Valentina

Detox Yourself and Your Home After Holidays | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

06 Jan 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AfterHolidayDetox, #Detox, #HomeDecor, #January2015, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WinterColors, #WinterWhiteColorScheme

My holiday decorations are gone, everything went to sleep until next Christmas. Do you feel as if your home has lost its spark? All the shimmering lights are turned off, colorful decorations are gone, the glitters are not shining and everything looks opaque. Well it’s January, in most parts of the world is cold and white, why not enjoy the cold season and cooler colors of this month?

(photo: https://holawallpaper.com/wallpaper/hot-chocolate-17186-17186.html)

Let’s start with a cup of hot cocoa in our hands. Ideas come easier with something brown, silky and sweet. We need to fill that space where the Christmas tree was. I suggest a lamp in that corner, something we can borrow from other rooms for the time being, or a rope light disguised into a pot, a glass vase or behind furniture.

Winter colors

Winter color combination

Let’s play with all white color range. Between the cream colors, light beige, warm whites, antique whites and crystals accessories we can edit some rooms with real winter style to make it warm and cozy. Take out the fuzzy throw blanket and the ecologic fur pillows to feel in the mood for a crackling fireplace and a good book for companion.
To balance the white colors bring in some fragrant and colorful plants such as white paper lilies, a bright red Amaryllis, hyacinth, or a winter star plant. It will be like calling spring to hurry to show up.

White paper lilies

Wikimedia – Hyacinth in the formal garden at Anglesey Abbey. Taken Apr 2012

Winter star plant

Clean the interior of kitchen cupboards, get rid of some chipped dishes and bring to the front some glasses or dishes you haven’t use in a while. Add a sachet of dry rosemary, sage, thyme, and orange peel to give your cupboard a fresh smell. Clean the interior of bathroom cabinets and get rid of expired cosmetics, dust off clothes, shoes, and handbags, they also need a renewed energy after the holidays. You want to make everything sparkling again the natural way.

How about you, your person, how will you detox from the holidays?

I started with staying a couple of weeks away from the computer electromagnetism.
I got rid of all the sweets leftovers from the holidays, except chocolate, I need that. It seems as if I am ungrateful and throwing food away, but no, I am saving my body and being good to myself. The leftover good food is already in the freezer.
I am eating a lot of fruit, vegetables, high fiber food, drinking a lot more water and reduced my food portions. Exercising at least 30 minutes a day should help my detox and this is all, nothing strenuous, nothing difficult, everything doable I can do for many months.

I don’t particularly like winter, however, I celebrate it just the same with the things, food, and activities that make these few cold months so worth waiting for the spring. 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. Find copies of my three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Unbridled Luxury | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

02 Jan 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AspreyHandbags, #AspreyInteriors, #AspreyJewelry, #AspreyLondon, #AspreyLuxuryItems, #LondonBondSt, #LondonLuxury, London

Welcome to my 2015 Friday Fashion and everything stylish.
During the past holidays I left the Internet for a couple of weeks to detox from electromagnetism and got a chance to watch the world and T.V. One night on PBS there was a story on Asprey, a luxury store in central London on Bond St, the epitome of luxury goods that attracts the wealthiest people in the world, nobles and royals alike. All jewelry is made on the upstairs quarters where a hand full of artisans work on exceptional masterpieces that only the most fortunate people will wear. There, also they produce stunning gold or silver figurines that will embellish ice buckets and many other home décor objects silver salt and pepper figurines in the shapes of awls. The price is £7,000 British Pound each and they will make a stunning appearance on someone’s dining table in Houston, Texas, so it was said during the show.

The store doesn’t care to sell mass-produced luxury goods, there, everything is hand-made keeping an old fashion business alive in a modern world. Asprey became its activity producing elaborate dressing cases and not as a jewelry store, but during the course of the century jewelry became the most important part of the store trade, their clients come from all over the world to buy into the British luxury.

