Valentina

Cognac Collection | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CognacColor, #Pantone2016FallColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WarmTaupe2016, #WarmToneColors

The sophisticated appeal of cognac colors retain its allure in part because it is a classic timeless color, which adds quality and prestige to any interiors.
Blending cognac is an art and so is blending cognac color with other colors.

This coming fall we will see bronze, cognac and warm beige mixed with warm and cool colors.

The Warm Taupe of this Autumn suggests reassurance and stability. It is a trusted colors because it feels organic.
It is timeless and it pairs well with the top 10 shades studied for this Fall 2016 season.
I like to pair it with Cognac for an additional flavor. Yes, flavor, because colors are not only made to be seen, but we should feel them on our the skin and sometimes even be able to say:
“I just want to taste you”.

In my imagination swirling cognac in a brandy sniffer glass warmed up slowly over a small flame is a sensual act that brings out all the tones and shimmering light of yellow, orange, gold, topaz and hypnotizes the viewer. Mixing various colors with Cognac to me has the same effect.
In my projects, I have done it always, even when these colors weren’t dictated by anyone. Their natural structure seems to bring happiness in my clients’ environment.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(A bistro in the kitchen on mahogany floor )

(Whimsical Bathroom Corner)

Italian Carrara Marble and Rosso Verona Marble

(Fireplace Italian Style)

(Custom-Built Entertainment Unit with a Secret)

Allow these colors to bewitch you. 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. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Art Is On The Ground | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

02 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #BerlinStreetArt, #BerlinStreetFashion, #ManholesArt, #ManholesPrintedTShirts, #PiratePrinting

Welcome to my Friday Fashion.
In the European news this week I found something interesting: Pirate Printers, it has been around for a while, but this morning was a news to me.
“Whatever covers garbage does not look like garbage in most cases” ~ says an article on Berlin’s street art. There has been an exhibition in the past called
“Under Our Feet-Manhole Covers in Berlin“. Special exhibition in the photo technology department. Click the title to visit this original exhibition.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Schöeneberger Town Hall Manhole)

It was an exhibition of photographs depicting manhole covers by industrial designer Annett Stroetmann. The artist has a fascination for utilities covers that are literally part of the ground beneath our feet. She revealed a facet of industrial design we usually don’t consider art, we stump on it mindlessly and ignore something that might be covering sewage or electricity.

This is not all, a new movement in Berlin made of collective artists Raubdruckerin (pirate printer) is now printing manhole covers, vents, and utility grates on t-shirts and bags by applying ink directly to the streets and printing on-site in known cities as Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris. The collective of artists sell their creations through an online shop

(above: shot from my TV)

(Above: Berlin Manhole)
Manholes are not just square or round covers to disguise unattractive sites, they are designed to beautify sidewalks. The collective of artists extracted beauty from urban signage, as there is beauty all around us and in a way forced us to see it. The graphic on the streets, once printed on fabric look pretty snazzy and do not look as sewage covers. Who would have imaged it and yet these young artists did.
Very clever and original!

(Above: Paris Manhole)

I will never look at manholes the same way again. Welcome new ideas, welcome new possibilities. 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. To better help people in 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

Fall In Love With Fall | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2016ColorTrends, #2016FallColors, #AiryBlueBodacious, #MusatardAiryBlue, #Pantone2016FallColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors

This fall there is a new, fresh way to combine colors we have already seen before. Spicy Mustard with Airy Blue or Airy Blue with Bodacious (a type of magenta) are a very new pair. Blues are leading the pack of colors this coming fall mixed with warm heart tones. Dusty Cedar is a real welcomed revelation for its brilliancy and the capacity to mix well with all the fall colors planned for this year. Airy Blue has an intrinsic light, it is weightless and it means serenity. It pairs well with all the fall colors. Let’s see how I have combined it. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Airy Blue, Spicy Mustard and Potter Clay – Color Combination – Concept One

If you are remaking a living room, for instance, here I have a couple of suggestions for you. My idea of a living room, provided that the size of the room allows it, is a playful space made up of various seating arrangements.

