Valentina

Knowing How To Do It | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BuiltInsDesign, #DesigningOnline, #FamilyRoomColors, #FamilyRoomDesign, #FamilyRoomLayout, #FurnitureDesign

We are all online, we read each other, we share content of people we like, we make friends, being online has become a new home for most us and the world is in our pocket. Years ago, I decided to make my time spent online a profitable time by offering consultations, design concepts, drawings and color solutions, all online services without moving one inch from my office.

This is a family room with a seating arrangement in a stairs void. Client told me that people feel as if they fall into the stairs void when sitting there. The void brings a cold draft in the room, thus nobody ever sits there. A small digital piano takes a space on that cold, naked wall and it needs something to embrace it. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Above and below: Seating into the void of stairs)

My solution is to close the wall up to a certain point leaving a large circular opening with a decorative iron design, which would allow light to spill in the stairway, would get rid of the draft and would allow people to feel more protected when sitting in that area. For the small piano, I planned a shelving unit enclosed between two flat fluted pilasters faux painted in silver-gold mix and a beautiful new lighting effect.

(Above: Concept for the wall with seating, digital piano and open shelving)

The other wall hosts a lonely, dark, outdated fireplace stuck in the middle of the wall with a fake window on the right side covered with a curtain.

With my design concept, I created a built-in unit made of dark and light wood, incorporating TV, fireplace, music and storage space. Woodworkers in the city where client lives will fabricate it. The unit will be the focal point of the room, whether the fire is on or not and will be visible from any angle of the downstairs open space lay-out.

(Above and below: Concept drawings for wall with built-in unit, fireplace, TV and storage)

Furniture of the family room will remain as it is. My involvement in the remaking of the room with a new concept was limited to designing two walls and producing a couple color palettes, both of which will create a great new atmosphere for the space. Hopefully, when the two walls will be completed, client will feel encouraged to change the rest of the room décor.

It didn’t take me long to create the new concept. It’s all about knowing how to do it through experience, love for the work and understanding client’s desires. The photos of the existing conditions and a few Skype conversations with the client told me the story. I hope to receive photos of the completed work.

Anything is possible these days when working online, from designing kitchens and baths to create color palettes. The world is smaller and work doesn’t have to be hard.
It’s all about knowing how to do it and I have the solution for any of your design challenges. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
Copyright © 2017 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola has been a lifetime designer in fashion and interiors. Her extensive knowledge of colors and materials led her in both directions successfully. She is well-know 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 is the author of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors. Check out her books on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Feet In Short Trunks | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

04 Feb 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AnkleBoots, #HowToWearAnkleBoots, #ShoesFashion, #ShortBoots

Welcome to a new episode of my Friday Fashion.
Shoes are object d’art, symbol of status, taste and tradition. Shoes are the world’s favorite fetish. Women collect shoes as treasures and show them off in any occasion. Nowhere in world, but in America I have seen women at the cash register with a shopping cart filled with shoes. As soon as I learned the art of filling my closets with shoes, it was the end of me believing that a couple of pair of shoes for each season was sufficient. Now, I am addicted to shoes and created a storage problem, just like every woman I know. Buying shoes for the sheer pleasure of buying them is fun and it helps the economy, but do we know what style will complement our legs and make them look perfect?
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

In the Italian language, ankle boots are called “tronchetti”, translated in English become short logs or trunks, OK, ankle boots. You see, knowing the etymology of a word, will help us decide, take an action, or understand a situation. If a shoe looks like a short trunk or log, it means it is chunky, stout, stocky and only a slender leg can wear this type of ankle boot, otherwise the leg will look like a stump.

There are tricks of the trade to fool the eyes.
1. With shapely legs is best to wear a very dark stocking to slim down the legs, or wear pants that go just a little beyond the edge of the boot, without covering all the details.
2. For someone with shapely legs, the skirt must be short, from above the knees or higher to elongate the legs.
3. A short person with shapely legs should wear only long pants with this type of short trunk boots and never wear a long skirt and ankle boots together.

