Valentina

Through The Grid | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Sep 2015 11 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #MateraCaveLiving, #MateraSassi, #PugliaArchitecture, #PugliaExperience, #PugliaTravel, #WordPressPhotChallengeGrid, https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/grid/

Lunch is just over, fish was so fresh it was still moving in the basket when we ordered it for our afternoon repast. The Verdeca white wine typical of Puglia, served very chilled and smooth was delicious, we could have drunk many bottles if we didn’t have to be on the road continuing our trip. We should be heading towards Matera, but we are still lingering in the corner café between a coffee mousse and after dinner drinks. Life in these parts moves on slow motion, some of the people in my group are having a hard time adjusting to a quieter time of this region.

Traveling through the calm countryside of Puglia, a two-way provincial road, we occasional pass a three-wheeled Vespa truck or an agriculture horse and carriage, while almond and olive trees fill our view all the way there. The sun is lulling. Singing along with “Mimmo Lovely” and his music we finally reach Matera, about 50 km. away from Puglia. We park the car and adventure in a short walk to the nearby center town, through fancy boutiques and utilitarian shops. (Click on each photo to view it larger)

The historic Piazza Vittorio Veneto was built between the 1600 and 1700 in a mixture of Romanesque and Baroque architectural styles that was literally propped on a flat surface over the “Sassi”, the ancient stone residences of Matera. The new bourgeoisie buildings, churches, and monasteries built on a flat surface above buried the caves houses, shops, wine cellars, and cisterns underground. Looking down through the grid in Piazza Vittorio Veneto near the fountain it is not so clear that underneath a modern center town pavement there is a huge ancient city of more than 5400 sq. feet, which extends all the way to the convent of the Annunziata and its foundations include a tower once part of the Castello Tramontano. The ancient underground town hides residences in the caves, shops, warehouses, snow storage and a huge water cistern 49 feet tall with a capacity of containing over 132,000 gallons of water.

Restoration began in early 1990 bringing to light the ancient underground town, part of which we can visit now. Above the underground town a road has been opened to allow visitors to be taken by the view of original homes of the 1700s built in a highly refined style with the purpose of hiding and contrast the cave residences once only considered a disgrace to the town of Matera and now winding below our feet with its maze of neighborhoods, streets, and stairways, asking to be protected.

Don’t wait too long to see Matera, Puglia, and surrounding areas. Major publications in the world are writing about the area and tourists are flocking along with Hollywood actors who are filming and purchasing properties for their originality and the mystical energy those dwellings emanate. You will feel being pulled towards to earth.

If you are thinking of venturing in Puglia check out my Puglia page – https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

This post is in response to this week WP photo challenge – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/grid/

I am writing a travel diary of my last trip to Puglia with an American group and sharing with all of you my notes of feelings, observations, food-wine tasting and experiences that have changed the lives of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! In my books about Puglia cuisine, readers will find many easy recipes to follow at home. Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

No Woman Needs To Be Told How To Wear Black | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

11 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2015FallColors, #EarthToneColors, #PantoneFall2015, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ValentinaFashionDesigner, #WarmPalette

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
No woman needs to be told how to wear black….. it’s all the other colors that bring doubts, confusion and chaos. Colors define a unique point of view, define personality, define the attitude of each season, provoke, demand attention, express creative moods and show off your personal style. We are connected to colors, each of our chakras hosts one color that vibrates our life and yet there are many women out there who insist on wearing black.

The color palette of fall 2015 is very warm, emulates the earth, focuses on nature’s colors and both men and women will wear it. Some people believe it is a copy of the ‘70s colors, maybe, and there is nothing wrong with that, history repeats itself with a new meaning. We are seeing Bohemian, Hippy, Global Nomads, and Gipsy style again as much as geometric asymmetrical cuts all in the name of colors of food, spices, wines, sand, earth and leaves textures.

Green in its many tints and tones appears to be a very important color for Fall 2015. It will not be conceived as military-style only. Forest, Olive, Stormy Weather, Desert Sage and Dried Herb will go so well with Oak Buff, Cadmium Orange and especially Marsala. If you feel good combining Cadmium Orange with Marsala, do it, show off your style.