I have never liked the “large sofa” against the wall, two chairs on each side of the sofa, side tables and coffee table in front. I find this arrangement very boring.
My ideal living room is a space well designed for conversation or reading with various vignettes consisting of chairs for two or three people, a few tables between each seats or just one small table in the middle to serve everyone.

Airy Blue, Spicy Mustard, Shark Gray and Bodacious – Color Combination – Concept Two

(Furniture in my concept boards are from Grandinroad and Wayfair)

Besides central lighting in the ceiling, I like to add a source of light in each vignette, to create the rhythm of shadows and light. This type of arrangement facilitate conversations at a deeper level, allows to get to know a person closely, especially in parties, where nobody sits on the large sofa next to a person just met and everybody engage in meaningless small talks.

If you had a fireplace in a living room in needs of restyle, which main color or color combination would you choose? I am here to help. Ciao,
Valentina
ww.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. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Interview With A Young Inventor | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColoredLight, #ColoredLightStreaming, #DivaLights, #FedericoCardana, #InteractiveLights, #ItalianDivaLights

I am excited to be part of a new invention from a lad, Federico Cardana, Italian born, designer of DIVA Light, an interactive system of lights streaming in colors. I had the pleasure to interview him through Skype, learn from him and share ideas. Enjoy our conversation. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

DIVA Interactive Light

Valentina – Did you go to a special school to learn about lighting and lights effects?
Federico – I never went to a special school, but lights and colored lights attracted me ever since I was a kid, because I think people feel good around colors and lights versus shades or lack of light.

Valentina – How did you get involved in lighting? Was it always a passion, was it a hobby that at some point turned into something serious, or you just tried something new and got hooked on?
Federico – I think my passion for colored light came from the Lego constructions I plaid with since I was a toddler. All those little pieces force a kid to build an imaginative world and to create something magical based on colors. That attraction for colors remained in my life.

Valentina – Did your parents encourage you to pursue your dream to build and develop this light product?
Federico – Yes, my parents are aware of what I am doing and support me in full. They helped me going to USA to present my product in the Silicon Valley and care that this project succeeds well.

Valentina – You seem to be a very ambitious lad. Who inspired you to create a colorful product such as DIVA Light? If you had a mentor what value did he/she bring to your life?
Federico – My long time passion has been to create a useful something that have the power to make people’s life better or even change it. There are many entrepreneurs or companies who have created a physical product such as Bang & Olufsen, a Dutch Company that creates high-end electronics for homes and cars. Their products create emotions to the touch, transform a home in a world of connected and automated convenience. As a person, I looked up without a doubt to Steve Jobs. I think he is the person who was able to create “something” that revolutionized the way the world lives today. His cared for details and how beautiful the lines-shapes of his products look, but especially he cared to create emotions and feelings when people touch his product.

Valentina – What do you like the most about working with light and colors?
Federico – Light is life, anything luminous will attract people. Colors have their own meanings. Human brain perceives colors before words are spoken, before eyes can see and before ears can hear. Colors are a powerful way to communicate, to say something, to sell a product, to show a presentation, to convey an information and more. Think of street lights at any cross-road and how the device tells us to go, to stop or to be cautious. Nothing is left to a chance when a book cover is produced or a package of a product is made. Marketing is about using the right color for the right target. The value of my DIVA lights is to communicate feelings, to enhance with colors an environment and to create atmospheres.

Valentina – Is your DIVA Light competing with many products of the same type? If yes, what makes your DIVA Light better than other products and why should people buy your product?
Federico – There are similar systems on the market, mine it is a bit different. I have not created DIVA Light as a static element of décor only.
I wanted DIVA light to be an intelligent device, which when attached to other devices can interact with people and spaces with colors. Users will be able to change to certain colors based on their needs to indicate something is happening, a change of mood or situation, the arrival of a special person and so on. For instance:
1. DIVA Light can be used in a wedding ceremony to tell the guests the bride is coming, or in the reception room to inform the next course is coming to the table.
2. In schools DIVA light can be used to enhance the attention of students, or calm them down in moments of excitement or disruption and agitation.
3. In restaurants, the changing colors of DIVA Light can indicate a change of food flavor, from meat to fish or dessert.