Red is not a color for holidays only, red tomatoes grow in the middle of summer and red poppies bloom in spring and summer. Wear red in the summer, when a boost of energy is needed or when you want to make a statement.

Pied-de-Poule or houndstooth is a woven pattern of textile clothing almost similar to the barnyard. To think that this pattern is only good to wear with a black & white outfit is a mistake. Wear it with any solid colors you like, no patterns and let the houndstooth shoes make a statement. The red apple in my photo is suggestive of a color.

Need help with your wardrobe this year? Contact me any time, I am ready for a new adventure. 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. 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 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

Repurpose | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Feb 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Recycling, #Repurpose, #Reuse, #WordPressPhotoChallengeRepurpose

“Those who know how to make things with hands will survive” ~ often said my grandmother, who lived through two great wars and economic depressions. She embedded in us kids her way to save everything and made it a concept for a life.
To reuse and repurpose is a daily practice for me, in fact, my neighbors thinks I come from Mars for being so extremely diligent in saving the environment.

Other than papers and a few bottles, my garbage bins are always almost empty. I dry my laundry in the wind and repurpose as trash bags those plastic bags for fruit-vegetables from grocery shops. Leftover food become a new specialty. Consumed towels get repurposed into dust rags. Papers written on one side are reused as scrap paper. I repurpose clothes as new creations, save buttons from old clothes and incorporate them in something else new. Scarves and shawls become covers for side tables, the list goes on and on.
I am a true repurpose and recycle Queen, perhaps I should start teaching classes.

The object in the photo below was a candle holder with glass beads. A little knowledge of Arduino technology turned it into a LED light for the garden. The night is no longer dark in that area of the garden.

lamp
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

This was in response to WordPress weekly photo challenge: Repurpose

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

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 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 latest book on the subject colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Graceful | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

25 Jan 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #Graceful, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/graceful, #PouringWines, #PugliaFood, #PugliaTravel, #WordPressPhotoChallengeGraceful

What do you do when outside is cold, damp and lonely? You go inside a family owned restaurant and find comfort and warmth in food. That night we did just that. The day had been relatively warm, a sudden drop of temperature was not expected for the night, but the prospect of being received in a restaurant built in 1900 with the tufa stone was too exciting to miss it. Gracefully, we were seated in a small room reserved just for us. The light yellow colored walls, the natural texture of the exposed tufa stone and the sparse décor were an invitation to feel at home.
I had no doubt food was going to be exceptional. Here, under the curved vaulted ceiling, nothing mattered that night. (Click on the photo to view it larger).

I couldn’t help noticing Giuseppe, the waiter pouring our wines with grace. He was elegant, attentive not to spill even a drop on the tablecloth of that precious wine, pouring from the left of the guests as the Bon-Ton requires, the seriousness of his motion, all said to me: “Here, you will be treated with class and grace“.
In my capture, Giuseppe looks totally absorbed in his task. Pouring wines is an art of its own, it requires knowledge, elegant manners, subtle motions and grace.

Wine represents the labour of many people and nature’s generosity, when it wants to be generous. The gracefulness of the people of Puglia towards food and wines tells how much respect they have for the land. Preparation of food is sacred, eating happy food prepared with love keeps people healthy.
Knowing that someone will take care of us, offering the best food they can prepare in one night it is grace to me.
The guests in that trip to Puglia are still talking about that night. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, my native land, it is my intention to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. I want to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism and through stories of art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, I want them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia! Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Ambiance | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Jan 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Ambiance, #BohemianStyle, #VenetianBlownGlass, #VenetianDécor, #VenetianHomeDecor, #WarmColors, #WordPressPhotoChallengeAmbience, https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/ambience/

