Valentina

Ditch The Black And Dress In Red | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

31 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #NewYearEve, #PropertiesOfRed, #RedDress, #RedFashion, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, #WhatToWearNewYearEve

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
In less than 24 hours 2016 will be here and we will celebrate the new energy of the baby year. My suggestion for this end of the year is RED.
“Red is predominantly an action color since the beginning of time. It has been found in caves of primitive people as the main color to express a desire to hunt (…). Many primordial tribes and cultures have used red as the color for body paint to express beauty or admiration and have used it for their rituals. (…)
Red is a winning color for active people who like to lead (…)
Red has the power to increase enthusiasm, to stimulate energy, to increase blood pressure and heartbeat, to encourage action and confidence.
Red demands attention and will bring out the extrovert in you (…)”. This is an excerpt from my book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors.

With all these attributes Red is the perfect color to welcome the New Year. If you are going to a formal party with dinner and dance I suggest a layered red dress short in the front and long in the back. Anything with high-low length the rage this year.

For conservative women who want to look very chic without revealing much, one shoulder and a flowing dress is a good solution.

(Kerr, One Shoulder Red-Aliexpress)

For a less formal party wear a crisp, smart short red dress, close toes pump and a studded pave’ with pearl or glitz.

(Vuhera.com)

(GM Collection-Imelda Seashell Pave’)

I don’t believe in the perfect black dress, muffin tops and large body size will still be there. Black is slimming only for women who are already slim. If I go to a party and everybody is dressed in black, it feels more like a funeral than a party and I want to leave. Why not then stand out with originality and pick one of 5000 Pantone colors that look good on you?

However if you must wear black or beige, I suggest one of Nordstrom layered beaded fringe tops or an eyelet lace top. This year lace is allowed but no sexy transparencies.
In my country in Italy, we believe all women of all ages must wear a pair of red undies for good luck at New Year’s Eve. Go ahead, you have one more day to get that pair. Have a blast in red and a splendid 2016 all the way through. 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

The Coldness Of The Day After | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

28 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChristmasInItaly, #NaplesItaly, #NaplesNativityScenes, #NaplesSanGregorioArmeno, #NativityScenes, #SanGregorioArmeno

Christmas decorations are down, twinkling lights are off, people have fallen into the Pacific Ocean, so it seems. This is the scenario two days after Christmas, the neighborhood is in a spectral silence and no sign of life anywhere. Christmas is over along with the stress, the rush of this month and the screaming sales. Walking in my neighborhood feels cold and lonely.

Nativity Scene

Ancient City View

Figurines

Butcher Store Scene

Modern Scene

(All photo credits given to the respective owners – found on: Trip Advisor and napolidavivere.it)

If I reel my memory back in my past and my life growing up in Italy I see a totally different view. In Naples, one of the things I enjoyed doing was to stroll down Via San Gregorio Armeno, one of the most artistic area of the city where an array of shops offer Christmas nativity scenes (Presepi) designed and built all year around. The street takes the name from San Gregorio Armeno, a monastery-church built in the 10th century over the remains of a Roman temple located in the same area.
The street is full of people looking for particular objects or the small missing piece to the nativity scene at home. Each artist creates his own detailed figurines made of clay or wood. Besides the typical religious figurines of Jesus, the Madonna, St. Joseph and the three Wise Men, there are figurines representing caricature of political figures, well-known people, actresses and actors, famous sport people, reproduction of food, animals, household objects and of course architectural details, such as fountains, pediments, balconies, columns, stairs, courtyards or even entire homes with lights and sounds inside. The nativity scenes reproduce ancient views in Bethlehem faithful to history, or modern views of today’s cities and they are all hand-made!!!

The street is joyous with laughter, loud voices, colorful people, creative store owners and visitors who stroll down the street to digest the long Christmas dinner, which in Italy lasts three days. However during the year all artists in that area continue to work on their nativity scenes adding new pieces and creating new themes. It will never feel cold and deserted the day after Christmas.
In every Italian homes in Italy, Christmas decorations and nativity mangers go down after Jan. 6th, celebrating the arrival of the three Wise Men to the grotto where Jesus was born bringing him precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jan. 6th closes all Christmas celebrations with gifts given only to kids to symbolize that event.