My product offers an experience, it is interactive with people and spaces through colors, a simple software with an app downloadable on any smartphone manages the color changes according to the needs of a person. DIVA Light is also sound reactive, meaning the light reacts the nature sounds and weather conditions. Installed in the landscape of a beach house DIVA Light can change colors with the movement of waves, thus create a magical atmosphere when entertaining outdoor.
Since the scope of this device it to make people feel good, it also creates an element of bonding between guests.

DIVA Light

(photo courtesy of DIVA Interactive Lights)

Valentina – What is DIVA Light philosophy, is there one?
Federico – Diva Light is an experience because the device is interactive. Another good example is when the device is installed in a restaurant: let’s say outside has been raining for three hours, DIVA Light senses the gray weather, changes colors to sunny yellow, or pastel colors to emulate the sun or spring, thus changes people’s feelings and mood, entice customers to enter that restaurant, stay there for a while and spending while lingering.

Valentina – Who are your ideal clients, or where do you see DIVA Light being installed?
Federico – The fields of usage and application of this device are vast: restaurants, lounge bars, educational establishment, hospitals, home entertainment and anywhere one wants to create atmospheres.

Valentina – What made you decide to come to the US and live here for a few months? What goal did you want to achieve in the Silicon Valley?
Federico – Silicon Valley is a fertile ground for people who want to create and want to make a difference in the world. There is a particular echo-system non equal to others I have known. In the Silicon Valley and California in general people get excited about new ideas, are willing to meet and greet new things, give you 10 minutes of their time to hear you out, give out free suggestions and are willing to pay for a new finished product. All those suggestions and visions have been very valuable to me, I put them all together and created a product they want.

Valentina – What lesson did you learn from your stay in the Silicon Valley ?
Federico – In the Silicon Valley I learned not to stop at the first door that closes in your face. One must be tenacious in pursuing new endeavors, one must listen to all the suggestions, be focused and be willing to keep going regardless of difficulties. This is the only way to succeed.

Valentina – What advice will you give to another ambitious young person who wants to get out there in the market with any kind of new idea?
Federico – First, get in front of the mirror and be honest with yourself. Ask yourself if you are really ready to take on the project of the new idea. The road to success is long, uphill and hard. You must have courage to go on even when nobody shows a trace of trust and be willing to face difficulties. In addition, I think those who want to embark on the journey of inventions must believe in the product, must have a desire and determination to succeed, as I said the road is difficult, it needs discipline, diligence, cohesiveness and long hours of work. A young inventor who has the chance to travel must get to know other worlds. Travel cost money, it is better to use that precious time for constructive learning travel instead of just travelling for fun.

Valentina – If someone wants to contact you, do you have a website or a place where people can visit your products?
Federico – They can visit www.divahome.co
or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/diva.light.home
Email – federico@divahome.co

I hope soon I will be able to place DIVA Lights in my client’s homes or entertainment moments and I wish you all the success in the world, Federico, you deserve it. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am 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. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. 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. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and nonetheless my stories continue.
Find copies of my book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – and the rest of my books
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Friday Fun | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

13 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #Aperitif, #AppetizersFood, #FridayTapas, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/fun/, #ItalianCharcuterie, #WordPressPhotoChallengeFun

Do you have a ritual in your life, something you do that makes you feel good? I do. Two rituals set me in place. The first and most important is a spiritual ritual to start the day: my salutation to the sun in the morning.

The other is Friday Fun – Tapas Chez Moi at 7:00 pm to celebrate a week of work. I prepare morsels of a variety of food cold and warm, finger food, cheese, breads and charcuterie board, all to accompany wines, bubbles, conversation and music. Some of my friends discover new food, some enjoy food their palates already know and the night evolves in a convivial gathering. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Aperitif is not a modern invention, I am only continuing the ancient Roman tradition to appreciate working brakes during the day and spend them with a fun activity: food, wines and company.
Today we have the bad habit of meeting people for lunch to talk about business, it is actually scheduled on purpose to save time and to pack as many possible appointments or activities in one day. Romans disliked talking business during apéritif time. They conducted business either in patricians’ office-home, or while swimming in spring water and even in the sauna.