Can we define “Ambiance” as the character and atmosphere of a place? We certainly can. It all starts with the front door, your business card. People visiting your home will know what’s inside by the way the front door greets them. Is the front door landing clean, are plants manicured, is the landing well-lit, is there a functioning doorbell or door knocker, is there a welcoming bench outside the door, is the pathway leading to the front door curvy or straight, is the landscape matching the exterior colors of the home? These are some of the questions we should answer to give a good first impression and to create a positive aura around the home. Inside the home, your spirit should be noticeable as soon as one steps in. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

This is what to do if you are creating your ambiance, or need inspiration. The first thing is to compose a visual board (photo above) with pictures of images that strike your fancy. Once you have them all together, you can edit the composition by subtracting or adding the way you like. The board will help to visualize colors, textures, natural material, finishes, lines, shapes and where the light should hit to create feelings, backdrop, or set the tone for a dreamy ambiance.

My inspiration for my living room ambiance came from a hand-made golden Venetian wine set I bought centuries ago in Venice, Italy. That wine set, in my imagination, called for capricious living room items, not too modern and not too traditional either, with a bit of fantasy, showing opulence and warmth. In Venetian interiors is common to find some mixed items from Asian and European countries, as wealthy Venice of the 1700s (The Serenissima) traded with the Orient and the Middle East.

Music is a big part of my life. I wanted a miniature musical instrument on my entry door that played music every time I opened the door. I found a small harp made in Scotland. Now, a sweet sound welcomes people when they come to my house.

Door Harp (©Valentina Cirasola)

Continuing with music, Venice and Bohème theme, I wanted a lyre side table for the sofa in the style of Biedermeier. I found something similar and contemporary, which I keep illuminated from the bottom and from the top. The slipper chair next to it is a real treasure, it’s a Jacobean style. It came from an antique store in the Gold Country in California, the owner didn’t know its value. I re-upholstered with mystical fabric, I thought music and constellation play the same tune.

To find a Venetian chair was a challenge, but not for long. I found a chair with the right shape and price, but beauty wasn’t there. A skillful painter, using only Chartreuse and gold paint, turned the chair into a Venetian style. Re-upholstered with a double face fabric: Chartreuse color fabric with Venetian shoes printed on, paired with a purple-chartreuse polka dots fabric, made this chair an original, whimsical Venetian idea. It is now in my reading, breakfast corner.

(Above: reading-breakfast corner)

From these few items, creating the ambiance I was looking for, was easy. The aubergine wall is dark and sexy. A colorful lamp découpaged with Florentine fabric details sits on a glass top with an Italian amphora underneath, which I keep illuminated inside and now fills an empty corner. This colorful lamp adds mystery to the wall, which at night picks up different tones according to the lights I turn on and what I want to illuminate.

Warm colors, candlelight, posh pillows, glass accessories and mirrors reflecting light, all make the perfect Venetian-Bohemian style space for me. Does this style exist? Who cares, it exists in my fantasy. ❤️ ❤️❤️

As I said earlier, light has an important role when creating ambiance. In spaces where no task is required, I like to create suffuse lighting effects coming from any corner even from inconspicuous places such as behind furniture.

The home is your cocoon, create the ambiance that makes your soul sing. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian designer in business since 1990, 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. She is always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces she designs. Colors are the focus of her business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured her work. She appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V., nonetheless her story continues. Find copies of her book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors and all her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Arts of Puglia: Stringing A Chair | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Jan 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HowToStringStrawChairs, #PugliaArtsandCraft, #PugliaStyleDecor, #PugliaStyleInterior, #StrawChairs, #ThonetChair14

Who has not owned a Thonet chair and not knowing it? Michel Thonet was born in Vienna in 1796 and became a well-known master ébénist under the rich Austro-Hungarian Empire. Thonet experimented a technical way to bend wood and succeeded by using warm steam to bend it to his liking, then placed the shapes created in steel molds to dry. Following the excellent results and high demand, in 1860 Thonet deposited his trademark and the Nᴼ14 chair, the most famous of his collection was born.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Thonet chairs Nᴼ 14)

Every home, café, bistro and restaurant in Europe filled their rooms with Thonet chairs. The flexibility and resistance of this chair Nᴼ 14 became so popular through the Belle Époque and every era from then up to now.