Asprey has occupied the same site on Bond St. for over 160 years spread over five Georgian townhouses. It was recently renovated for only £50 million, just a snip!!! However, the new open space and the glass ceiling make the store look grand, modern and inviting. This is a place where no price is showing in the windows. The old adage goes like this:
“If you have to ask how much something costs, you probably can’t afford it”.

In the T.V. story, something really struck me. It was the handbags private collection, made exclusively for Asprey in crocodile, with 18 Kt gold clasps encrusted with diamonds. The lowest price of the stunning handbags started at £33,000 and went up to £80,000. The price wasn’t necessary based on the size of the bag, a simple pavé bag could have been easily priced at £80,000.
Asprey’s clients buy exclusivity, knowing there is only one in the world of that particular item they want. That’s what the sense of luxury is all about.

A lot of planning went on behind the scenes. Asprey planned a month to sell all the handbags by inviting royals and wealthy people of the Middle East to a lavish tea. The store management was sure some of the powerful clients would have bought at least 3 or 4 bags each. However even Asprey sometimes can go through miscalculation of sales like many other stores. After two weeks into the private collection show, only a few women accepted the invitation and purchased a few handbags. Until one day a visiting Middle East Princess responded to the store’s invitation, requested the store to close the doors to the public and purchased 12 of the most beautiful handbags, I would say one for each month of the year.

The private collection was a great success and the store employees can rest assured their jobs will be still there one more year. It would be hard for the salespeople to come down from that high pedestal if the royals and wealthy didn’t shop there anymore.

Hey, if we have to dream, let’s dream big.
Happy 2015 all the way through and I wish many beautiful things will happen to you this year. Ciao.

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

It’s my hope that through my writing and stories I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspiring you to live in beauty. I have loved my profession as a fashion/interior designer since 1990. I am here ready to offer consultations on-line if you need or in the traditional in-home consultations. Check out my latest book on colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Christmas At Casa Valentina | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

18 Dec 2014 6 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasDecorations, #ChristmasLights, #ChristmasRed, #ChristmasVignettes, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

I remember my first Christmas in USA was magical. I had never seen so much display of lights inside and outside the homes and had never seen so much stuff decorating the homes. I felt living in a Christmas fairy tale. At the beginning I questioned where people stored all that stuff, or if they threw it away to buy new things every year, if they gave it away, or even how many days took them to decorate so heavily. I realized very soon that homes in America are containers of stuff and Christmas decorations have their cozy places in the garage each in its own box.

Stores really got my attention, their visual displays were works of art to my eyes, not knowing all that production was intended to push sales. After all, in the Christian world we celebrate with lights to welcome a Newborn spiritual light coming into our world. However, after a few years in the country, this whole business of overly decorating Christmas became pavement to the point that now I only pay attention to extravagant displays in window shops, as theatrical expressions. Once in a while I drive through neighborhoods at night to enjoy the storyboards some homeowner create with their Christmas displays. Christmas to me is still a spiritual moment.

Having said that, you can just imagine by now how little I decorate my home. Through the years, I collected hand painted homes of Charles Dickens time that now fill a half wall I have in the kitchen, then I create vignettes with my displays and keep it simple, add lights where needed and use small items to add the flavor of Christmas. I am a practical person, putting up and taking down Christmas stuff doesn’t have to be more work for me. My efforts instead go towards exceptional food.
Enjoy the slide show of my vignettes.

Decoupage lamp

Dickens characters singing Christmas carols

Renaissance jesters

Christmas display

Led light in the vase

Murano glass and velvet Christmas trees

Dickens’ village painted houses

Fairy on the moon

Fairy on the corbel

Happy Christmas to all and if you don’t celebrate it, take time to reflect on your spirituality. 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 to add an overall feeling of peace and relaxation. Find copies of my three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I Am A Fan Of Mysterious | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

12 Dec 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AnnaKarenina, #Flabellum, #HandFanCommunication, #HandFanLanguage, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #VenetianHandFan

I watched again Anna Karenina, a beautiful 2012 drama film directed by Joe Wright, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s 1877 novel of the same name. I love everything in this film that takes place in some of the most lavish and detailed settings. It is a feast for the eyes for the most beautiful costumes, colors, atmosphere and the bold, epic, sensual story interpreted by Keira Knightley and Jude Law as the main protagonists. It was the historic period when women wore hand fans as necessary accessories to hide emotions behind it. In most of the scenes, I found intriguing the proper gestures hand fans demanded.

