Valentina

Afternoon With Oscar | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

21 May 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #OscardelaRenta, #OscardelaRentaDayWear, #OscardelaRentaEveningGowns, #OscardelaRentaExhibition, #OscardelaRentaFashion, #OscardelaRentaSpanishInfluence

Welcome to a new Friday Fashion episode.

Bold, bright, artistic, extravagant and imaginative, this is how I can describe Oscar de la Renta’s exhibition. The hall with deep red walls is just perfect to enhance the beauty and opulence of each piece of clothing inspired by the Spanish period de la Renta spent working for Balenciaga in Madrid. That deep red color transfers in the viewer’s eyes the passion for all Spanish life expressions. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Spanish Period Influence

The Golden Age of Spanish Art influenced young designer de la Renta who drew all the jewel tones from Velázquez’s paintings, Spanish court costumes, royal armor, flamenco dancers and from elaborate embroiders of matadors’ capes. The extravagant evening gowns with cascading ruffles seemed in such a demand that appeared season after season. The hand painted silk kaftans are stunning, look so modern, in fact manufacturers are still making the same style today, unfortunately with less sumptuousness.

Hand-Painted Kaftans

Russian Influence

Eastern Influence

Eastern Embroideries

The red walls hall is a concentrate of the folk European costumes that inspired Oscar de la Renta. He drew from European history, adopted diverse cultures, used Indian textiles for dresses, created coats with Russian fabrics with beautiful ornamentations and folk Uzbek and Kazakh Ikat-patterned cloth, which details made up Oscar de la Renta’s signature pieces for his ready-to-wear collections.

In 1972 Oscar said that his sole purpose as a designer was to create something women would want to wear “sleek by day and lavish by night”. So he succeeded behind imagination to dress women for over fifty years in sophisticated day wear, understated elegance for evening clothes and in lavishly embellished cocktail dresses. His collections are renowned for their modernity even for today’s style. There is nothing in this exhibition women would not want to wear.

Daywear

The hall dedicated to the eighteenth century country French inspiration is very playful and I particularly admire the silk fabric wall treatment. Chartreuse color comes through fenestration on white fabrics, making the overall effects soft, airy and delicate just like the exquisite embroidered fabrics of the period. Even though this hall is dedicated to French country-style and the look seems relaxed, floral, almost peasant like, nothing here looks cheap or poor. The designers experimented with a rustic look, giving the wealthy women a playful taste of a simple life in the fields. It was a “make-believe” collection and to reinforce elegance the designer added long trains to some dresses. It’s hard to imagine a peasant working in the field with a long train behind her dress.

French Country – XVIII Century Inspiration

We recognize the evening gowns of the ’70s, so modern, so beautiful and still so very current. It was a fundraiser event that took place in the palace of Versailles where five designers were chosen to represent France. The chiffon and crêpe de chine dresses created a rainbow of pastel colors.

Versailles Collection

Ballroom Gowns Collection

(All photos taken at the De Young Museum by Valentina Cirasola)

The collection has been a sheer delight to see, in fact, as all the fashion exhibits I never get enough the first time and visit them the second time.
If the exhibition comes around in your city, I hope you get to see it. 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

Tie It Or Let It Flow | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

04 May 2016 3 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CurtainTieBackDesign, #CurtainTieBacks, #SheerCurtains, #SilkCurtains, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WindowCoverings, #WindowTreatments

What is home decorating? Most people would think of furniture, accessories and colors. In my world, decorating is much more than that. Decorating is creating a vision, a personal style. It is about layering textures, dimension and asymmetric lines. Decorating is also about knowing how to relate to the environment outside the door. Train your eyes to see your surroundings, look at the color in the nature, accent what is out there and bring that beauty in a mixed bag inside the home. The view outside the windows most likely will affect a few choices for your interior décor. That was my intention when I chose this curtain with chiffon roses for this sliding door. I wanted the beautiful outdoor setting to come inside this bedroom. (Click on this photo to view it larger).