Change country, travel down to Italy, same era, in the then poor agricultural region of Puglia. Thonet chairs were popular in well-to-do Italian households, I remember them in my family, but in the countryside and farmer’s families the straw chairs, practical, sturdy and durable, were the second-best choice. People who learn the art of stringing chairs made a good living. Necessity is the mother of invention. (Prices of most straw chairs here: http://www.lasediasrl.it/it/search/1/Paglia.html)

Many centuries later, while advanced countries push innovative recycle programs, down in Puglia, no longer a poor region, recycling is nothing new and doesn’t need to be created. Many crafts considered “ancient” are still in use in Puglia, a few people continue the art of stringing and weaving chairs, as we have mastered the art of reuse (I say we, because I am from there and I am one who reuse everything). We learn at a young age to fix broken items and not to throw them away in the land.

Poli Gaetano from the town of Rutigliano strings chairs since he was a boy. In the video, he speaks Italian, but watch his gestures, they are strong, decisive and precise to make sure each chair he fixes will live for long time. In 20-25 minutes a damaged straw chair returns brand new. His father was in that line of work and fed a family of seven. Gaetano is now over 70 years old passed the trade to his son.

Straw and cane chairs are suitable for a country décor, especially in the rustic Puglia style, as well as in Tuscan and French style décor. Straw or cane chairs are perfect in covered patios, tea rooms, breakfast nooks, conservatories, bedrooms, or anywhere extra chairs are needed.

(Photo above: Interior of Trullo Sovrano – Wikimedia Commons)

In the Egyptian style patio I decorated sometimes ago, I substituted the straw with upholstered fabric panels treated with blueprint technique.

In a French style boudoir, the same style chair became red and upholstered with traditional striped fabric.

Ciao, Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

As an Italian designer and true to my origins, I am well-known to bring originality to people’s homes, but that’s not where I stop and any situation is a perfect opportunity to design something out of the ordinary. Check out my three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Rice Possibilities | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

10 Jan 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianFood, #RiceSpecialities, #Risotto, #RisottoMuffins, #SaffronRisotto, #VegetarianFood

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

“Rice borns in water and dies in wine”. I wrote in my first book: ©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity. Let’s start the year with something delicious: Saffron Risotto.

Risotto is a staple food for most of us Italians. It is not a fancy specialty as it might be in foreign countries. Arborio or Cannaroli type of rice, stubby, high starch content, is the type of rice needed to get the right creaminess in a risotto. Toast it in olive oil and a dollop of butter, softens with white wine, add all the ingredients and cook it slowly by adding a few ladles of warm broth at a time until juices are consumed, and rice is cooked to a perfect cream. Some people make it sound so difficult, instead it is the easiest food to prepare in 20 minutes or less. I like to add saffron to get a wonderful a yellow color.

Improvising many other dishes with leftover food from the simple risotto, it’s easy and the possibilities are endless: muffins, rice frittata, rice ramekins, rice torte, just to name a few. They are ideal for parties, make them fresh, don’t serve leftover food to your guests..

Risotto with mushroom: Cook the rice as mentioned above. In a skillet cook the mushroom. At high heat and 1/2 glass of water cook mushrooms only to let water out, then discard it, it would be bitter if you use that liquid. Add garlic and ginger in olive oil, bring the mushroom to the skillet, let them saute’ and marry together about 10 minutes, season with salt, pepper and parsley. Serve with the risotto mixed in or as two separate entity as in my photo (above).

Risotto muffins with asparagus. Cook the rice as mentioned above, or if you like to take short cuts use the Mahatma Yellow Rice. It’s not the same thing as making your own risotto, but it saves time, 10 minutes and it is ready. While this is going, prepare asparagus as you like. I brush them with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then grill them. After the rice is done, cut the asparagus in small pieces, mix in the rice, add one egg and Parmigiano cheese, fill a non-stick muffin pan with this mixture, sprinkle Parmigiano cheese on top and bake at 375ᴼF until golden brown. Serve on a bed of mixed greens as in my photo (below).