Here it is my combination of only four colors and the various solutions possible with them.

With all these colors available to us, we have no need to wear all that black anymore. It’s so ’90s and so “end of an era”. In this millennium we became more aware of our environment and we want to protect it. We got closer to earth and natural food, both essences for our well-being. In some ways, we are only expressing these new feelings with the colors nature offers to us.

Need a color consultation? I am always ready and prompt to answer any of your challenges. 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

One Day In October | Valentina Cirasola |Author and Designer

09 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BambooGarden, #JapaneseTemples, #JapanTravel, #Kyoto, #TeaCeremony, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #VisitingJapan

Listen to your life talking! In a warm October day, I was cooped up in my studio working away. The sun was shining low, the autumn warm and soft wind came in the window and yellowish light filled my studio. I could hear the birds singing in my orange tree. I looked up and thought: “What am I doing here?”.

I turned the page on my computer and went on a travel site looking for a reasonable ticket to Japan. As soon as I found it, I called my friend in Japan, not caring what time of the day could have been over there. It was daytime and she was at home. I only asked her if she was going to be at home from this day… to this day. She said yes and asked why? I just told her to wait for me, I was going to visit here. Click, I hung up the phone and as fast as I could count 1-2-3, I was on that plane to Japan.

In the Samurai village restaurant

In Kyoto

Tea Ceremony Garden

Fabric shop in Kyoto

Bamboo Forest – Kyoto

Temple in Kyoto

Train ride to Kyoto

Samurai village

Private home – Kyoto

I knew I had arrived in Osaka, when I looked at signs and nothing was written in English. What now? Leaving the plane I realized I had not confirmed the dates of my arrival with my friend, I didn’t have her phone number and neither her address with me. I should have panicked but I didn’t, there is always a solution to everything. I followed the crowd to the exit and there she was with her husband waiting for me with a beautiful bouquet of roses in her hands. How did she know? Her answer remained impressed in my mind: “When Valentina says she comes, Valentina comes”. In her simple English, it was her way of telling me I am a reliable person and I mean what I say. What a great salutation on my first moment in Japan!!!

All the other days evolved in a great fun, friendship, loving local food, discovering local customs, folklore, full immersion in their traditions, and celebrating every moment.

The highlight of my trip to Japan was Kyoto. I was catapulted in Medieval Japan. It is ancient, traditional, true to the culture, small artisan shops, a respectful silence permeated the town, no noisy modern commercial billboards and blinding city lights, people are on bicycles, kimono shops with amazing fabric designs, traditional food and romantic street red lanterns. It felt just right.
One of the guys friend of my friends made a bond with me. He ate off my bowl and apparently that gesture is done between two people who know each other very well. He did it with me, a stranger and a foreigner, it meant a lifetime friendship bonds us now. I like that.

If your work allows it, free your time, take a vacation, even a small week, your soul and mind will appreciate it. Even the fastest racecar needs to stop at a pit stop. Listen to your life talking!
What surprise this coming October will reserve you? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive arts. She is a “colorist”. To her, selecting art means to bring out the best energy of her clients and nourish their soul. She trots the world and loves to write travel notes, from which she draws inspiration to design home interiors of her clients .
She is the author of her book on the subject of colors: ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Shape Is Round | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CircleShape, #ContemporaryDining, #DiningRoomDesign, #MollyChairs, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #RoundDiningTable

The circle is a well-known convivial shape, it is the shape used when dining in groups and in most business meetings. The circle shape doesn’t have a start-end point, thus it represents unity and infinity. It is a protective sign, what’s in the circle stays in and what’s outside the circle will have difficulties coming in. The circle is the symbol of the sun, planet and stars and its influence is stellar.
In Chinese symbology, the circle represents heaven and the square represents earth. A square inside of a circle in Chinese art represents the union between heaven and earth. The yin yang symbol we all know so well is circular and it translates in duality with unified balance.