Let’s travel back in the Roman’s time and their taste, we might find some affinity to our fun apéritif of today. Apéritif in ancient Rome started around 4:00 pm with a “gustatio” a tasting of various small bites, as we do today, then a “cenula” dinner followed ending in a “comissatio” a type of debauchery, where one person was in charge of the guests drinking shifts, in other words, that person decided who was going to drink and who wasn’t. Sympathy or antipathy for a person guided his decisions, which invariably caused heated discussions among those guests who didn’t get the chance to have many rounds of drinks during the night. This “comissatio” fun drinking party went on until the small hours of the night in company of wines and complacent women.

One of the most favorite apéritif food was chicken in Salsa Apiciana with cumin and cilantro, all spices brought to Rome from the Middle East, a sign that Rome Empire was expanding in the Mediterranean Basin. Romans liked to drink spicy wines such as Paradoxum a wine flavored with ginger and laurel leaf and the Mulsum a wine flavored with honey. Romans concocted their own fun cocktails by mixing white wines with red wines, it’s almost as we mix our cocktails today.

Bread has been one of the staple food in every culture. Romans too had their own specialty bread the Libum, a type of sacred bread also used in wedding ceremony as a symbol and a good wish for the newlywed to break bread together forever.
It was a privilege to break bread with someone sitting at the dining table with the Romans. Today, breaking bread together has the same meaning. We would not dare to sit and eat with people we don’t like.

Catinus (bowls) and Patella (flat plate), crocks and clay for eating and drinking embellished the table of Romans.

More modern tableware embellish my Friday Fun table, my food is tied to my traditions and these in my gallery are some of the most popular food among my guests. Enjoy.

Caviar and prosecco

Roasted baby octopi

Roasted onions, arrugula and olives

Italian charcuterie

Savory closed tart with broccoli rabe

Citrus salad

Baked avocado, eggs and kipper

Sweet peppers from garden

Frittatine mozzarella and prosciutto

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

Your Fire Is An Element | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

09 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AmantiFireplace, #FireplaceDesign, #LivingRoomColors, #LivingRoomDesign, #ModernFireplace, #REDColor, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WallMountedFireplace

We have the same fascination today with fireplaces as our ancestors did when central heating had not been invented yet and fireplaces were the only source of heat. The difference is that today we are heavily submersed under city rules and regulations to save the earth and cannot use the fireplace as we would like.

In a few years, the sound of crackling fire and the smell of wood burning will be only a memory for those who have experienced it. I remember my grandmother’s large mouth fireplace where, as a girl, I stood inside just for fun, it was used for heating, to cook in, to dry clothes and when the fire wasn’t on, occasionally I played inside with my brothers. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

(fireplace in the design phase)

At this time, I am dismantling a fireplace in a client’s home (photo above) and we must abide to the city regulations. We are looking at a very contemporary style electric wall mounted fireplace controlled with a remote device.

(Ikea Ideas For Small Living Room Living Room With Fireplace Modern Stone Fireplaces)

A lush meadow with tall trees surrounds the house, the exterior environment feels very mountainous and even a train that goes by every so often contributes to the romance of the view. For this, I want to evoke nature by adding in the interior décor some elements of leather, animal prints, weaved fabric, baskets, wines and wine décor. I want to create also an enveloping feeling with a good ambience light, which communicates with the vitality of fire in the wall.

(Above: elitetile porcelana 12.2″ x 12.2″ porcelain field tile in pebblestone)

Triangles are the ideal symbolic shapes to create harmony with fire. I thought of treating the fireplace wall with stone cladding installed in triangles. These are pieces of veneer stones, pebbles or wood already set in a 12”x12” mesh easy to install. An alternative and less expensive solution would be to paint the new fireplace wall in a two-tone diamond shape or metallic faux finish.

Each of these treatments will turn the fireplace wall in the focal point of the room, thus a contrasting color and texture from the rest of the room are a must.