Risotto Muffins with veggie and meat. Mix in the risotto some leftover veggie, ground meat, one egg, spices, season to your liking, fill paper cup cakes, drop them in the muffin pan and get a new taste. Bake at 375ᴼF until golden brown. (Photo below).

Risotto Squash Ramekins (single portions). In the oven, roast a butternut squash seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, sage and olive oil. When done, scrape the pulp off the squash shell and mix it with the risotto. Butter and fill ramekins with the mixture, sprinkle Parmigiano cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 375ᴼF until golden at the top. (Photo below).

Remember, all the ingredients are already cooked, it is only matter of marrying them together the second time when you have leftovers. Give a leftover an intriguing new taste. This is very easy, promise! Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is the designer who cooks. She has a deep interest in food that led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition, well-being and learning food of the world. She wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate of http://www.wine-fi.com says: “Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Gold and Fringes | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

03 Jan 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2017Celebrations, #2017FashionColors, #2017FashionTrends, #2017GoldenVibrations, #DressingForEndOfYear, #GoldandFringes, #Welcome2017

I was supposed to publish this post last Friday while the celebrations for the entrance of 2017 were going crazy, deciding what to wear at the last-minute, getting organized for the evening and the first bottle of bubbles being opened at 3:00 pm, in the exact moment my family and friends were turning a new page in my homeland Italy.

What I was going to wear and where I was going to celebrate the new year sounds futile and irrelevant when somewhere else in the world there was already the first terrorist attack in those small hours of the night.
My blog is not about politics or social troubles, for that we have politicians. My blog is about changing seasons, changing trends, color philosophy, peace and harmony in our cocoons, feeling good with the clothes we wear and why not having fun with travel and food? (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Studying the new year’s colors and trends, gold has come up everywhere in home décor and in fashion. The roaring ’80s style is returning strong and the ’70s style is lingering with fringes, wedge shoes, Bohemian memories of miss-matched colors and prints.

On the evening of December 31st, I wore golden shoes studded with glass beads paired with an animal print golden trousse, aubergine short skirt with black fringes long to the ankle, a classic boat neck top, an off white coat with a large aubergine chiffon scarf.
The fringe over my skirt it’s a removable piece. I made it to wear interchangeably over pants and skirts of all lengths.

I read the zodiac and the numerology of 2017, everything seems to point out to a new cycle of wellness and serenity.

Summing the numbers of 2017 we get number 10, which is the symbol of Love and Light. Number 10 brings all sorts of new changes into our life and there seems to be an element of luck because it resonates with the vibrations and energies of leadership, optimism, confidence, independence, creative powers and success. Number 10 is the perfection.
I absolutely adore to read about 2017.

Let’s make this 2017 a stellar year. I am so glad you are here illuminating my days with your thoughts, stories and personal experiences. Happy New Year everybody, all the way through. Welcome 2017. Ciao,

Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Copyright © 2017 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
I am Valentina, a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style has surrounded me since the very beginning of my life. My many years of experience in design business led me to offer consultations in both fashion and interiors, so much so that I can remodel homes as well as personal images. I am passionate about colors and I encourage my clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. I am the author of three books, one of which is a book on color theory:
©RED-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Queen’s Hamlet | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

30 Dec 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingTips, #HameauDeLaReine, #HomePersonalDecorating, #HomePersonalStyle, #HomeStyle, #QueenHamlet, Design

Parties are for having fun, meeting friends, new people, eating, drinking and small talks and better be prepared, they will happen! Actually knowing how to conduct small talks to your advantage is a professional social skill. I was at a Christmas party where I met a woman who knew how to ease in the small talk conversation until she realized I was an interior designer. The natural questions that followed was: “I bet your house is beautiful! What is the style?”