Window treatments are not called window coverings any more, because they are not made exclusively to cover, but to reveal the environment. Window treatments can block the sun and can block the light when you need more sleep; they can give you privacy and can also provide more insulation to save energy, but mostly are designed to create magical atmospheres. They are supposed to add fantasy, beauty and whimsy to your interior.

My inspiration for window treatments comes from anywhere. I like to create transparencies and games of textures with fabrics and experimenting with unusual solutions. I am not afraid to decorate a window with lot of sheer fabrics of different colors touching a heavily distressed wall, or to have silks in industrial looking rooms. A traditional room can very well host a modern style window treatment for a dynamic atmosphere.

Did you know that the fashion industry is the first to dictates new trends in home décor, as well as in cars designs and everything else that involves our life? Home transparencies came about when a few years ago, fashion designers invented the lingerie effect in clothing, using soft layers over soft textures to create dimensions. Window treatments, which carry the same concept of layering fabrics, layering colors and textures also makes a personalized home. Do you want to leave your window treatments loose to allow your curtains to flow freely in the soft breeze when you leave the windows open or do you want to tie them back as usual? If you choose to tie them back choices are numerous.

itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot – LargeFlower

t-echoblogspot

Indulgy.com – Corset tieback

Urban Outfitter

http://picmia.com/ Beads

Horchow Napoleonic Bees

Urban Outfitter

(photos via Pinterest – Credits given to the respective owners)

Style is the ability to combine ensembles of ideas in a such a way that people perceive it as creative and original. In decorating a home you must experiment with your emotions and create your own vision. People might call you extravagant and eccentric, so what?! It would be better than being banal, normal and have a common place to return to. 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. Featured on Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California, appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V., my stories continues. Find copies of my three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Style From Reggio On Runways | Valentina Cirasola |Designer

30 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #BergamotFibers, #BergamotOrange, #CalabriaFashion, #CorkFibers, #NaturalFibers, #SouthItalyFashion, #ValentinaCirasolaFashionDesigner

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
Calabria, one of the least known southern regions of Italy, sits in the toe of the Italian peninsula boot. The region is not well-known abroad outside Italy, but to Italians, Calabrian food and flavors are highly sought. They encapsulate all the virgin nature of the region, are mostly hand-made and grown naturally. The perfumes industry uses some very fragrant and succulent fruit trees in the making of scents for women and men. What does food and flavor have to do with fashion? It does.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

People of the region are making every possible effort to keep nature intact and use the natural resources available. They are moving toward innovations always referring to traditions, especially when it comes to create something fashionable. Bergamot orange, a fragrant fruit the size of an orange with a yellow color similar to a lemon, is the pride of the region as it lends itself to manufacture eco-friendly colorful fabrics besides perfumes and cosmetics.

Bergamot Orange – Citrus Bergamia (Wikipedia)

Men will wear ties made of silk and cork fabric with the flower of succulent plants pinned on the lapel. They will also wear ties made of bergamot flowers, or papillions made of silk and cork fabric.

(Photos from Rai Italian National TV – Show: Linea Verde Orizzonti – April 2016 – taken from my TV set while watching the show)

People of Calabria have learned from the earth and are turning their notions to manufacture natural fabrics increasingly moving away from products made from oil and petroleum. We are extremely grateful to the superior minds of the fashion operators in Calabria. Wearing clothes made of new fabrics such as grass and cork fiber is healthy, fun and colors are vibrant to keep us in a cheerful state. 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 the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Abstract Atmospheres | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Apr 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AbstractDesign, #AbstractImages, #AbstractTheme, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/abstract, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #WorpressAbstract

There is nothing abstract in my home designs, my clients’ interiors are real. A lot study goes into the choices of material, colors and shapes to adopt in each design.

Sometimes, I have visions as soon as I walk into a new client’s home of how I can improve or transform that home, my antennas capture the vibrations of people living there and guide me in the right directions.