I only wish the art of San Gregorio Armeno will survive through today’s technology. It is a centuries old art handed down from father to son and it is there to enjoy all year round. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina will host one or two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” they don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up! Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Fashion In The Valley | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

20 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AnnualChristmasTreeElegance, #SiliconValleyCharitableAssociations, #ValleMonteFashion, #ValleMonteLeague, #ValleMonteSiliconValley

Welcome to my Friday Fashion.
Silicon Valley is home to computer chips and the most innovative minds in the world. It’s a place where life takes a super fast pace and “time is money”. Silicon Valley also bustles with associations organized by volunteers, mostly women, who work tirelessly towards various causes helping people in needs. I was invited to a fashion show luncheon for the 48th Annual Christmas Tree Elegance, organized by Valle Monte League, an association working for Family & Children Services, Alzheimer, Services For Brain Injury and many more causes. Students in the design field and other willing women decorated all the Christmas trees to be raffled off during the event. They all did a beautiful work creating this year’s theme “Magnolias & Mistletoe”.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Southern charm and gentility of a bygone era was the subject of the event. It wanted to capture the essence of Southern femininity, Kentucky Derby hats and horses, the calming beauty of Plantation Architecture and the craziness of New Orléans Mardi Gras. On the notes of “Gone With The Wind” a stunning formal red dress closed the show.

Local stores highlighted their best fashion pieces on the runway. I have attended many fashion shows in Europe. This one was upbeat, both men and women models smiled, winked and acted funny crazy on the runway. I was told that in past years men models showed their naked chests to stir emotions among the female audience. I can believe it, they were well built and very handsome. I found it refreshing not to see the typical androgynous models on the European runways with zero smiles on their faces, empty looks and transparent skinny to the bones. I guess this is a fashion show for charitable causes and the intent is to raise as much money as possible for the causes those women work for. The models could not be dry and distant, they were the show.

Black and grey colors dominated the scene, as I expected, those colors seem to be the preferred colors in this part of the world, with the entry of occasional minimalist patterns and flower designs for spring collections. I know a lot of mileage divide the South-East of USA and California, however for one day we could have all played the part, instead, in the audience, I saw only one woman dressed in a hat beside myself.
I choose to wear azure and green with a splash of red accent color in the accessories.

The fast pace of the models and my seat being under a few reflectors lights didn’t help to make my photos acceptable. I will think of something better next time. 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/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

History of Pomanders And Its Charm | Valentina Cirasola |Interior Designer

16 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasPomander, #DecoratingWithPomanders, #HistoryOfPomander, #PerfumedPomanders, #Pomander, #PomanderForPerfumes

I re- blogged this very interesting and amusing reading. https://theloveforhistory.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/history-of-pomanders/ – Click the link to read it. Thanks to Love of History Blog for sharing this post. To this, I will add my own.

I am so glad my hands don’t know how to rest and do nothing. Perhaps I am a type A person and as long as I keep on creating I will be fine. One day, I thought of creating special home décor with an antique flair from Renaissance time. Pomanders are incredibly easy to make and can have a variety of purposes. The pomanders I made decorate doors and lamps. Luckily we live in times in which soaps and hygiene are an important daily routine, thus my pomanders were not made to hide any odors, as explained in the article I re-blogged from “The Love Of History”. It’s quite an interesting and amusing reading on the function of pomanders in the past. You will love it too. Find it at the very end.

Today, since the function of a pomander has changed, we can stuff it with our favorite scents to give the house a spritzy clean air. We can make also a centerpiece with clove-studded oranges embellished with ribbons.

Another simple solution is to peel oranges, make circles to look like roses, hot glue the edge, if you like, select live pine branches with small or baby pinecone attached and put them in a vase with the orange peel roses here and there.

I hope this help you creating a fragrant, organic Christmas in your home. Ciao.
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual, as much as she likes to restyle people’s images She needs your story to design your dream. Check out her books on

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

The Love of History

Throughout history, the importance of scent has never been denied. Mystical and powerful, scent was an offering, a force of attraction and a curse. The pomander, a ball filled with perfumes worn from the Middle Ages onward, was a form of protection against sickness and death.

Origin

The word “pomander” originates from the French “pomme d’ambre.” A common interpretation of this phrase is “apple of ambergris,” referring to the wax substance used as a base in pomander recipes. Others take the phrase to mean “apple of amber” or “golden apple,” as in the fragrant citrus fruits exchanged during holidays for good luck.