While I was watching the film, I thought there must be a meaning behind all this twirling of the hand fan and wondering why such not necessary item in today’s world has had a long history in many cultures.
In the Far East, the large “flabellum” fans were made of palm leaves or lotus leaves and even ostrich or peacock feathers. In India only royals used fans. In 5ht century Greek women used small fans to refresh their face, while in the Roman Empire fans became larger again to ventilate a person, until a new coquetry society custom of XVI century Europe dictated a new fashion and fans became one of the established women fashion accessory. Elegant women carried the fan secured to the wrist with a gold chain or a precious belt.

In this period came the pleated fan from the Orient in use still today. In Versailles under both kings Luis XIV and XV, fans were made of leather, silks, or elegant parchment paper, they were decorated with ivory, tortoise-shell, gold, and silver. This ostentatious elegance required a certain rigid comportment: women could open their fans only if the queen was in the room. Some of the fans became so advanced that even had a mechanism to signal the woman’s consent to a love rendezvous and the time of the appointment. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Found on http://www.museodellocchiale.it/index.php – Via Pinterest)

The fans I like the best are those made in the Venetian Cinquecento, true hand-painted works-of-art hiding a mirror in the center, like a sort of small mirrors attached to the inside pockets of an upscale modern purse. Since the Rococo period, hand fan has been part of women dressing up for ballroom dances, important events or going to the Opera and never thought I would have seen it in everyday life again until I went to Barcelona last May and discovered that even sitting at tapas bar a woman can have a fan in her hand. Perhaps it has to do with the Flamenco dance so traditional and popular in Spain, or too much sangria, which is absolutely great in those parts, but I tell you, women with a fan have an accomplice mysterious look even today. Needless to say, I bought myself a couple of beautiful hand-painted fans made locally in Spain.

In Anna Karenina’s film, there is a lot of body language in the theatre scene where Keira Knightley is communicating with her lover across the box through waving her fan hastily, unaware her husband is observing her from above through a binocular. I was curious to learn more about the meaning behind the fluttering. I researched a bit and in an article on European Fans in the XVIII century found that each situation and action can be expressed silently with a fan. Here I included only a few important and common ones:

“Yes.” Rest the fan on your right cheek.
“No.” Rest the fan on your left cheek.
“I wish to speak with you.” Close the fan.
“I desire your acquaintance.” Carry the fan in your left hand before your face.
“I am engaged.” Fan yourself very quickly.
“I am married.” Fan yourself slowly.
“Wait for me.” Open your fan wide.
“Follow me.” Carry the fan in your right hand before your face.
“We are being watched.” Half-opening the fan over the face.
“I love you.” Draw the fan across your cheek.
“Do you love me?” Present the fan closed.
“I belong to you.” Dropping the fan
“I love another.” Twirl your fan in your right hand.
“You are cruel.” Open and shut your fan several times in succession.
“I hate you!” Draw your fan through your left hand swiftly
“I see that you are looking at another woman.” Passing the fan from hand to hand.

Next time I go to the Opera, I will be more attentive to men with binoculars, maybe someone is observing my fan. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. 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

Christmas Atmospheres | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasDecorations, #ChristmasTableSetting, #HolidayTheme, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #Tablecloth, Lighting

This year I would like to suggest nature simplicity on Christmas table. Let’s stay away from the artificial decorations and stinking petroleum candles. Let’s make instead “organic” the focus of our table and I mean even organic food. Let’s turn our attention to food grown locally with zero travel and zero carbon emission. How do you do that? Read labels and ask questions to your grocer, find out where the food you want to buy is coming from and make your decisions. As far as decorations a simple trip to your local market will suffice to find your decorations as well.