I let the clients tell me what they want, what their desires or needs are. Their home to me is a clean canvas, a raw field to sow seeds all over that will sprout into beautiful flowers months later.
Designing is an abstract concept in the designer’s mind that people cannot see or visualize until it is drawn on paper and becomes a real entity. The hardest part of designing is dealing with people and different personalities and those are very real. A designer is a psychologist first, able to understand all the abstract ideas people have in mind, but that is another story.

After all is done, I take pictures in the most traditional way to show new prospects what I can do for them, but when I am alone, in the privacy of my studio, I have fun searching for those abstract elements of my design, something which will make people think and ask: What is it? So tell me, how do you interpret my images? (Click on each photo to view it larger).

If you make a circle with both of your hands and look through it as if it was a camera lens, you will see things not usually noticeable with a bare eye.

This is in response to WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge “Abstract” – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/abstract

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

In my 25th 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 never imagined.

Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Fringes In The Wind | Valentina Cirasola |Designer

09 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FringedLeatherJacket, #FringedSkirt, #Fringes, #ItalianLeather, #LeatherFringes, #SuedeFringe

Welcome to a new Friday Fashion episode.
Since a couple of years ago fringes have shown up on clothing and all fashion accessories, even on shoes. It is a kind of Bohemian, hippy, late 1960’s style revival, when wearing this clothing with fringes, beads, headband and used clothes meant searching for spontaneity, expressing free love, and expanding consciousness. It was an era when youth fought against war, civil right, rejected institutions and all constrictive thinking. The new concept of fringes expresses today’s casual living and leisure time. It has no other social connotation, it is only a revival of something that made history and still looks good.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Avenue 12)

Now, if you have a leather jacket with zippers, pockets, whistles and bells keep it in your closet, perhaps that style will come around again. This year’s leather jacket is simpler, looser, lightweight, soft and deconstructed of frills, almost like a second shirt. Colors are powdery, allusive, and suggestive of softness, they are the colors seen in other eras: soft pink, dusty pink, mauve, cream, antique gold, baby blue, or pearl grey. Wine is one of the dark colors.

(LuisaViaRoma)

The new leather jacket has elbow sleeves or 3/4 sleeves, no buttons, no zippers and no interior lining, its very long, sassy fringes makes the length of the jacket. With elbow sleeves, it is OK to show the long sleeves of the garment wore underneath. Due to its lightweight, we will be able to wear it even in the summer.

Would you like to wear it together with a fringed skirt? I wouldn’t do it. Keep the look interesting, clean, smart and not confused.
(NeimanMarcus-Saddle)

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

Kill That Black Room | Valentina Cirasola |Interior Designer

04 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AquaColorTones, #BedroomDecorating, #BedroomFurniture, #FeminineBedroom, #SoftBedroomColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

I never stumble in a woman’s bedroom made of total black. It has been a surprise to see the entire bedroom set in a shiny black lacquer with shiny metal details and black heavy window covers as a woman’s bedroom. Perhaps at one point there was a man living there, I don’t know, someone who likes the dark side of the color spectrum. A masculine room such as I described is easy to find in a single man’s home but not in a single woman’s home. She is attached to the black bedroom set and doesn’t want to change it. An expert designer will dance around the obstacles to find the solution and I did. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Let’s start bringing in the room the foliage and greenery of the outside through natural grass window covers. This type of window treatment allows you to see out but nobody can see in, even with the lights on. In her case, birds are the only eyes.

Closet in the room didn’t exist and since part of the house is in the remodeling mode, I envisioned sliding closet doors with frosted aqua colored glass. The glass in itself brings a lot of luminosity and reflects the natural light coming from the windows directly across the wall closet. The frosted glass color inspired me to change all her bedding and accessories from grey and putty colors to the same calming aqua colors in various tones, not only for her spirit, but also to calm all that heaviness of the black furniture in the room.

An alcove in the room will be dressed up with a Chinoiserie view wallpaper to echo the nature outside, with a distressed banquette built to fit the alcove space, embellished with silk throw pillows. My second proposed solution was a very large flowers wallpaper. Either way, this will be a place where she can sit to read a book, sip a tea or meditate. I want this area to be very feminine and cozy just for her, using colors suiting for meditation and spiritual moments she has as a daily routine. The atmosphere of the room will change and the energy will be 100% positive. As you see everything is possible.

