the greyer it gets, the more I burst into colors. This winter my new red Fedora has made me happy. It seems as if I bought everything to go with the red hat, no I did not, I build my wardrobe according to what I own already. It’s only a matter of remembering what is in the wardrobe and buy items which will combine well with the existent clothes. To me, this is an art.

This is the month of red, Valentine red, I chose it because I am happy to love every day and to learn new nuances from love.

Fashion offers a lot more than just an identity to society. It doesn’t have to be expensive to sharpen the image of oneself and change the way one feels in the right clothes, not just something that covers the body. Ciao,
Valentina
Fashion Services:
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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
To better help people all over the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of four 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
Her latest book, a travel narrative ©The Road To Top Of The World is here: https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

February In Purple | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Feb 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Amethyst, #AmethystStoneBenefits, #FebruaryStone, #PurpleChakra, #PurpleColor

I found this purple large amethyst in the Barrio Gotico, the old part of Barcelona, in Spain and I regret not having shipped one home. All the minerals in this store were lit up to show the true colors of the stones and the atmospheres they can create. I would have liked to have in my home a large piece of amethyst as an energizer of the crown chakra, the only chakra that is a connector to the higher dimension, the universe, and divine guidance.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Wearing colors related to the month of our birth and the colors of the planets that were turning above our head at the moment we “came to the light” is ideal to be aligned with the cosmos. If you were born in February, purple and amethyst are your colors of harmony, but purple is the color of the crown chakra as well. This chakra is located at the top of our head, it helps us to trust our ability to go out there in life to find our way even when we don’t know all the answers. The crown chakra is about wisdom, when this purple chakra is open we are open to receive guidance from above, and we are willing to be part of a greater plan.

Amethyst is a form of rare quartz used through the centuries to alleviate pain, sleep disorder, and even mental dysfunction. It has to do with the small magnetic field amethyst crystals produce, which exchange energy with the body in a friendly way, not like the electromagnetism electronic devices produce that is dangerous for our body.

During the centuries, amethyst has been the color for royalty, church’s functions, spiritual and political leaders, all the people supposedly connected to the universe with a higher sense of purpose. The leaders wearing purple stand with grace, pride, and elegance, it is a color which demands attention and respect. Perhaps because it is a sophisticated color more than others?

To activate the purple chakra is not necessary to paint the walls or buy new purple furniture. A few purple accessories around the home, purple flowers and a bowl with amethyst crystals are sufficient. This amethyst color flower is silk, made to look so real, it would do the trick to activate the crown purple chakra.

Amethyst crystals from UFEELBulk Rough Amethyst Crystals

Violet/purple is an excellent color for meditation, it works well in rooms where you want to think introspectively, like bedrooms, studies or libraries.
Balance violet/purple with pale yellow or sky blue in these rooms and you will feel the harmony.

If you are doing a presentation or speaking in public, wear purple jewelry or some purple in your clothes. The energy of purple will help set things in motion, you will feel like a leader, and you get the audience’s attention.

Ciao.
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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
https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Tackling Life At Tea Time | Valentina Cirasola | Designer and Author

04 Feb 2019 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #Inspirational, #LifeManagement, #SelfImprovement, #TeaCeremony, #TeaTime

“This year has started so fast and so busy and nothing is coming through” ~ she told me in front of a cup of tea and morsels at Tea Time. I know my friend very well, she skips and jumps from one activity to another, one life mess to another, from one toxic situation to another. She is not happy about some of her friends, her work, some of the things her grown-up kids do and who knows what else. She doesn’t keep her promises, makes appointments, then cancels them, often a few hours before when the other person can’t do anything about it and the worst thing…she doesn’t learn from her mistakes. They say that true friends never hold back when helping one another trying to resolve personal issues. Well, when I have done that, my friends have taken it the wrong way, got offended and even stopped seeing me. This time, at Tea Time, I wanted to lay it out as I felt it. After all, outside was grey and rainy, inside the tea atmosphere was cozy and conducive to confessions.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Tea Time

I can’t help referring to my interior design profession when I give tips on life management. Life to me is exactly like decorating a house, it’s all about rearranging, organizing, editing, refurbishing, prioritizing and spice it up. Giving my friend examples of how to beautify a house, didn’t feel I was preaching to her. I don’t have a perfect life, nobody does, but to get my life to the point it feels comfortable to me, took many years of studying people, eliminating toxic situations and old beliefs, reaching goals and driving my thinking toward positivity.

