Valentina

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

Time For Figs | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

07 Oct 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BakedFigs, #DriedFigs, #Figs, #FigsandProsecco, #FigsProperties, #FreshFigs, #SinsOfAQueen

Autumn and its warm colored nature is rolling in, my wood for the fireplace is already stacked up in my backyard. Grape harvest has started and soon we will taste some young wines. Beautiful color arrangements are beautifying our homes and my desire for earthy food is growing. This time of the year I have a lot of figs in my kitchen, fresh and dried, they are part of my Mediterranean diet.

Figs are in the family of mulberries and have numerous health properties, one of which is to protect the heart. Figs lower blood pressure, are high in potassium, low on sodium, contain Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and the antioxidant polyphenol prevents atherosclerosis. Do we need any more reasons for eating figs any time we feel like it?

The memory of picking up figs during my childhood with the adults, my father, uncles and some of their friends is grand. We sat with the baskets full of figs under a tree and ate them with pecorino cheese and bread. The combination of sweet figs and salty cheese is perfect and the colors are so fantastic: deep purple on the outside and red purple on the inside. The combination with white of the cheese, the purple of the figs and the green of pistachios nuts is simple magic happening in the mouth while the taste buds dance happy.

Have you ever tried baked figs stuffed with nuts or gorgonzola cheese? It takes 5 minutes of preparation and 5-8 minutes of baking. Simply cut the figs in half and place one nut (any of your liking) or a dollop of cheese in the middle. Close each fig like a sandwich, place them on a baking sheet and in the oven at 275° F., bake just enough to melt the cheese or warm up the nuts. Cool before eating.
Find this recipe on page 101 of my book ©Sins of a Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts.

Pair a Chianti wine if you are combining figs and pecorino, or fig with prosciutto/salami, otherwise, if you are having figs and nuts, a good bubbly Prosecco will be perfect as well. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate of http://www.wine-fi.com says: “Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”. She is the author of two Italian regional cookbooks and one book on Colors, all three available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Stories Of A Designer: Totally Out Of Place | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

06 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BeachHouse, #MountainHouse, #SanJoseCalifornia, #SanJoseDevelopment, #SiliconValleyHomes, #SilverCreekHomes, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Last week I visited a house for the first time, the new person could be a potential client. She lives with her husband six months out of the year in Florida and six months in California, not too shabby!
Her house climbs the mountain of California, it is surrounded by a golf course and a lot of luscious vegetation covers the property almost entirely. All her windows face the mountain and rugged mountain scenery. However, at the door, when I rang the bell, I had the impression of being at the beach. Her door wreath made of seashells, seahorses and sea stars screamed of beach. Flamingoes and seagulls decorated her porch. I entered the house and my impression was confirmed. Blues, aqua, cream and beige colors filled every room, beach home accessories scattered everywhere decorated the house meticulously as if the beach was right outside the windows. The house was nicely decorated, but totally out-of-place.

I also noticed all the cabinets around the house looked like kitchen cabinets with granite countertop, no distinction of room and function, even the master bedroom had wall to wall kitchen cabinets with granite top used for office stuff and medicines. That’s the way builders conceive homes today. They raise walls and stick kitchen cabinets everywhere as fast as they can, without paying attention to details, design or style, but this is another matter. So sad, homes are without charm!

From: San Jose Map

San Jose Real Estate Home

Would you decorate a home set on the rustic, reddish and mystical Grand Canyon with snow scenery of the Swiss Alps, yodeling sounds and cowbells hanging everywhere?
Would you decorate a house set in Hawaii with pictures of rainy days of Paris, just because you like Paris scenery?

Decorating a home is very personal and I understand people decorate with things that make them happy, even when they are totally out of contest.
Long time ago, I had to bend to a client’s request, a single man, living in the center of a metropolitan city, who wanted his bedroom to look like a jungle. It was tough to accept his ideas, I developed the project regardless of my disappointment, but I never took photos of that design work.

The exterior environment plays a large role in home décor. In order to bring harmony in our soul, we must feel connected with nature surrounding the home. Colors and texture of the outside should be respected and taken into consideration, that’s when we can say to feel completely at home.

Visibly the woman I visited had a revelation moment when I explained the reasons her interior felt awkward to me. I am sure she liked the décor of her home and I could almost hear her saying: “I like the beach scenes, do I have to change everything now?” Somehow I felt her discomfort with certain elements of her spaces and décor.

People can live the way they want in their spaces, there is no rule saying a beach décor belongs at the beach house. My function as a professional (as all the professionals in any fields) is to stir people in the right direction for optimal results, the rest is up to the client to follow suggestions or not. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.  She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge any where in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Wrapped In Chain | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

03 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #Chanel2015SpringCollection, #ChanelChain, #ChanelDesigns, #ChanelJacket, #ClassicFashion, #KarlLagerfeld, #RedVoyageIntoColors

In my fashion Academy in Italy, I learned that a couture garment begins with pattern drafting (nothing but geometry and calculations), which is transferred on a muslin fabric, than the muslin is cut leaving generous seam allowances, set up multiple fittings until the muslin is perfect and finally cut the fabric with white gloves on to protect the fabric from oil of the skin. If the garment is of high quality, nothing needs to soil it. I enjoyed every minute in that Italian fashion school set in a four hundred years old building.

Handling high fashion garments taught me patience, to produce quality work, appreciation for anything custom-made and elegance. Exactly elegance! Wearing an expensive garment doesn’t make a person automatically elegant in manners and comportment. We were students, but we had to carry the flame of beauty, style and be the ambassadors of elegance in every aspect of life. With the teaching of garment design and construction, many other things went on: knowing how to sit properly, knowing how to walk, how to wear a stylish ensemble, how to respond to compliments, how to apply an elegant makeup, you name it, we learned it.

In my blog on Elegance, I wrote: “Elegance is not showy. Elegance is style, awareness, and moderation. Elegance is a balanced mix of good taste and precise choices. It translates in the right search for substance and attention to details. Elegance is sober and sobriety is elegant. Both are pleasing and comfortable, functional and beautiful”. http://goo.gl/syAQX6

voguepatterns.mccall.com

http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages

Gabrielle Chanel used to say that elegance meant being equally beautiful on the inside and the outside and that’s why her famous jacket fits so well. The silk lining quilted to the jacket conceals a fine chain that gives the jacket its impeccable silhouette. Hand sewn pockets and sleeves set in the armhole to gently follow the woman contour are carefully studied to avoid curling up, bunching up, or puckering. All seams have plenty fabric allowance to let out two or three sizes when weight gain occurs.

Chanel jacket is iconic and possesses a magic that fits each woman in all her differences. Chanel jacket is collectible and will always be fashionable through times and styles, it wears well with jeans or evening attire, from the office to an afternoon cocktail. Chanel jacket will never lose the aura of beauty and elegance, Coco intended. She also liked to show her bracelets thus she made many jackets with ¾ sleeves. Granted Chanel jacket is not for everyone. If you are the type of person who loves to accumulate clothes without rhyme or reason, Chanel jacket is not for you. This garment is expensive and requires a close study of your personal style, your lifestyle and your comportment to fit the price. You cannot have rings on nose and lips or body tattoos and wear a Chanel jacket.

Karl Lagerfeld has reinvented Chanel jacket since 1983. He is very creative in reinterpreting the past. The tweeds, the silk-wools and wool bouclé are still in his designs of the Chanel jacket even though often he brings out his own interpretation of this fantastic jacket that has attracted generations of women though hundred and more years. Have you seen the new very colorful Spring 2015 Chanel collection? Click here for the backstage view – http://goo.gl/chgbYV

Ciao,

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