(Above photo: Scandinavian Designs)

The debate in my last dining room remodeling project was about a square or circle shaped dining table. For long years my clients got used to the square-shaped table. Their table style was outdated and didn’t fit the shape of the new room. Once I talked about these few points I mentioned above and a prospect to sit more friends to dine with them, they agreed the round table was the way to go.

This is a very nice couple well-established in their union and their way of life who have a studious approach to new ideas. The couple doesn’t make decisions on the spot or even in a short-term. The couple approaches new ideas as something that must be digested, pondered, discussed, studied in and out in all the angles until they both are overwhelmed and when finally can’t take it anymore involve me to finalize the decisions.

I opted to go with a circular glass table and circle back Molly chairs versus the more traditional dining chairs seen in every house I am invited to. BTW, at another project, I used the same Molly chairs with a glass square table for the same principle of the square inside the circle, representing heaven and earth. It went so well with that young couple, so different from one another and so unified.

BH&G

I can’t show pictures yet, the dining room is still in the making and not totally finished. The kitchen leading into the dining room is completed and because it is more beautiful than they expected clients refuse to cook in it. They say the risk of making it dirty is high. Wasn’t the idea of remodeling the kitchen to have a better, comfortable space to cook in? I don’t understand. Now the kitchen is beautiful, clean and lonely, like getting dressed up and have no place to go. The result so far is very happy clients, but I am still waiting to get an invitation for a dinner they cooked with their hands.

Let me be your chosen designer who can put stardust in your décor. I can help you with any style. Put your name in the box, leave a comment and I will answer you within 24 hours. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been a lifetime designer in fashion and interiors. Her extensive knowledge of colors and materials led her in both directions successfully. She is well-know for designing custom furniture. She cares to make spacious and functional pieces, but she doesn’t forget to introduce the element of surprise, sinuous lines, attractive shapes and colors in the style fit for each of her special clients. She is the author of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

How Cool Do You Want To Be? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

31 Aug 2015 10 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CambusaFridge, #ItalianAppliances, #ItalianFridge, #MeneghiniFridge, #RedVoyageIntoColors

In the summer time, when my grandfather prepared to go out of the house, always chilled his clothes in the refrigerator for a few hours and then wore them to keep his body cool through the hot Italian weather. As a girl, I used to make fun of him, it seemed the most ridiculous thing to do until one day I could not take that same scorching heat myself and started to chill my clothes in the refrigerator too. This past august has been unusually hot for northern California. The heat rose up to 90+ F. most of the days, I was looking frantically to keep cool anywhere, even looking at pictures of refrigerators would cool me down.
I saw the picture of La Cambusa Refrigerator and immediately thought of my grandfather.

(Meneghini-Cambusa Fridge)

Cambusa in English translates as the galley of merchant and military ships, depository of food provisions. Cambusa is basically a huge food pantry.
This refrigerator made by Italian manufacturer Meneghini follows the same concept with a few extra optional to the standard fridge and freezer components.
It includes space for coffee maker, fitted pantry, double pantry, ice-maker, microwave oven, steam oven and multi-function oven.
Considering all you get, price is really not bad: Euro 16,400 Vat included (European sales tax).

(Mia Fridge)

It comes in a variety of colors and styles, but I think the red model is the most striking. The front face has nautical features: portholes, shutters and nautical handles.
You will instantly warm to these wood refrigerators. They can be customized, they are truly unique and individual as you are.

(Mini Kitchen)

Meneghini makes other interesting appliances, such as the Mini Kitchen, with a sink on top and storage-refrigerator on the bottom. It might be perfect for a small apartment, or a bachelor pied-à-terre. 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
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Thinking of Creole | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

21 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #CreoleFashion, #EthnicFabrics, #EthnicFashion, #StellaJean2014FallFashion, #StellaJeanFashion, #ValentinaExpressionsEtsy, #ValentinaFashionDesigner

Welcome to my Friday Fashion.
Blending cultures, flavors, colors, continents, new and old in a feminine way is the kind of fashion style most suitable for me. I feel comfortable in tight pencil skirts with large prints and oversize ethnic jacket. I also feel to carry well extravagant pieces such as this beaded collier I just made for my Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/ValentinaExpressions – Vibrant colors and mixing patterns is something I do very well in both my fashion and home interior design work.