Tall decorations on the table look impressive, we got used to see them in stores or magazines and never understood why we want to copy the same look for our tables, considering that those vignettes are about merchandising and displaying products for sale. Decorating a table is about creating an atmosphere of pleasing colors and tasty food, these are the only attractions of a table, to which we must add harmonious and well diverse company sitting under a suiting light.

Guests sitting at the table must be able to talk to the guests across the table without the obstruction of tall decorations. This year think of grocery shops as inspiration for your table centerpiece and play with food arrangements, pumpkins, tomatoes, vegetables, flowers and pine cones. On both sides of each guest there must be at least 18” of space to perform certain actions with ease like cutting food, but if space around the table is limited each guest should have at least a foot of clearance.

Fiandre runners-Leonardo TV, Italy

Vegetable centerpiece-BH&G

Light coming from above the table such as a chandelier should be suffuses but not totally dimmed, you want your guests to see the color of food and the beautiful table setting. Recessed lights must be directed over the plates and the lights above the two head table need to crisscross at the center of the table to highlight the centerpiece. If recessed lighting is not set right, it will create bags under your guests’ eyes and your women guests will not appreciate it, be kind to them, don’t make them seem older or sick.

Cover the table with an elegant tablecloth, it is Christmas after all, treat yourself and your guests to something special. I have three suggestions:
1. Flandre linen, high quality monochromatic textile produced in Belgium since the 1800s. It is very formal.
2. Chambray linen, produced in the city of Cambrai, France. This is a plain weaved fabric with a hint of silk, also produced since the 1800s. It is perfect for casual elegance.
3. Boutis, a Provençal quilting cloth used for table covers made in the South of France since the 19th century. It is similar to the Italian Trapunto, which started in Italy before the 14th century and still produced today. It gives the table a semi-formal look.

Boutis corner work Found on: http://www.artquid.com/artwork

On top of the tablecloth add the most beautiful dishes you have, be creative even in mixing and matching if you like, add all the glasses and flatware and let the dinner roll. 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. Vogue Italy featured her as the guru of staging a home in the theatrical way. Among designing and remodeling homes, designing custom-made furniture and writing books, Valentina is now teaching etiquette, table manners, table setting and life style. Check out her latest books ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors on the subject of colors, available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Fashion Is An Attitude | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

21 Nov 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AmericanFilms, #FashionAtStanford, #FashionIndustry, #FashionInFilms, #FilmIndustry, #FrancaSozzani, #ItalianFilms, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #VogueMagazine

Do you think everything we wear comes from fashion runways around the world? Not at all says Franca Sozzani, fashion editor in chief of Vogue Italia magazine who spoke at Stanford University last week. She believes the film industry is the first in line to pay attention to street fashion attitude by bringing it on the silver screen. People look at actors like heroes, take them as a point of interest, revere them and emulate whatever they do, thus the process of transferring fashion from the street to films, from films to runways and from there to the streets again is very easy.

Fashion is the mirror of the time people live in, it reflects all the political climates and economic difficulties a society faces or wealthy moments society accumulates; it reflects fears, culture upheaval, ethnic acceptance, or the positive attitude of a thriving society; it reflects frivolity and revolutionary thinking. Once all these social behaviors are accepted they will translate into expressions and expressions will translate in fashion for everyday wear as a new natural attitude, says Franca Sozzani.

A gallery of photos from the most famous films supported her speech. In the film The Wild One Marlon Brandon showed off his “bad” attitude by wearing a leather jacket and a white t-shirt riding a motorcycle, something never been done up to that moment and more than fifty years later we are still wearing it, even though is no longer synonymous of rebellion, but casual comfort. In Doctor Zhivago, Julie Christie brought out elegance with the turtleneck and the bearskin fur. In the films La Dolce Vita with Marcello Mastroianni, in Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow with Sofia Loren and in The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman everything was perfect and elegant.