My suggestion was to view her life as a home decorating. If we don’t clean the house, things keep accumulating, the clutter grows, the mirrors don’t shine, the cabinets are sticky, the bed is not made, the dishes are dirty in the sink, we allow the house to take over our life, we allow the house to confuse us, and at that point we might even feel not to return home anymore. Unfortunately, some people life is just like this description, they don’t even want to be in it. The only thing to do to save a disorderly life is to tackle one problem at a time, just as a decorator would tackle one room at the time.

First, we focus on eliminating all the useless items, then clean the space to make it livable and finally organize it. Once we see a place that breathes again, we feel encouraged to go to the next room and repeat the process. Little by little, the house returns to shine releasing that pleasure of claiming each room as our space that was long denied.
Do you see the analogy of a life that is not satisfying with a disorderly house?

Inspiration by Valentina

My friend needs exactly this. She needs to rearrange her thoughts, clean up her beliefs, make plans with a calendar in her hands, eliminate all the people and situations that are longer serving a purpose and pursue whatever strikes her fancy. Those who will want to be in her life will follow, the rest will get lost in the editing process.
At one point during our conversation, I had the feeling she got offended. Next day, she sent me a message saying I am a Goddess. Yeah, right!

Living a satisfying life takes a lot of commitment, structure, and diligence. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

In my 29th years of design business, I am having more fun than ever, experience eliminates stress and dictates the pace of work. I am evolving in different directions while still helping people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. Colors are the main focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. I am on TV once a month, that is my own TV show produced under my label Valentina Design Universe, bringing fun topics to my audience. https://valentinadesignuniverse.com
Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

My latest book is ©The Road To Top Of The World

Let’s Revive The Spats | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

02 Feb 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HowToWearSpats, #ShoeswithSpats, #Spats, #VintageAccessories, #VintageFashion

Riding on the sand along the beach, dressed in a period frock of early 1920’s, a red and black fitted jacket with gold buttons, frills coming out from a white shirt underneath, beige riding pants, brown-black leather boots and gloves, my head covered with a woman style top hat and my long blond hair flowing in the wind. I see myself in this idyllic period picture wearing decorative spats fastened under the foot with a strap to protect my beautiful riding trousers and boots from the wet sand. My fantasy runs wild when I see original pieces of clothes!

(Click on the photos to view them larger).

Spats buttoned up along the ankles were fashionable in the early 1900s especially for a man outfit. I remember my mother’s father wearing beige buttoned up spats over his shoes. He was a tall, blue-eyed man, had a very stern attitude and an elegant comportment I haven’t seen in anyone ever since. I didn’t like him that much, he was harsh and narcissist, his name was Angelo and nothing of him resembled an Angel. However, I admired his sharp, very refined and detailed way of dressing up, when he left the house it seemed as if a model left for a fashion show. He was well dressed every day.

I see myself wearing many types of spats, short and long, in Tartans, Boho, Victorian style and much more. They do embellish a common pair of shoes and add originality to any outfit. I found these beautiful examples at maidestreasuries.
https://www.deviantart.com/maidestreasuries/art/Mucha-Golden-Girl-Spats-152241196

MAIDESTREASURIES

MAIDESTREASURIES

In various countries military infantry still wear spats for formal events even today, I love to see pomp and circumstances.

In our modern dressing up, we can do many things, pairing antique, vintage accessories with new modern fashion is actually a very interesting way to dress up.
If the feet and calves are highly decorated keep a simple style up above and use mostly solid colors. Ciao,
Valentina
Fashion Services
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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their personal style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
To better help people all over the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of four 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

Sexy Wood | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

28 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BathVanityCabinet, #CurvyFurniture, #ExoticWoodFurniture, #ExoticWoods, #WoodAccessories

Did you not think wood is a sexy material? To hug a tree and to get the energy of the Earth is a holistic experience, beneficial to our health and soul, so we hear it often. I believe it is true, I have had that experience myself and felt good. After a piece of wood acclimatize to a new environment, then worked to the best shape for its grain, levigated, and clear varnished, all its beauty reveals. These pieces of artwork Chris Smith made are very sexy, warm in colors, versatile for a male or female décor and caressing them brings nature to the touch, just like hugging a tree.