Often people forget to ask what is your personal style, which would define better the answer. Style can be copied from magazines and voila’ it’s done. Does that mean it is your style? Maybe or maybe not. You might feel good in it, if you choose it, you must like it. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

◇
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

I remember when I visited the palace of Versailles in France, I also visited the idyllic Hameau de la Reine (The Queen’s Hamlet), a rustic retreat in the park of the Château de Versailles built in 1783 for Marie Antoinette, who longed to play a farm girl role during her week spent in luxury. The building scheme included a farmhouse to produce milk and eggs for the queen, a dairy, a dovecote, a boudoir, a barn, a mill and a tower in the form of a lighthouse.

◇
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

Each building was decorated with a garden, an orchard or a flower garden. The Hameau served as a private meeting place for the Queen and her closest friends, a place of leisure, the rooms offered an intimate setting than the grand salons at Versailles or at the Petit Trianon. Clearly Marie Antoinette was never a farm girl, only wanted to experience the feeling of living someone else’s life.

That is what I notice when I go to people’s homes, often the furniture and home décor don’t reflect their lifestyle. There are formal rooms never enjoyed because they don’t entertain, there are expensive designed kitchens where nobody cooks, there are immense spaces for a household of only two people, or I go into small homes filled with an overabundance of heirloom objects, garage sales findings, collectibles and travel memories, all contributing to the home clutter.

In the house where the party was, all the pictures frames were brown to match the brown furniture. Just to continue the small talk conversation, I pointed the picture frames to the woman speaking to me and I said it is OK for some people to match one thing to the other, just as they match the earrings to the necklace, the handbag to the shoes. To them it feels comfortable, to me is mortally boring (my favorite phrase) and banal. If you want to be unique, break these rules, I told her.

(Above: Evening atmosphere in my office)

In my house, I broke all the rules on purpose. All my picture frames are different and still communicate with the décor. She said: “I hope you use this phrase in your marketing material, as it explains all your thoughts in a few words”. I felt I opened a door for her to new ways of arranging furniture and “thoughts”.

(Above: Evening atmosphere in my kitchen)

Antique pieces can be paired with modern furniture, warm colors with cool colors are beautiful, various metals finishes can be arranged together; glass live well with wood finishes or stones and rugs or pillows must not match the artwork at all.

(Above: Evening atmosphere in my kitchen)

I feel comfortable in a house that is not the scheme of someone else, I live in the colors that make me feel good and in the atmospheres I create for my well-being. I live in my Queen’s Hamlet. How about you? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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 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 latest book on colors
©RED-A Voyage Into Colors,
available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Golden December | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Dec 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasColorScheme, #ChristmasTableSetting, #GoldChristmas, #GoldColor, #SilverChristmas, #WhiteChristmas

This month, as everyone in the world, I am in and out of stores, not to look for presents, I buy everything online, but to learn about Christmas trends. Z Gallery has filled the stores with an all-white Christmas from furniture to accessories and Christmas décor. The only color I saw is the table setting in purple-silver and some artificial flower arrangements.

Besides the all-white Christmas, I did notice an overabundance of very modern mirrors, a lot of gold home accessories and tableware. I find shiny gold very pretentious, especially if reflected in mirrors, however, if it is done tastefully, one or two elements can be quite elegant.

Golden Tableware

Golden Glasses

Golden Accessories

Golden Candleholders

Golden Glasses

(Photos taken in Z Gallery store with granted permision)

I was reading the horoscope for the coming year and apparently the planets are aligning to enter a new era of prosperity, which will last nine years. I like this forecast, don’t you? Knowing that everybody will be well-off and helping others with the wealth created is very reassuring to me.
Forecasts are beneficial to marketing, or any business for that matter. Stores must know trends and colors to sell what people want. Perhaps, all this gold reflects our next direction.

I have not thought yet how to decorate my holiday table this year. My food is always the center of attraction and decorations are minimal.
How are you decorating your table this Christmas? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As an Italian designer and true to my origins, I am well-known to bring originality to people’s homes, but that’s not where I stop and any situation is a perfect opportunity to design something out of the ordinary.
Check out my three books on
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