(Above wall finish from http://www.gspaintingpaloalto.com)

I see red somewhere in the new living room. Fire is red with all the warm colors of the spectrum: yellow, orange and even purple. Repeating the same red of the adjacent dining room either on the new fireplace wall or in one piece of furniture will make this living room socially happy.

I will need my client’s fire to complete the room and to play the game of textures with colors. Creativity craves passion and courage, this is what’s all about when creating a space. 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

Velvet and Suede | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

06 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2016FallColors, #2016Velvet, #FashionFall2016, #JewelColorVelvet, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #VelvetShoes

Welcome to a new Friday Fashion episode.
Be prepared to be draped in opulent velvet this coming fall 2016, but not the kind of velvet royals upholster their chairs or we find in aristocratic houses. Most designers went liberally over boards with velvet in their new collections, a new fluid material that will emphasize femininity and body shapes. In a modern way, it will still look luxurious due to the sheen and light of the fabric. What’s beautiful about the new velvet fabrics are the vibrant colors ranging from indigo blue to deep red, parakeet green to orange, saffron and blush hues, in addition to the new languid cuts and styles.
Keep your velvet sharp and ironed. If you don’t know how, let professionals iron it for you, they won’t crush the pile.

What kind of velvet garments can we wear this Fall 2016? Short tuxedo jacket-dress, jumpsuits, midi skirts, blazers to work and even evening gowns, but please don’t wear velvets from head to toes and don’t try to match velvet accessories to a velvet outfit.
A few more things to look for this Fall: plaid with a new twist and asymmetrical lines, colorful furs, eclectic styles are always in, bell sleeves, frills and ruffles, velvet or suede shoes. It’s all in the details.

In my last trip to Europe I found a beautiful hand-embroidered floral Renaissance fabric. I knew exactly where to use it. My military jacket, plum color, now has a new soft look with that floral fabric. I will wear it with red suede boots. 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. To better help people in 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

Trending This Week | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

30 Jul 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2016SummerFashion, #BallonSkirt, #FunkyBags, #LowHeelsSandals, #MikitaGlasses, #SummerFashion

Welcome to a new episode of Friday Fashion.

We are in the middle of summer enjoying gardens, beaches, vacation, or backyard fun, but the fashion industries wants us to think of fall and winter. Collections for the next seasons are in stores already, ready for us. I have already seen Halloween and Christmas decorations. Living a year in advance is really awful and I want to linger on lightweight and breezy clothes, light colors, sandals and bikini for a little while longer.

I found a few curious things this week that will make the rest of the summer really fun.

(AliExpress.com)
I am crazy for crazy bags. The lipstick and the mushroom bags are great to start a conversation. They are not the usual bags, take them to a party and watch the effect on others.

Polka dots purse from DressLily

The Paris street scenes, balloon ‘50s style skirt is perfect for the office and the city daily life, especially with a soft breeze…. (From: Chicwish.com)

Sunglasses: either use them as side table or wear them. Rounded frame sun glasses this summer are the novelty.

(Above photo: francesscholz Designer, SculptorOwner – Backyard Spectacles – Optical Sculptures & Tables)

Mikita makes them in silver white python. They are $899, just a snip!

Nicholas Kirkwood’s ‘Casati’ sandals have been crafted in Italy from rose gold patent-leather. Let’s not call them “slavery sandals” as Dolce & Gabbana did and offended the entire world. These are low heel T-bar sandals embellished with a row of gleaming faux pearls. $695. Another snip!

Nicholas Kirkwood's Casati Dolce & Gabbana shoes

I choose low and high-priced items for every taste. I am sure out there plenty store carry similar items at a more affordable price. Let’s’ enjoy another month or two of summer before we can think of warmer clothes, rain, gray days and hibernating for the winter. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
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. To better help people in 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

Let Pictures Out Of Darkness | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #GalleryWalls, #HowToDisplayPictures, #IlluminatedPictures, #LuminaeCrystalPanel, #PictureFrames

One of the many items that dress the house with class and elegance is the selection of picture frames, the particular way pictures are positioned on the walls, and how they are illuminated. It’s very common for me to see chaotic arrangements of pictures on people’s walls. They are either too high to look at the subject, or scattered all over without symmetry and meaningful effect.