Why am I attracted to ethnic fabrics? I come from an ancient rustic, rustic land, rugged nature and homemade food. The people of my land weave palm leaves and baskets by hands, carry food wrapped in large hand weaved napkins, recycle fabric of outdated clothes into a new piece of clothing, or reuse it as a dust rag and hang colorful clothes on the balcony. I am attracted to folk music and to everything that vibrates history.

I find so much inspiration in the Stella Jean’s fashion collection. Originally from Haiti, the first independent black republic in the world with its history embedded in West Africa, Stella Jean now lives in Milan. She mixes the fabrics of villages in Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya and Mali with Italian tailored style and creates unique, sensual elegance without being ostentatious nor ridiculous.

Stella Jean participates since 2013 in the Ethical Fashion Initiative that allows artisans living in urban districts and rural poor to take control over their lives and change them for the better. She works with artisans from all over the world, encouraging a fashion without borders and against colonization. With her work, she re-establish equilibrium between stories of different worlds through the use of symbols of the various cultures.

Fabrics, decorations or finished products made by some of the most talented artisans in the world compose Stella Jean’s fashion collection: hand-woven textiles from Burkina Faso, hand-dyed fabrics from Mali, leather bags from Ethiopia and custom jewelry from Haiti. This is a great mix of colors and arts from various cultures that hardly will go out of style in six months.
This ethnic fashion remains fresh throughout the years and I believe we need at least one piece in our wardrobe to make a statement. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

It Is Not The Hawaiian Leis | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #CoralNecklace, #FashionJewelry, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SummerJewelry, #ValentinaFashionDesigner, #VintageBrooch, #VintageFashionAccessories

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
In Chinatown I feel like a kid in a town fair. Colors, especially the color red and gold burst from pillar to post, pungent food smell comes out of every restaurant, some food do not appeal to my nose, but that’s OK, I don’t have to eat everything I see. Chinese people are very laborious, I can feel the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. Shops are full of tchotchke, trinkets and ornaments for tourists the same everywhere competing with one another. It is common to find food, fashion items and home cleaning utensils sharing the space in the same store. Once every ten shops, one might find a special shop with upscale merchandise, original fashion and attractive one of a kind items.

In a jewelry shop, I found this coral necklace. It is double the length you see in the photo. I bought it out of impulse, the light of the store was so vivid that made every piece of jewelry bright and shiny, but when I brought it home I realized the colors did not suit my face and it looked too much like a Hawaiian flower leis, the kind of garland tourists receive as a sign of welcome or farewell. I had the idea to combine it with something else in a treasure chest. Vintage brooches and flowers pins fixed the look of this necklace to my liking. Now, I wear it wrapped around the neck twice and I attach the brooches or the flower as a pendant depending on the time of the day and the season.

Buying on impulse often is a waste of money if nothing else can be done to alter the piece to your liking and most certainly that piece will end up in the landfill, or in the closet contributing to the expansion of clutter. Knowing our body shape and the colors that complement our skin tone will reduce or totally stop the temptation of buying on impulse. In my case, since I collect many fashion items of interest, I can mix and match easily and I am able to turn things around to make them into something else. I keep my seamstress at work and happy.

Now, go to your wardrobe and pull out some items, clothes or jewelry you don’t like much. Can you change the look by pairing it with something else, or detract something from it? If you are in doubt and before discarding any piece call the expert stylist. I am always available for consultation in person and online. 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

Beneath My Feet | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BreadTomato, #Bruschetta, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/beneath-your-feet/, #ItalianFood, #ItalianHomeCooking, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WordPressPhotChallengeUnderYourFeet

Beneath my feet usually there is a beautiful floor. I am one of those designers proposing clients stone flooring instead of wall-to-wall carpet. I tell them about the versatility of stones, the easy care and low maintenance stone require, how easy it is to live with stones and how much more hygienic stones are versus carpet.