However, there was a sense of rebellion in the air, wearing fewer clothes to expose more body became acceptable. After a manicured, well-cared elegance came the desire to be free from conventional constrictive fashion, in the film Barbarella with Jane Fonda we saw the nude-look for the first time. The women’s liberation movement influenced fashion designer Paco Rabanne who designed outfits in the style of metal armor. The film didn’t have much success but the nude-look did and continued in a few movies such as Cabaret with Liza Minnelli and Night Porter where women wore long gloves, a military hat and very little clothing on their bodies. Rejection of conventional dressing and societal changes brought us the Hippies Styles in the film Yellow Submarine with The Beatles. The famous band really revolutionized the ‘60s youth’s thinking and way of dressing. They brought the long hair for men, the man’s shoes with hills, colorful jackets and pants forcefully rejecting the traditional man’s suit, bolo hats, and shirt ties.

In the ‘80s we lived the frivolity of that decade. Women’s shoulders looked so much like football players altered with huge shoulder pads. High coiffed permed hair as high as the Empire State Building on top of loud colors outfits and purple eyeshadows distinguished high fashion girls, who also wore leather jackets and lace gloves. Films like Wall Street with Michael Douglas, American Beauty with Kevin Spacey and Working Girls portrayed the selfish greedy of that era and the self-celebration of vanity. Society was doing well in that decade, more was better, glitzy clothes and jewels were the rages until the Grunge Style abolished all that vanity. Elegance and style were lost once again, pants with holes and crotches down the knees marked the behavior of a society that was going towards sloppiness and little care for personal appearance.

In 2008, fashion designer Prada saved women from that careless dressing and returned to dress them with femininity and elegance in the film In The Mood For Love.

Franca Sozzani’s presentation was a skip and a jump between times, styles and changes of attitude. She emphasized that fashion cycles should be a know-how to help designers understand society’s needs better and not a repetition of what has been done through the years. At the question someone in the audience asked about her personal style, Franca Sozzani answered that when she goes to fashion shows and among the guests sees too many shoes of the moment, too many dresses of the moment, or too many of the same color in season, she wishes to dress vintage. This only tells me one thing: fashion is made for “victims” those people who need approval, who need to wear the latest fashion as it was the “uniform” of the day to feel right, without really caring if it fits their personality. Those people need to “fit in” and thanks to them the fashion industry will continue to stay alive.
Exalt one’s personality by wearing the right clothes even when not in fashion is an art and only a few can do it. “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself” ~ Coco Chanel. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Thanksgiving In Cognac | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

10 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Cognac, #CognacColor, #HolidaysDecorations, #Pantone2014FallColors, #PantoneColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ThanksgivingColors

I have gone around various stores to get ideas for the next holidays colors, but except for the usual traditional gold, red, silver, white and an occasional blue I have not seen anything exciting in terms of color for table décor.

If we look at the colors of Thanksgiving’s food we will find the warmest jewel tone colors ever and those are the colors we should decorate the table this year to complement our food. Think of the golden color of a well-roasted turkey or potatoes, the ruby red of cranberries and the slightly purplish red of a sangria wine, the dark and light green of all vegetables, the brown of mushrooms or the warm auburn color of cognac. Ah, cognac a drink for thinkers!

Taking in consideration the Pantone color scheme for Fall-Winter 2014, here are is my thought on how I see this year Thanksgiving’s table in cognac color with all the links to help you find some of these items.
The colors I selected for the tableware are: Cognac, Misted Yellow and Aluminun; Sangria for the flowers and various decorations around the room.

Cognac tablecloth – http://www.tablelinendirect.com/10rosasetaco2.html

Silver or colored napkins – http://www.houzz.com/photos/1203846/Libeco-Home-Frascati-Linen-Napkin-traditional-napkins-boston

Grey napkins – https://www.etsy.com/listing/182733122/light-gray-linen-napkins-hemstitch-for?ref=market

Brown plates – http://chinasearch.co.uk/buy/hornsea/heirloom—brown/149873/dinner-plate

Yellow bird plates – http://www.houzz.com/photos/177999/Yellow-Bird-Plate-eclectic-plates

Yellow wine glasses – http://www.amazon.com/Le-Cadeaux-Fleur-Yellow-Glass/dp/B002AHOLI8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0N2N1ZHBXH9HM5SZ08JW

Water glasses – http://www.monstermarketplace.com/unique-wine-accessories/wildlife-wine-glasses-set-of-four

Flatware – http://www.stylehive.com/bookmark/rustic-adirondack-bronze-twig-flatware-and-twig-serving-set-in-bronze-by-vance-kitira-481160

Before and after Thanksgiving dinner, you might want to serve some bubbles, either Champagne or Prosecco, like diamonds, they are high class and put people in the right mood to celebrate exciting life moments.