Generally, picture frames must follow the style of the décor, antique frames with antique furniture, modern frames with modern furniture. However, this is not a rule set in stones and I like to break rules. It takes skills to break this rule and a good eye for scale and proportions, then walls will become attractive galleries of memories, subjects, and themes, just as perfect as a museum. One can choose very expensive or elaborated frames, floating frames, digital frames, shadow box frames, gallery wraps (painting spills over all sides of the canvas and needs no frame) and various style frames all on the same wall, but what about a device that illuminates the artwork all the way around. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

I was arranging pictures in a corridor of a clients’ home. The corridor was dark and all her family pictures made a confused composition on the walls. While rearranging, I thought of a better illumination to enhance the beauty of the people in the frame and the corridor too. The budget was a bit restrictive and I opted for a simple LED flexible cable light. The corridor looks better and the pictures are very symmetric and orderly. I asked myself what I could have done if the budget had been more generous.

(photo credit http://www.soophotography.com/blog/)

I roamed online and found this attractive light device. It is a real beauty called Luminae Crystal Panel, on the market already since a few years ago.
Luminae Crystal Panel uses 7-12 watts LED light, it is a long-lasting, most efficient light panel in the world and it is so thin only ½” of thickness that the only thing the viewer sees is the photograph inside. The panel illuminates the subject evenly without color cast. It sort of captivates in a modern way. It complements any photograph and illuminates as well the area where is positioned. Don’t let the modern look fool you, Luminae Crystal Panel will look good even in a traditional décor. This will make an amazing gallery wall. I can’t wait to try it in my next project.

If you have a mismatched gallery wall in your home or office, give me a call, we can organize it together. 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. She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Don’t let limited bathroom space cramp your style! | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BathroomColors, #BathroomDesigns, #BathroomLayOut, #CustomBathVanity, #CustomDesignedFurniture, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

The aim was to pamper a teenage girl by creating a modern bath that was comfortable, dramatic, elegant and functional. The space did not exist in the previous floor plan, it was created ex-novo from one of the rooms. My challenge was to use all the hard surfaces left over from previews projects my client had done on his properties. I had to work with what was made available to me and I still managed to play with my fantasy. I have designed many pieces of furniture for this home, this bathroom was one of the many challenges. As I progressed in the project, I realized I wasn’t designing for the 17 old daughter, I was designing more for the mother, two very sophisticated women, who knew exactly what they wanted. No time is ever wasted with people who have clear ideas of what the style of the home should be. The girl knew that in a year time she would be gone to college, she trusted her mom’s taste and let her have fun in choosing nothing but the best for the only girl in the family.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Valentina happy at the cabinet maker’s shop)

An Italian master ebonist built the vanity cabinet in Mahogany with inserts of Lace Maple. Its door handles and pull are real silver 925. The area for counter top was minimal, therefore purchasing an expensive stone, a beautiful Opera Fantastico marble was not a big expense at all. Flooring and the shower enclosure were the two areas where leftover stones from previous remodeling projects were used. A combination of Italian marbles and stones created the contrasting colors. Italian made wall lighting and a delicate seafoam wall faux finish set the tone for this small bathroom.

One day, the client sat with me on the freshly installed hardwood floor to shoot the breeze. In a rare moment of confession, she showed me her collection of original jewelry made of precious, semi-precious gems and told the story of each piece . They were beautiful examples of lapislazzuli, quarts, corals, African copal and much more. All of those eccentric pieces led me to my inspiration for the bathroom and the bedroom of the girl.

A small bathroom is one place a designer can propose expensive material without breaking the budget and almost have the license to do it. It is the right place a designer can show off abilities to make everything fit in a reduced space, still produce a functional bathroom with all the amenities and do it with style. Furthermore, using material from previous projects and know how to put them together in a new space is a magic only the expert with clinical eye can pull off. The results exceeded even my own expectations. Many designer magazines published this home and it was on designer tours many times. 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. She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w