Lace Sheoak-Australian Timber by Chris Smith

Jacaranda Wood with bronze and patina by Chris Smith

Acacia body with Ebony finial by Chris Smith

Red Morrel Burl Box by Chris Smith

Most of the time people don’t see behind what the market offers as furniture choice. These so-called “designer woods” might be a little more expensive than regular oak or maple, the effect, however, when making furniture out of these woods is stunning.
I can tell you by my experience, that every time I designed furniture, such as built-ins, in various non-common wood, the value of the house increased. Those are features that sell the house faster. The feeling of owning original wood pieces is satisfying and rewarding.

At times, when I have worked for clients receptive to new ideas, I always used exotic but not extinct woods to make special furniture, it takes a special person to understand the sexiness of a piece of wood.

This special bath cabinet is made of harewood. It still stands in my client’s bath and remains a conversation piece with their guests. (Click on the pictures to view them larger).

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Harewood

A house is not a container of stuff, a house contains our dreams and our lives. It’s better to have quality objects than a jumble of meaningless stuff, I think. Why not surround ourselves with objects possessing qualities that give great pleasure to see, to hear, or to think about? Remember the only designer who made these woods in nature is our Supreme Being, he made them for us to enjoy and to last more than a few lifetimes. This cabinet will outlive my client. Humans, on the contrary, create cheap disposable items. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been a lifetime designer in interiors and fashion. Her extensive training and knowledge in both fields led her in both directions successfully. She is well-known for designing custom furniture. She cares to make spacious and functional pieces, but she doesn’t forget to introduce the element of surprise, sinuous lines, attractive shapes and colors in the style fit for each of her special clients. She also focuses on color theory and color psychology to transform people’s life. She is the author of four books, one of which is on the subject of colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors.Barnes&Nobles http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Check out her newly published book ©The Road to Top Of The World – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Your Face In The Right Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

25 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #ColorForTheFace, #GreyMastardBlackCombination, #HowToCombineColors, #JillPillotFashionDesigner, #PersonalImageConsulting

Welcome to a Friday Fashion episode.
Do you always wear the right colors for your complexion? If yes, you are an expert and don’t need to hear anything else. Knowing the right color for your face is half of the battle with any successful outfit.

This week I wore this outfit to conduct my TV show with a fashion designer from Belgium as my guest. The title of the show is: “Stylish Pile”. My guest will explain how to rescue fabrics from worn clothes and make them into a new garment. However interesting this subject was, it is not the subject of today. The reason I chose grey and mustard with a touch of black as the focus of today’s topic is only to talk about the suitable colors around the face. My face doesn’t look good framed with a black color and even if the black is on my torso, still doesn’t look good.
For my TV show, I have chosen to wear grey and mustard with a touch of black because we are in the winter, I wanted the colors to go with the dull nature of January but I didn’t want a sunless outfit. Grey doesn’t seem so dull next to a mustard color and a pile of gold. Most women would wear silver on a grey top. The moon is considered female energy, wearing silver on silver is about calling for that moon, gentile, female energy. The sun is considered a male planet, the golden colors which emanate from it, is hot and powerful. I have a strong character, and always felt attracted by solar planet energy, thus wearing gold for me means being supported by a strong entity which energizing me constantly and gives me the light I need to look alive and prompt for any situation.

This is one of the principals for a successful outfit. One might like a certain color but if it is not suitable to the face, it is the wrong color, simple as that.

As I said, black around my face turns off the light of my hair and my eyes, black makes my complexion washed out or sad, as I often say. Black might be an elegant color, it might be a protective color, it might be slimming and all that jazz, but black receives no energy, nor light and gives out no energy and no light either, that’s another reason I choose a cascade of gold necklaces. They will give light to my face and I can wear a black hat without feeling “turned off”.