Cognac is the after dinner drink for fine palates, getting a hangover from it will lower that person a few steps.

Life is for living, not for deprivations, indulge and have a splendid Thanksgiving. 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. 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

Italy In The Hands Of Fashion | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

24 Oct 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #BiagiottiFashion, #BulgariFashion, #DiegoDellaValleFashion, #DieselJeans, #FendiFashion, #FerragamoFashion, #RenzoRosso

Italy is a small territory and a concentrate of beauty in every sense of the word. Among the arts we Italians have created through the centuries, we can say that since the Renaissance our mastery for beauty enabled us to train even the beauty of nature mixed with the elegant architecture into postcards that the entire world enjoys.

The Italian views are not the only things a visitor enjoys in Italy. Every corner, every niche, every stone has history and stories to tell. However, when “walking on gold” becomes a regular pavement the value of the heritage, patrimony, or even opportunity that “gold” creates is completely disregarded. The Italian government doesn’t realize the value of the nation’s treasure and doesn’t know how to make it work for them. The country is consumed with overstuffed bureaucracy, serious recession problems and other issues I don’t feel discussing here, as this post is about fashion and not politics. Luckily for the Italians, there are so many successful entrepreneurs in the fashion industry who have decided to help out and devolve a good chunk of their own money to save a lot of our monuments and historic sites from crumbling to death.

Benefactor designer Diego Della Valle (photo above) a prominent business person in the shoemaking business gave 35 million dollars of his own money to clean up inch-by-inch all the grime, pollution and dirt collected on the Coliseum’s travertine stones for centuries. The cleaning up is done by hands with small brushes and almost no technology, no chemical allowed, only purified water, elbow grease, three years of work and a lot of dedication from the workers.

Fendi, famous fashion house followed Della Valle’s example and offered $3.5 million to redo the plumbing of the famous Trevi fountain in Rome where 54 years ago Fellini filmed “La Dolce Vita” with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg. This is where every tourist stands by the fountain and with a backward motion throws a coin in the water with the hope to come back to Rome.

The Biagiotti House proudly supported the restoration of the twin Baroque fountains in Piazza Farnese and Michelangelo’s grand staircase leading to Campidoglio Square. (Photo above: Biagiotti mother and daughter)

(Photo source: Author Sergio Calleja – Wikimedia)

Bulgari House is putting money to repair and restore the Spanish Steps in Rome where tourists stop to rest their feet and sit on the steps for hours.

Salvatore Ferragamo worked together with the Louvre on the restoration of Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece “The Virgin and Child With Saint Anne.”

The 400 years old Rialto Bridge in Venice will be restored with Renzo Rosso’s money, (photo above) a self-made man in the fashion industry known as the Giant of Diesel Jeans who became a multi-millionaire with all the fashion products he created to pair with his Diesel Jeans.

Italy is not a country is an emotion and Italian past glory must live and must be protected. Tourists enjoy Italy, the views, the historic sites, taste wines and indulge in good food, but wonder how do Italians manage to live the dolce vita with the chaos the nation is in. Well, with their hands tight, at least they choose to enjoy the best moments life offers. It is only with the help of fashion magnates that Italian future becomes our problem and our treasures can live for a few more centuries. We are very proud of these iconic people in the fashion industry. Ad Maiora! Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Copyright © 2014 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior. 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

Grass On The Window | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

17 Oct 2014 5 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EcoFriendlyHomeDecor, #GrassRollerShades, #GrassWindowCovering, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SustainableFabrics, #SustainableHomeDecor

As long as I can remember and even before I became a designer, doing window dressing has been one thing I never liked to design. I think if the view is pleasant and perhaps vegetation or altitude protects your privacy, there is no need to cover the windows. Soak in the beauty surrounding your home and let the colors of nature fill your interior, but if that is not the case and privacy is an issue, I understand you must cover your windows to protect your life.