In my home I have a warm, beautiful terracotta tiles floor, but when I go out to my garden, I walk on grass, gravel, weeds, stepping-stones and around all of that there is the food I grow. I cultivate many vegetables, fruit and a variety of tomatoes, which are as sweet as candy. Some years my tomatoes come in a great abundance and I make a ton of sauce for the winter, turn them in sun-dried tomatoes, I use them for salads, or eat them off the vines like fruit. In fact tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable.

One of the foods I have eating since my early days of life and keep on eating to these days is bread and tomatoes. Some people call it bruschetta, but the type I eat is really bread and tomato. Bruschetta is a toasted or grilled sliced bread, with a garlic spread and a lot of toppings. For my bread and tomato, I only need a fresh crusty bread, type of ciabatta or Pugliese style, basil leaves, olive oil, sea salt, fresh chili pepper and of course tomatoes. I open the bread roughly, not even with a knife, split open the tomatoes on top of the bread allowing all the juices to penetrate the bread. I season it with salt, chili pepper, basil leaves and a generous swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Done! I eat it open face and not as a sandwich. Next to it, a piece of Italian Gorgonzola cheese is always welcomed. This is often my breakfast or lunch.

Sometimes, I spend hours creating gourmet food that have appearance and taste of a five-star dish and guess what? To me nothing will ever compare to bread and tomato.

I always wonder why such a simple type of food with so few poor ingredients taste so divine and it is so filling? The answer is in the land, the sun and singing to the vines. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

This is my participation to WordPress photo challenge. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/beneath-your-feet/

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. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Inspiration | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

05 Aug 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/inspiration/, #Inspiration, #MarsalaColor, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WPPhotoChallengeInspiration, #YellowColor

Every home-buyer has a different need when looking to buy a house. I wanted a house in a good neighbor serviced by major freeways and highways, not too far from stores and a ton of architectural features. I found one with mansard ceilings, some odd-shaped windows, natural light and a good size yard for cultivating some food. Well, the yard was sunburned and no plants in sight. I had some serious garden work in front of me to let it come alive the way it is now. The rest had potentials and I took full advantage.

I found inspiration everywhere from nature, fashion, architecture, antiques and my own travels. Creating my cocoon was not a difficult search. I looked through photos of my gardens and instantly I knew my bathroom had to be yellow and my bedroom ocean blue, which is my essence color and it agrees with my zodiac sign. (Click on each photo to view it larger)

Red is my passion color. Some of my red fabrics gave me the inspiration for textures and shapes in my bedroom.

This field of wild flowers inspired me to create the Parisian style lamp in the corner of this bathroom.

Be attentive of your surroundings and surprise yourself. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

This week at WordPress the photo challenge is about Inspiration – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/inspiration/

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

Objects | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Jul 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #FingerFood, #MixedNuts, #PeanutDish, #Peanuts, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WarmNuts

The object I buy for my home must have a double function: be stylish and useful. One without the other for me is always a deterrent from buying on impulse. Last month, I was browsing in a home décor store for new ideas and found a cute white ceramic peanut dish with a texture of a peanut imprinted on the exterior surface. I am a lover of warm nuts served with a glass of red wine or a cold beer regardless of the season. I think the taste is enhanced when nuts are warm.

As you all know nuts are a good source of protein and they are a type of sociable food, you cannot have only one nut without having a few more, while conversation flows and time passes in good company. They are perfect munchies for playing cards, watching a film or visiting with friends. In my house often I serve warm nuts at the end of a dinner with a cheese selection.

The peanut dish looks like a giant peanut. It is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. It makes a great gift for any occasion at the magic price of only $7.95, available at any local and online CB2 stores, made in China…. oh well…..

Before presenting it to someone as a gift, fill it up with mixed nuts and put a nice bow around it, or create a good looking package.

This discovery could have not happened at a better time, in fact as soon as august hits, I keep my eyes open for gifts to people I want to reward at the holidays, thus I will stock a few of them now.
There you have it a useful and stylish home object, which looks good as table center piece even when not in use. How many objects do you have in your home that have a double function? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2015 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
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