Jill Pillot, my TV guest in this show, created the hat I am wearing, French Tweed is the fabric of my shoes, the shirt is hand-painted Italian silk, and the grey gloves are voiles.
If you want to see the show will be posted here in about a week: https://valentinadesignuniverse.com

Valentina Design Universe TV – Valentina On Stage Show “Stylish Pile”

Not knowing the best colors for our complexion is often the case with women. Buying clothes is a relaxing, fun activity. Coming home with packages and try everything on is even more amusing, then comes the usual dilemma “I have nothing to wear”. Well, ask yourself if you bought clothes because the price was right, you had some money or time to waste, or because you really bought garments that would improve your look. Knowing this, next time you shop, you should be able to leave on the racks all the items that are not for you, no matter how cute they are. A professional like me can help, just say so. Ciao,
Valentina
Fashion Services
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion-Interior Designer and author, 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their personal style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
She is also a TV producer and host at KMVT15. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Find Valentina Design Universe TV, here: https://valentinadesignuniverse.com

Get a copy of her four books here:
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Texture Italian Style | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

20 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AntonellaSuricoArchitect, #ItalianHandMadeFurniture, #ItalianTexture, #OltreformaDesign, #StrungFurniture, #TexturedFibers

What is texture? It is the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used. It is an essential characteristic and combination or interrelation of parts or elements (from Dictionary.com).

I had the chance to virtually meet Italian architect Antonella Surico, who does exactly that. She designs and produces textured furniture, using various material that she transforms in a tubular or flat coil as ropes, then with warp and weft handmade technique she turns them into furniture. “The leather texture, just to mention one material, fits perfectly with a demand of pure minimalism that never neglects the idea of refinement. Velvet, which is a trend at the moment, manages to convey the idea of elegance and warm hospitality”, says architect Surico.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

Her creative thinking translates into furnishing objects that embellish any space in a unique way. Each object comes from an idea of lines first jotted on a sheet of paper then transformed using colors and materials to become the harmonious essence of an environment.

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

In Italy people still like the “handmade” concept, as a distinctive feature and personal treatment. Handmade originality is a way to stay out of massification.
“Spaces in a home represent the most intimate places of emotions and life experiences, in there, it is a concentration of fragments of our existence. Each space is unique and deserves to embody the spirit of those who live in it” says architect Surico. I totally agree with her on this one.

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

However, and this is not a criticism of her beautiful work, it is just how I prefer it, I am not a minimalist, to me more is more and less is boring. I don’t feel comfortable living between four empty walls with nothing to look at or play with. A minimalist house to me feels much like a prison. These beautiful textures would go very nice in my maximalist concept, for both modern and traditional styles. Putting a room together, it is all about knowing how to do it tastefully, how to combine textures with colors, lines with styles and knowing when to stop.

In my opinion, the interior of a home must have a warmth character and must not look like commercial space, or have the look of a utilitarian, sterile, often cold place of work.

I wonder if architect Antonella Surico has thought of different applications for her nice textures other than using it in minimal interiors. I would be interestest in her opinion. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

The Dream I Am Still Dreaming | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

16 Jan 2019 8 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #GoalSetting, #Inspirational, #TheArtCommunityDream, #Vision, Dreams

They say if you don’t put your dreams out there in the Universe, and shout out clearly what you want, it will not happen. I know for experience that a dream without action it’s only a daydream. In my life, I have realized all of my dreams just because of the actions I took, except for one dream. It hasn’t come true yet, it is still hanging in my head and I see it with my eye open.

The dream is about my desire to open an art school community where teachers can rent a space to teach their arts, whatever it might be, a community where experts, teachers, speakers, and inspirational people unleash their knowledge, train new minds and leave their legacy. It is a community of people young and young at heart who want to create and live in beauty. I envision theatre art, visual art, painting, music, fabric art, glasses, sculpting, modeling, writing, fashion design, interior, robotic, flowers design, design with new and old material, the list is infinite. The building I need to host all the activities is a large antique home or an industrial building, with many floors, a courtyard with fountains for relaxation, for thinking in seclusion, or for meeting people in the fresh air surrounded by odorous plants and flowers. I want a space to have wines, food, and music always available.

I found a similar image of how the building in my head should look like. The street is colorful, surrounding buildings are old or historical, they are mostly made of stones and a lot of trees line the streets. I would like it to lead to the Sea because it is easy for me to think of opening the windows and smell the salty Sea.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Jeff-Frenette-635409-unsplash

I see a pristine interior of the old house in my head, tastefully decorated and peaceful for all the artists who will be creating their art there.