Roller blinds on from Jaluzi-Service Window. Metering, delivery, installation – You can see out, they can’t see in

Top-down – Bottom-up Mechanism

Create valance

Bottom-up – Home Depot

For many years the design industry has talked and created eco-friendly designs solutions to help to protect our natural environment with new sustainable products that will also meet our changing needs. Grass on the windows means exactly that: window covering made of natural grass material.

Skilled weavers create woven shades out of the finest natural wood, reeds grasses, and fibers that are carefully selected and hand-woven on traditional looms. Grass roller shades give the room an aura of organic beauty. The artistic hand-craftsmanship and the elegance of modern window dressing, transport rich sentiments of nature and worldly sophistication to any room.

Grass roller shades have the same features as the conventional hanging fabrics: independently operable liner shade is available in various tones and opacity; top-down and bottom-up mechanism to choose the view you like to see; hand pull-up cords or motorized function, just in case you get too comfortable; you can create a valance or mount the grass roller shades inside window frames. One more feature and I like this one: you can see out, but they cannot see in your home.

No more fabrics hanging on windows collecting dust and contributing to your interior pollution. Dry cleaning the curtains will bring home more chemicals than you want to breath. To clean the grass roller shades you only need a vacuüm with a soft brush duster.

(Click on the photos to view them larger)

Living and dining window treatments

Texture

Do you think designers like to design everything they are hired for? I don’t think so, but when that happens we must comply and find the right solutions to make customers happy. I just finished designing this traditional window treatment for the entire home of a client. Would I put these curtains in my home, absolutely not! My style doesn’t allow heavy curtains and heavy patterns and simply doesn’t allow curtains, but I wasn’t working for my house. As long as the client is happy, I am happy too.
Sharing is caring, I am here if you need help. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

It’s my hope that through my writing I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspire you to live in beauty. I have loved my profession as an interior 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

Rocks With Meanings | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #LandscapeDesign, #LandscapeRocks, #MeaningOfRocks, #RedVoyageIntoColors, DesigningGardenWithRocks

I was walking in the park this morning and suddenly I noticed certain landscape rocks that have been there all along and never paid attention. Today, I looked at them with a different eye and suddenly remembered what one of my Japanese friends told me about landscape rocks.

Vertical Rock, also called soul rock is interspersed randomly in the landscape for harmony.

Body Rock is a tall rock is placed towards the back of the garden, being the tallest stone, it protects the garden and the home. It also represents God or your higher power.

Heart Rock is flat, almost like a stepping-stone and balances all the vertical rocks.

Branching and Reclining Rocks balance all the forms and shapes, whether they are vertical or horizontal.

Rocks To Avoid are the broken ones and the Dead Rock. This last one is a long type and if used horizontally makes a figurative dead person, that’s why it should never be used in landscaping.

Who knew rocks have a meaning and a purpose?
I think these are good suggestions to add harmony into a garden and not only for a zen garden. Create vignettes with various rock sizes, and plant flowers or food around them. Open up windows into walls or fences through which it is easy to see rocks enhancing the features of your yard, and making games of shadow at different hours of the day. Don’t forget to light them properly.
After all, if we create a garden around the home is because we want to feel closer to nature and enjoy all that nature offers. Rocks will make you feel grounded.

Do you want music in the garden? Place strategically among the natural rocks, the man-made rocks hiding speakers, they look beautiful and the music will make the garden one piece of heaven.

Speaker rocks

Let’s listen to the simple whispering beauty of rocks. Now it’s the right time to prepare the garden for the summer/winter. This is a changing season wherever you are.
Do you need a suggestion on colors and style for your garden? I am here to help. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She designs landscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. She loves creating gardens spaces that will serve the kitchen as well, other than beautification of exteriors. Check out her four published books, one of which is on color theory, available on:

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