Purpose

The pomander became popular during the Middle Ages when the black death and other ailments ran rampant. Sanitation during the era was lamentably lacking. The streets and even some homes were strewn with filth, bodily fluids and the discarded remnants of past meals. People thought that the…

View original post 229 more words

Christmas On The Sea | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

14 Dec 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BlueChristmas, #ChristmasDecorations, #ChristmasOnTheSea, #CoastalChristmas, #CoastalColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors

Every year I have a new challenge for beauty, style and originality: how to decorate my Christmas at home. Stores propose the same old thing, red, gold and green.
At times I see gold and silver with white. Rarely I see other colors. Christmas is a traditional holiday I like to respect the traditional celebrations, but being a non-traditional designer, I like to bring innovations in this yearly event and make it really special.

I was born on the beautiful blue-green water of the Adriatic Sea, the East side coast of Italy, I thought this year my Christmas will have a coastal flair with driftwood and succulent plants.
I want to create a very organic atmosphere that I might keep even after the holidays. With glass baubles I want to create light and reflections and that will be the shimmering I am looking for instead of using gold specks everywhere and fake ornaments.

I will use mini trees decorated with sea shells and ocean blue glass ornaments. I will scatter beach lights everywhere, fill vases with blue crystals and wrap gift packages with nautical maps.
The table will be dressed with bluish plates with a mixture of gold and blue drinking glasses.

Source: San & Spiral

Blue Crystals – ©Valentina Cirasola

©Valentina Cirasola – Photo taken in ZGallery

The focus of my table is always food, wine and conversation with interesting people for which I reserve a large space. Decorations take a second place, inconspicuous and elegant in their simplicity. This year I want my decorations fresh looking with cool colors. I want to remember the aroma of the sea, imagining all the fresh seafood just caught and brought alive to the table in wicker baskets, the fresh oysters, shellfish and the happy faces of my family, all fish eaters, around the bounty from the Adriatic Sea.
What are your Christmas decorations this year? Would you like to tell me about it?

While we wait for the new light to come into our life and celebrate it, I will wish all of you a very Happy Christmas and if you don’t celebrate it, please take some rest time and celebrate your life. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual, as much as she loves to restyle people’s images. She needs your story to design your dream. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

My Food Is Not Only For Cooking | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

04 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BeautyProductsMadeFromFood, #FoodAsBeautyProducts, #FoodAsMedicine, #GreenBeautyProducts, #HowToUseFoodAsCosmetics, #OrganicBeautyProducts, #WhatToDoWithLemons

Fortunate kid I was to have known all eight of my grandparents and great grandparents. My memories with them are grand. They gave a lot of love to us kids but not material things. They were playful and often stern. They lived through two great wars, depressions and life adversities and never lost a sense of direction or a flair for life. Unconsciously they thought us how to save, reuse, upcycle and make it do with what we had. Creating my skin care from kitchen products has been one of my grandparents’ teaching. Following their examples I have made a lot of their suggestions and created my own.

A daily skin-care regimen is necessary more than the occasional visit to the spa for a special facial treatment. All women want to look young and vibrant with a natural skin glow. As we age unfortunately it takes an extra effort to maintain a beautiful skin. Before I go into the details, it goes without saying that a healthy diet plays the main role in maintaining a glowing skin. No fried food, no processed food, no refined sugars, eliminate heavy consumption of salt and drink plenty water daily. Drink the “spirits” and smoke sensibly if you must. To this add plenty rest, eliminate stress and protect your skin from the element of weather. Skin is a filtering system, designed to keep toxins out and let oxygen and nutrients in, moisturizing it daily is like creating a barrier between you and the pollutant floating in the air, which can deplete the antioxidant system of the skin causing premature aging.

Please understand I make absolutely no claim to cure any skin diseases. If your skin has serious problems a visit to the dermatologist is a MUST.

Milk is one of the vitamins our skin needs. Cleopatra bathed in the milk of donkey and so did my grandmother. Many times she put me in the free-standing bathtub full of that white stuff I didn’t like and we bathed together.