(Wall Mural https://www.wayfair.com/decor-pillows/sb2/pink-wall-murals-wallpaper-c1861000-a85974~302490-a85979~435026.html)

Look around and extrapolate the details of nature you can bring to the décor, or details of your life.
Make a list of activities you do in the bedroom and find the element of décor to dedicate to those activities.
If you must use existing items, find the colors which will bring those items to life or obscure them. 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/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Woven Illusion | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

26 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2016Knitwear, #2016KnitwearFashionWeek, #FiberArt, #Knitwear, #TexturedFibers, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, #ValentinaExpressionsEtsy

Welcome to a new Friday Fashion episode.
The pleasure of creating something with hands, something that came out of my creativity is immeasurable. Knitting, crocheting, fabric art have returned strongly and I am happily riding the current.

For 2016 knitwear fashion we will see cropped knitwear layered with blouses, high-rise tailored pants and beautiful shirts. We can wear poncho over preppy skirt in the look of Chloe’.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

or oversized knitted pieces with voluminous sleeves for comfort and coziness. Try to layer them with slim jeans and architectural statement jewelry that will really speak geometry. Large pendants over sweaters are the rage this year and hats with glittering embellishments. Fringes will dance around you when you walk. Lots of knitwear with fringes this year.

We like fur, but we don’t want to kill animals to decorate our body with their fur. Ecological, faux fur has been the solution for many years. This year at Pitti’s fashion week in Florence Italy some interesting knitwear have been presented, showcasing Bio Fur Yarn that perfectly reproduces the fur of animals in the wilderness. I like the furry knitwear designer Laura Biagiotti created to wear with sheer long skirts.

The secret this year is in the heavily texture yarn fibers, almost like taking a surprising journey through undisclosed mines. With smooth surface revealing unexpected metallic sparkles we can create stunning design of gems in the earth and soft nuances of semi precious stones.

(Textured Fibers)

(Sophie Steller)

We can easily match tribal patterns, floral or geometric designs, but we can’t forget about colors. If you knit or crochet let your fantasy go wild and combine all the colors that most appeal to you. I did and I am happy of my 2016 knitwear collection.

(Valentina -Expressions -Etsy – https://goo.gl/JtCp1T )

Valentina Expressions – Etsy – https://goo.gl/7a9H73 )

(Valentina Expressions – Etsy – https://goo.gl/VRv1kV )

Be original, be yourself, create some stunning pieces. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Saint Patrick’s Day And The Interesting Green | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

17 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorGreen, #DecoratingWithGreen, #HomeDecorating, #HomeFashion, #HowToCombineGreen, #SpringColors, #StPatrickDay, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Here we are already approaching Saint Patrick’s Day!
Saint Patrick, in Latin Patricius, is the patron saint of Ireland. It is traditionally celebrated as a religious event in Ireland, America, Canada and Australia by Irish and non-Irish alike.
Up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world.

A note of history: At age fourteen Patrick was captured from Britain by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop. One traditional icon of Saint Patrick’s day is the shamrock. An Irish tale tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. Shamrock represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit existing as separate elements of the same entity.
Today, people of all background celebrate the day with parades, wearing something green, drinking beer and eating traditional Irish food. Tradition says that people who don’t wear green will be “pinched”…. in an affectionate way.

One reason St. Patrick’s Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. Spring is time to renew, refresh and upgrade any space in the home.

I love surrounding myself with bold colors, but not everybody thinks that way. Calm, no need to paint an entire room in bold colors to brighten it up. Use bold and colorful accessories such as rugs, throw pillows, and window treatments to add punch to a room painted in a neutral shade. This way, bold colors can be contained in small areas, making it easy to change or eliminate if later you decide to go with something else, or go with the change of seasons.

Using a bold color in a small room, will add a feeling of coziness. Some people think it will shrink the room, I think it is only how you perceive your space and how you intend to make it work for you. With a bold color in a small room, it is a must to use a spectacular light effect to avoid that shrinking feeling.