Michael-D-Beckwith-1061006-unsplash

In my head, I see a lot happening in my art community building: fashion shows, photo shooting, filming, art exhibitions, theatre representations, musicals, I see artists growing and only happy people. I see no restrictions in learning and teaching (everything will be permissible within the legality), my art community is a free world.
The bottom area at the street level is a selling point, where artists can sell all they produce and the very last top of the building is my home with a breathtaking view. I will sit on the throne of the arts and feel as if I am the “Grand Pubah of the Universe”.

I know exactly how to make a profit and turn my art community into a super desirable business, a bit like the “Montessori” of the arts. I will not discuss the business terms now. My intention is to write and express out loud what I want for my future. Yes, it is an ambitious dream! Are you listening Universe?

Cliff-Johnson-20686-unsplash

Below, my byline says I am a storyteller and I am, but this piece I wrote is my burning desire. What is your biggest dream and is it achievable? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a storyteller by nature. Stories are very important to her design career to convey ideas because making someone’s home or personal images is not only about building around shapes, lines, forms, and colors. It is about the story one can create around their spaces and how they want to appear to others. She is the author of four books, all available on
Amazon – http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The latest book just published is The Road To Top Of The World – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Settling In Your Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 Jan 2019 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BohemianColors, #BohemianDecor, #BohemianHomeFashion, #BohemianStyle, #MosaicFloor

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

https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Stones Or Rugs? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

05 Jan 2019 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorfulRugs, #DecoratingWithAreaRugs, #FloorDesigns, #FlooringSolutions, #StoneFloorDesigns

Wall to wall carpet is slowly disappearing from homes and I am very happy. Smelly, unhygienic wall to wall carpet has never been one of my favorite items for home décor. I have seen horrific carpeted bathrooms and laundry rooms or foyer that made me cringe every time. I am glad all of that nonsense is going away. My title asks a question stones or rugs, referring to a floor of any room. This is not a hard choice, as people know what they like most of the time. If it was up to me, I would never ever propose area rugs, and wall to wall carpet. The dust and germs under the shoes brought in the house from the street, or even the dead skin under bare feet, are two sufficient facts to decide against it and yet people still ask for carpet and rugs. The health of a room depends much on the cleanability of each item to avoid dust mites from making their nest everywhere and create allergies.

Stones or rugs are two different looks with two different textures. A stone floor is washable with soap and water, stays clean and fresh, keeps the room cool in the summer heat and lasts forever. One way to muffle the echo when a room is large like a salon or a cave is to decorate it with upholstered furniture, pillows, throws, wallpaper and a lot of wood accessories. A large room carpeted from wall to wall is just a larger opportunities for dust mites to reproduce and multiply. A colder climate area would be the exception to my rules and I would opt for a rug, but not a carpet. I would place an area rug only in strategic places such as bedrooms, living rooms, or home office, just to add some warmth to the room.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

New Wave Rug – Grandinroad

New Waves rug – Hand tufted, 100% Chinese wool with a beautiful sheen that brings a bit of light on a grey floor.

Heather Rug – Grandinroad

Heather rug – The description says: dramatic, vibrant, “pretty-but-edgy” floral design. Large flowers are all the rage today, on wallpapers and on rugs, don’t be afraid of looking at bold flowers, after a while the eyes get accustomed and space becomes joyful.

Jules Rug – Grandinroad

Jules rug – Colorful abstract puts art on the floor.

Ellis Rug – Grandinroad

Ellis – Traditional rug design fits anywhere, even in a modern setting.

(All rugs are from Grandinroad)

Marble Pebbles and Distressed Wood Floor -Valentina Interiors & Designs

My question, however, is a different one. If the floor is created new, it is original and outside the box, made interesting to look at, the room is small (I doubt the stone floor creates an echo in a small room), what is the reason to cover it with a rug? This is the new floor I created for a guest room in a client’s home. It’s made of distressed wood and sinuous shaped marble pebbles by the French door leading to the garden. My preference would be to leave the floor naked as part of the furniture, my client prefers to have a rug and those above are my choices of a rug. If we must cover a new floor, let’s do it with colors.

We are at the beginning of the year, there is nothing going on out there in January, make changes now. Happy New Year. 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. Valentina is well-known for bringing originality on any project and for thinking outside the box. Her interiors are not made with cookie cutters, only follow client’s inspiration, lifestyle, and personality. She offers online design consultations through Skype or Zoom and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of four books.
The latest newly published book is ©The Road To Top Of The World. https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8
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