Make a Face Detergent:
Plain Yogurt (no flavors, no fruit in it) about 1 cup
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
4-5 drops of essential oil: chamomile, eucalyptus or lavender
2 drops of oil enriched with vitamin E
Mix, apply to face, neck and hands (if you like) and rub, wash with warm cloth and splash cold water on the skin. Keep it refrigerated in a glass container for no more than 10 days. On this site you can find a variety of pure essential oils. (I am not an affiliate of this site, it is merely a suggestion. You are welcome to find you own essential oils) http://www.anandaapothecary.com/essential-oils-a-to-j2.html

Make a Face-Body Exfoliant:
2 Cups of brown sugar
3 Espresso cups of ground coffee
1/2 Cup of olive oil
1/4 Cup honey
Whisk, well and apply the goop to the face and/or all over body. Rub it, rinse with warm water, then splash cold water. I assure you will have a silk face-body skin.

Make Body-Hands Scrub:
Coarse sea salts make a variety of body-hand scrubs. Just add olive oil, lemon juice (orange, lime or tangerine juice OK), fresh lavender and rosemary. You can mix in also the grated peels of any citrus fruit. Keep it refrigerated. If you like coconut oil, please use it in substitution of olive oil. You will not even need a cream after this application.

Make a Face Mask:
1 Avocado
1 Egg albumen beaten
Grated lemon peel
Grated Ginger
Make a paste, spread it on face, keep it on 15-20 minutes, wash with warm cloth and then splash cold water.

Get Rid Of Oily Hair:
Beat lemon and egg yolk, apply to hair, keep it on for 30-45 minutes, then use a shampoo for normal hair. Repeat treatment once a week. Your hair will become very luminous and will lose the greasy look.

Tan With Beer:
Pour, spray or brush any dark beer all over body and drink some, why not? You will tan easily and get a natural golden color. Beer has no sun protection so you need to stay in the sun less time, but the tan effect is quicker.

Fight Constipation:
First Solution – Olive oil stimulates the digestive system and kicks it into gear. Take a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, then every 3-4 hours until it happens. Some people don’t like to drink olive oil, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Second Solution – mix 2-3 teaspoons of pink rock salt and/or baking soda in a cup of warm water, squeeze the juice of ½ lemon. Drink on empty stomach and wait until it happens.

Fight Stomach Acidity:
Baking soda is an acidic salt. Add a spoon of baking soda in a cup of warm water, allow it to fizz to expel carbon-di-oxide, then drink up and burp.
Ginger mixed in food helps stomach acidity; banana contains potassium, it helps alleviating acid reflux; eating 4-5 almonds at night will also help this problem.

Treat Cracked Heels:
Grind a handful of uncooked rice until you get coarse flour. Add a few spoons of honey to the mixture with apple cider vinegar enough to obtain a thick paste. If the cracks are very deep, add a spoon of olive oil. Soak feet for 20 minutes in warm water and gently massage with this paste until feet become smoother. Rinse and use your favorite cream.

House Cleaning Without Detergents:
Soak orange peels in vinegar for two weeks in a sealed mason jar then pour the vinegar into a spray bottle. Use it as for any surfaces. It smells so fresh.
Lemons – after using lemons in your food, use the peel to clean kitchen and bath plumbing fixtures. Water marks will disappear, metals will shine and the room will smell deliciously fresh.
Lemon tree branches are beautiful when decorated for the holidays and smell good if you burn them in the fireplace.

My Lemon Tree

These are only a few suggestions, my repertoire is huge. My kitchen is a great source for beauty products and cleaning agents as my grandparents taught me. They lived a long life, perhaps their world was not polluted and simpler, or perhaps the food they ate was healthier and also simpler. We must protect ourselves from the industry pushing food that are more and more artificial, but mostly we must find time to create good food and other products using food instead of chemicals. My food is not only for cooking.

Time is now, remodel your “exterior” and make it ready for spring. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as an interior designer since 1990 improving people’s life by changing their spaces. Most often she designs kitchens and wine grottos; outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms; great rooms and entertainment rooms. Her deep interest in food led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition and well-being. Finally she wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

To Have Cuffs | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

14 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #LaceCuffs, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, #ValentinaExpressionsEtsy, #WristCuffs, #XVIIICenturySleeveCuffs, #XVIIIFashion

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
Have you noticed how various parts of our body come into fashion from time to time and must be highlighted in every possible way? In the last twenty years lips and breasts have taken a center stage, augmented to exaggerated proportions with the help of plastic treatments. In the ‘60s the legs took all the spotlights with Mary Quant mini skirt. Fashion doesn’t dictate only what to expose, it dictates what to cover as well.
Once the arms have been under scrutiny.