Depending on the mood you like to create, green combines well with purple and grey for a modern high tech hipster décor. Soft pink and green tones if you want to create a feminine environment, or yellow and golds if you like your home to have a summer feel all year round. Use cool green and turquoise hues for tranquility.

(Source: Color Palettes)

If you want to use a darker color in any size room, consider painting one accent wall in that color, then paint the remaining walls with a lighter tone of the same shade, or with a different neutral color to set off the bold color.
In the kitchen get creative with your backsplash in contrasting colors. Using a contrasting grout draws attention to the tile. In this example, a light-color grout lets the round green tiles pop.
(photo below: BH&G)

In home décor all the different elements can co-exist in the same space to create rhythm and a dynamic space. Green often is the right color to repaint a repurposed piece of furniture that can be used for beauty and functionality.

I am always available to resolve any design challenges and yes, I am the colorist who brings happiness in any décor. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in 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

Finally in Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EthnicFurniture, #Furnishing, #FurnitureArrangement, #FurniturePlans, #IkatPattern, #KilimDesign, #SunnyColors, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #WarmColors

After 25 years or more, unconsciously she felt the need for colors. Her household is made of three men and herself, the only woman, unless she has girlfriends and occasional visitors over whom are not part of the everyday life. Although she decorated her house with taste and classic pieces, the décor has too many beige and black furniture having qualities traditionally ascribed to men. I was invited to speak at her organization on the subject of colors. She attended it and immediately got convinced she needed a transformation. What a transformation has been…..!!!!!
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(New color scheme)

My goal is to bring femininity into her life, provide some private corners for meditation, writing cards, reading, or receive a close friend for tea instead of sitting in the kitchen. The house is spacious with many unused rooms (the boys are no longer living there). I am creating an office room, energized with colors, where she can perform her work duties, without feeling in an office box. I also introduced her to Ikat pattern and kilim designs mixed with modern lines and some ethnic details.

I can tell you my first time in this house, I started yawning the first five minutes I was there due to too all areas covered with beige, white and black. It was a good thing, because it prompted me to bring color accents everywhere, from rugs, to sofa pillows and bar stools; from wall paint to wall art; interesting mirror shapes and glass accessories; new furniture and new room arrangements. After all, I was called to bring colorful energy. Editing has been part of the restyling concept. It has been necessary to eliminate too many old furniture, too many accessories cluttering each surface, too many styles living in the same space and too many animal figurines. While heavy editing was going on, my new stylish furniture and cheerful colors were pushing in.

(Guest Bedroom)

(Sitting Room)

In a few more weeks the house will be transformed forever and she will never return to beige again.

I will be ready to show the finished product then, for now I can just show vignettes of my restyling concepts. She is now one of us, lovers of colors. She is part of my “get rid of black color” movement.

Colors are contagious for your happiness, be careful how you use them, you might get up in the morning totally cheerful with a smile from ear to ear. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in 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

Transitioning In A New Life | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

26 Feb 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BarrierFreeDesign, #ConsignmentStore, #ConvertaShelf, #EstateSale, #HouseEditing, #LifeTransition, #LoweringCabinets, #TransitionInNewLife

“Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” ― said Bette Davis.
One day we all going to be there if we are lucky to live long enough. How we get there is our responsibility.
Let’s start with “Barrier Free Design”. The first day of this class in my interior design studies, the professor, an architect of barrier free design brought a wheelchair and prompted us in turn to sit in that chair. I can assure you the world standing up as an able body and the world sitting down, as a non-able body are two different realities. We couldn’t even maneuver the wheelchair through desks due to lack of space. Everyday we are exposed to dangers caused by our simple distractions or caused by the action of others. Just to name one, think of the danger of being on the road, how many people now text while driving.
Kitchens and bathrooms are also the most dangerous rooms in the house and a simple fall in one of these rooms can incapacitate us for a long time. Stairs are another danger of the house. My friend at 65 was incapacitated for several months with a fractured to the right humerus bone, just because she slipped going downstairs trying to get to a ringing phone.

Barrier Free Design doesn’t mean we must fill the house with stainless steel grab bars everywhere, it simply means to adapt the house to necessities we don’t have when we are young and able, but we could have in the golden years, that is if we intend to live in the same house until we depart this world. All the people in my family never even thought of going to senior homes as a good viable solution. The stayed in the same home they raised family and that’s what I will do too when my time comes.

As a designer, I encourage my clients to think of Barrier Free Design in the moment they are remodeling the house and not when they are in need. The solutions are simple:

1. Wider doors to allow walking through with a wheelchair, walker or cane.
2. Wrist blade faucets and wrist blade door handles are easy on people with hand arthritis.

unison inox

3. Lowered sinks for people on wheel chairs.
4. Kitchen shelves with lowering mechanism.

(ConvertaShelf – photo above found on: http://www.kitchensource.com/cabinet-organizers/rv-shelvingsystem.htm)

(Above photo: http://www.crown-point.com/organize/organize.html)

5. Walk-in bathtubs with an interior seat are easier to get in versus climbing in a tub and risk a fall.
6. Decorative grab bars.
7. Rough and skid free flooring material and no waxed floor, no area rugs, no pointed corners, no stairs.
8. Plenty LED lighting to illuminate dark corners, working surfaces and wet areas. LED lights are a major saving on the electric bills.
9. Wider traffic spaces between furniture.
10. Raised garden beds for those who enjoy cultivating food and attending flowers.

This is prevention and not even all the solutions. Transitioning into a new life means downsizing or moving to a senior care center and in both cases a heavy house editing will be needed.

Consignment centers are a real saver of the environment and allow a second life to the pieces they consign. These centers take in their care only sellable furniture or accessories in good and clean conditions.
The process is very simple. Take photos of all you want to eliminate, including garden furniture and garden accessories. Email them to the store. The person in charge will decide if to come out to the house and assess in person the value of each piece. A three-month contract is signed between the parties and furniture will be taken away at your expense. The store will retain 50% of the sales value; the owner will keep the other 50%.

Consider antique stores for furniture, accessories and light fixtures older than 50 years and in good conditions. Kids nowadays don’t want anything old from their parents. They are into the mode of “use it today and throw it away tomorrow”. Only connoisseurs will appreciate your antique pieces.
The less desirable furniture and accessories will go to Goodwill or similar organizations for which you can claim a reasonable tax credit. Remember these organizations make good money out of your trash.

The other alternative is to organize an estate sale. It is not like a garage sale where everything is out on the front lawn, I would not lose my time with that. An estate sale takes place inside the home opened to the public only on days marked for this event. Every piece has a sales tag and remains in the room where they were originally set. All the accessories and small items with a sale tag are gathered in an area where someone of trust can take control making sure nothing walks away for free. Buyers are responsible to take away the large or small pieces they purchase.

Books in foreign languages will go to schools and organizations of that language. Books in English can be left at libraries, Goodwill, or second-hand stores.

Clothing and accessories follow the same route. Designer clothes sell really good at upscale second-hand stores. You will be surprised how many people shop at upscale “second time around stores”, even wealthy people. One of my wealthy friends says: “only idiots shop at retail stores”…perhaps that’s how she became wealthy…. Her wardrobe is filled with extravagant designer clothes purchased in one of those stores. On the other hand, she is size 2 and can find the most darling clothes at a very low price. She is a fashion statement every time she goes out.

Another way to get rid of your clothes is to fill up luggages and take them to stores that are geared to buy used clothes. Receiving money for your used clothes is an incentive to free the wardrobe and go to a restaurant to celebrate you accomplishment.

eBay and Craigslist are also good places to sell. For those clients who don’t care to spend time online, don’t know how to do it, or don’t have the time, I will assist them in the process, but of course, I will charge a certain percentage on the sale to cover for my time and knowledge. I love to help downsizing and then create a new environment. I am here prompt and ready to help. 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. Featured on Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California. appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V., my story continues. Find copies of my three books on
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