In the roaring “20s, women could not go anywhere with bare arms, long gloves covered their arms up to the elbow and even higher. A respectful woman without gloves was considered vulgar, untidy, impudent and of easy virtue. Both men and women have worn gloves through the centuries. They were highly decorated or simple in style, with lace, pearls and bejeweled with precious stones, made of leather and fabrics, short and long.
Gloves completed the garment, which covered the arms from scrutinizing eyes.

Sleeves also had the same functions as the gloves. Often they were overly decorated to establish social status, rarely made for functionality unless they belonged to dresses for the working class. One of the details for both men and women was the ornamental cuff attached and hanging at the end of a sleeve, considered also a hand protector. In the German culture of the XVIII century to wear large cuffs at the end of the sleeves was incompatible with the use of the sword, thus the provenance of the expression, which is still in use today that “to have cuff” meant to be scared. No wonder duels were carried out wearing a simple white shirt with no frills.

Court gentleman with Lace Cuffs

Kenneth Sanderson’s 18th Century Dress

Women of higher status whose daily job was only to look beautiful wore cumbersome cuffs with delicate lace, stacked in layers and since the cuffs moved at every little movement uncovering the forearms, the gloves was the companion that completed the garment.

I took inspiration from the French “engageantes” the large lace cuff of the XVIII century and I designed my creations for the modern woman. My cuffs are not for the “want to look beautiful” only, but for every dynamic woman.

Scarf_Cuffs_Set

Lame’ cuff set

Diva Forearms Cuffs

Find them in my online shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/ValentinaExpressions

These cuffs will embellish a simple t-shirt, the sleeves of a simple dress and basically they are versatile garments for any moment of the day. Slip them on to change the look from common to fabulous! Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a creative master in the art of living who makes little distinction between work and play. She expresses her creativity in the homes she designs and decorates, in her book on colors, in the accessories she designs, in her cookery books, when she talk about setting style and in the way she influences people with her energy. Check out her three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Setting Stage For Thanksgiving | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #NaturalMaterialCenterPiece, #NaturalTableSetMaterial, #ThanksgivingColors, #ThanksgivingStage, #ThanksgivingTable, #ThanksgivingTableSetting, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

I have been thinking of a new style table setting for my Thanksgiving dinner. Last year it was Bohemian, two years ago it was all about nature, this year the décor of my table is still in roaming in my thoughts and I better hurry.

Flemish and Dutch paintings, lithograph and prints of course, are under scrutiny at this time for a project I am doing, people want their home to look properly attired for the holidays and I feel inclined to reproduce one of those food still life on my table.
The question is only one. This kind of setting almost requires a formal dining with crisp tablecloths, well polished silverware, sparkled crystals, a menu suitable for all needs and impeccably prepared by a personal chef, all the guests selected carefully to be congenial with one another and the house in order with elegant decorations.

I can see myself stepping in a 1500s dinner set, but most of my Californian friends would rather eat informally, roaming in my kitchen while different dishes are being prepared, pouring glasses of wine to each other and some of them would feel even more adventurous and will want to help out with the preparation of the food. Among all the Flemish paintings I have seen, I am considering reproducing one of these as my table settings, fruit in the bowl is simple and easy to do.

(Painting – Flemish Splendor – Carol Lee Thompson)

(Jacob van Hulsdonck – Flemish Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Pomegranate)

I am attracted also to natural materials, acorn, colorful corn, pomegranate, persimmons, fruit and sprig of autumn spices.

AEGEAN HURRICANES – Pottery Barns

I can take it even further and use some driftwood with natural plant inserts and plants in glass baubles,

(Valentina Cirasola’s photos above)

although the animal print tablecloth is very tempting…….

(High Street Market)

Which is it going to be? In two weeks you will soon find out. Meanwhile, have you thought of how you are going to set the stage for your Thanksgiving? Create a story first, then build on it. Surprise yourself with originality! Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. She needs your story to design your dream. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Transporting Colors Of 2016 | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

07 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #Fashion2016, #LilacGreyColor, #PantoneColors2016, #RoseQuartzColor, #SprinColors2016, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner

Welcome to my Friday Fashion.
I looked and looked again, I studied and studied again, I thought a lot of the next Spring 2016 season. Some colors are exciting, some have potentials and some are really not my favorite colors. All colors are beautiful, I just prefer some colors over others.

The colors in 2016 will transport us in nature and calm places, quiet and soothing will prevail in the next season. One of the quiet colors to be with us in the Spring 2016 will be Rose Quartz. “It is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure” ~ says Pantone.

Knowing how to combine dull colors to make them come alive is a secret and a skill. Getting dress in vibrant colors makes our soul happy and the eyes of others as well. Every so often we might have the need to dress with muted colors to express a mood, an interior quietness and a subdued elegance.

The color scheme I chose for Spring 2016 is made of Lilac Grey, Rose Quartz and Snorkel Blue, all very muted colors for those of you who want to keep a calm color scheme for the work environment. At the end of your working day, you should come alive with vibrant colors, because the night is dark and you want to be seen. Get rid of the blue skirt and boots. Change into a Fiesta pants with red shoes, change your makeup lips and eyeshadow to bright red, you are ready to go from work directly to a pub.

Kadin Live

Rose Quartz Sweater

Lilac-Grey Bag. Bagzone UK

Jeans Pencil Skirt – Aliexpress

Jessica Simpson

Rose Quatz Necklace – Novica

(All photo credits given to the respective owners)

Colors must change every year to keep things new and businesses going, don’t stress over too much.
If these colors don’t look good on you don’t wear them. As I always say, Fashion dictates, we choose what to wear. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Catching Rays | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

06 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DramaticLighting, #LightingEffect, #LightingLayering, #LightingTemperature, #NaturalLight, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner

Sun fuels plants. Plants know how to transform sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into the energy they use to grow.
Let’s think for one moment of our interiors. The few items that make an interior beautiful are: space, light, colors and material, of which lighting is the most fundamental of all. With lighting we can obtain a serene space, or change a dull environment into a vibrant space. Don’t think lighting is all about the electrical parts, bulbs, sockets, wires and difficult wattage calculations.

The best lighting is the daylight because it enriches our homes and has a positive effect on our health. Human are drawn to light as much as plants are drawn to sun. We blossom when we are exposed to the sun. Natural light entering our eyes affects our entire nervous system, which determines how excited or relaxed we are and how awake or lethargic we feel. Natural light is more than we see, it influences our mood and the way we feel about things.

Italians (me) have a fantastic expression:
“A house where there is no sunlight is a house where the doctor will soon enter”.
To maximize natural lighting, make sure there isn’t much going on around the windows to allow the light to come straight in without dodging objects. Usually a mirror placed across a window amplifies the amount of light in the room and creates illusion to please the eye.
Often people install skylights in the ceiling thinking the volume of natural light coming in will increase, but skylights creates an enormous pool of light in one spot only. To correct this, it is important to know the geographical position of the room and know which reflective finishes to use to bounce off light.

A carpet placed near a window will absorb natural light, but a glossy wood or ceramic floor will diffuse natural light, reverberate it on the walls and make the room brighter. Consider that the outside light reflects and bounces off buildings, grass or surroundings and comes in filtered making a huge impact on the quality of light inside the room. Weather and geography make an impact as well on how natural light reacts with interior colors. A hot color in a grey weather in the Northern Hemisphere will look murky, but a hot color in a warm weather in the Southern Hemisphere will look like a jewel.

(Homeowner granted permission to photograph this home)

The second best lighting is how we illuminate with electric light to energize our spaces. Electric light has a warm and cool effect. In colder climate is best to use warm tone light and cool tone light in warmer weather.

Dramatic lighting games and layering lighting can transform any room instantly. We can’t reproduce the effect of the sun, but we can get quite clever with electric light. Central lighting only illuminates half of the space leaving the rest of the room in the dark. It is hard to relax with that one light, thus we layer lights with shadows, texture and brightness, it’s like painting with lighting. Adding sidelights, up lights, down lights, gracing lights, task lights, table lights, floor lights, diffuse lights, directional lights and behind furniture lights, we create a fantastic layering effects, a mood and a convivial atmosphere. However, don’t think all this light layering must be turned on all at once. To create a cozy ambiance, light layering must have individual or group switches, otherwise the showroom effect is assured.

Cutting and preparation area in the kitchen need to be in bright light, but in the dining, please do create shadow of atmospheres and do illuminate a bottle of champagne with a warm temperature – down light as all the expensive merchandise in stores.

Light is good for us! Afraid of painting with lighting? Don’t be, send me an email, or call me, we will do it together. 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. Find copies of my three books on
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