Valentina

A Stiffener For The Holidays | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

17 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Books Blog Tags: #CordialLiqueur, #HolidaysDrinks, #italianHolidayDrinks, #ItalianLifeStyle, #SinsOfAQueen, #StrawberryLiqueur

There was no way we could leave a family or friend’s house before tasting a touch of home-made rosolio. I know you are asking what the heck is a rosolio.

Let’s go back in time: Renaissance Italy 1400. Monks and most respected families engaged in a practice of adding flavors to distilled water to cure simple ailments and to help digestion after a heavy meal. The flavors came from experiments of macerating herbs, plant roots, flowers, and seasonal fruit, sometimes mixing some species together and sometimes using them singularly. Sundew, a particular carnivorous plant considered aphrodisiac attracted so much interest during Renaissance time that became the main ingredient for Rosa Solis, a cordial liqueur of a pretty bright yellow. Flecks of pearls and real gold to attract energy from the sun enriched the mixture. Nothing but the best for the rich and nobles! The word rosolio originated from the predecessor Rosa Solis. By 1700 entire Europe was enthralled with spirited drinks served in dainty glasses that became a social recreation more than medicinal purposes.
It’s hard to get rid of something that makes us feel good, therefore this social habit continued to these days and digestive drinks (after dinner drinks) were born.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

In Europe is still very common to find cordials in most households. They are generally made of seasonal fruits and served straight out of the bottle, no ice, no water added to the glass. Just like during the Renaissance, a cordial drink is always served in a small and dainty glass that one holds by the foot of the glass, or by the lower part of the stem. This is not a drink that goes down in one shot, sipping and savoring is the way to go while enjoying the company. It forces us to have cultivated manners.

(Photo from my book: ©Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts)

There is still time to produce this delightful Strawberry Liqueur and have a taste of a home-made stiffener during the holidays. My clients get an array of original food I produce in the most natural way and not found in any stores.

Strawberry Liqueur
Ingredients:
34 fluid oz. of pure alcohol 90° proof
17.5 oz. of strawberries
34 fluid oz. of water
24.5 oz. of sugar

Wash strawberries, take out leaves and stems.
Place the strawberries in a glass jar with a lid that closes hermetically, pour in the alcohol, and let them macerate for at least 30 days. Gently turn the jar upside down every three days and return it to the upright position.

After 30 days, make a simple syrup with water and sugar. Bring it to a boil and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar is melted.
Let it cool before filling the bottle.

Filter the macerated strawberries trough cheesecloth or a tight mesh colander. With the help of a funnel, pour the strawberry liquid in a decorative glass bottle, add the simple sugar. Shake the bottle gently, taste. Mix in a little more alcohol, if you like it stronger. Close with a tight cap. Let it rest one more week, then enjoy it.

This and more cordial liqueur recipes are in my book ©Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts

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

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

Golden Inspiration| Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 Sep 2013 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2013FallColors, #DesigningWithColors, #FlowerArrangement, #HowToDecorateTips, #MyPersonalAToZChallenge, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Welcome to my personal A to Z Challenge on the subject of Home. The goal, in a year time, until Jan. 13, 2014, is to elaborate and dissect topics regarding the Home not as containers of stuff, but as a cocoon for the soul, mind, and heart. I will touch on decorations, style, trends, history of the home and sometimes technical information

Let’s get prepared for the autumn, shall we? As the leaves change, we should change our décor too. Without changing the entire furnishing of the house and with only a few strategies, it’s easy to get a fresh new look more suitable with the changing of seasons and with our personal look changing through the seasons.

Last week, I put together a flower arrangement for one of my public events. The colors in the arrangement inspired me to create my color trend for the coming fall. I called it “Golden Inspiration”. It’s elegant, warm and inviting.

Except for people with a pinkish skin tone, this palette is suitable for all golden skin tones, ivory skin tones, black, red-haired people and people who are in the summer/fall season category.
Changes are good, we must keep up with the change of seasons, changes of life events and embrace changes age brings. Every age has its beauty, the important thing is to be aware and know how to play it to our advantage.

Next week, I will bring another exciting color scheme that exudes energy and that will inspire you to play with fantasy.

A week ago, I reached 1000 likes from all of you, creative and interesting friends. I want to take this opportunity to thank all my readers and followers for this beautiful number. Each one of you brought me news, ideas, encouragement, support, and knowledge. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Let me be your designer of choice for any of your decorating and remodeling needs. I offer design consultation on-line via Skype. Ask me for details. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in Mediterranean 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. Get your copies through

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

A Livable Home My Way | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

10 Sep 2013 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ClosetDesign, #DecoratingTips, #HomeRemodeling, #kitchenDesign, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Often I study consumer behavior statistics to get to know changes in my market. Some studies say that women are the primary decision makers in almost 90% of all home purchases. In all my projects this statistic has been correct, unless I dealt with single men. In my homeland Italy, we have a saying that goes like this:
“I am the boss, but the person who bosses me around and makes decisions is my wife”.

In my career as a designer, I made many observations on how today’s homes often don’t reflect people’s needs. Generally, the square as shoebox is the most common shape for homes (round shapes are difficult and costly). The shoebox homes have large rooms to fill with stuff and possessions, high ceilings to waste a lot of space and very little attention devoted to the spirit.

If I were a builder, I would pay more attention to people’s living habits. I would make the necessary adjustments to the concept plans to make sure the home has harmony and beauty first, then comfort. Coming home from work should be a pleasant experience, even when we have a lot of chores waiting to get done.

In all my years in design business, I have observed how people enter their homes. The front door is beautifully decorated, but they hardly see it. Home owners reserve to themselves the ugliest part of the house to enter from: the garage, where a pile of laundry, cars, stuff and all the mess will greet them everyday. They reserve the best for the guests: the front door.
During the year, I make a round of visits to my clients’ homes and leave a small token at the door if they are not there. Then, I will call to let them know I was at the house and left a package at their front step, otherwise they will never see it. What is the point of making a surprise visit if I have to tell them to open the front door and pick up my small token? The phone call spoils the surprise.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

One day, I thought if I were a builder, I would design the house with a back door foyer, where one door would lead to a mudroom/garage and one door would lead to the kitchen. In the back door foyer, I would create a drop zone for the mail, keys and charging area for phones and electronics, that way all that stuff will not end up on the kitchen counter.

The list of areas I don’t like in a modern home is very long. I have spotted a point of disadvantage in all the closets in American homes. They have no window and being positioned just in or outside bathrooms, it’s only natural that clothes smell musty, molded and old. One more thing, people who live with pets, wears the smell of their pets on their clothes. Think about it, just an operable skylight will suffice to get rid of house and pets smells. I get up in the morning and open my bedroom to let fresh air in. I would do it even if I lived in a cold climate. A few minutes of fresh air don’t hurt anyone, it helps clothes smelling fresh and keeps the house healthy.

If I were a builder, I would add a window in all the closets. I would move the linen closet outside the bathroom and find a way to circulate fresh air into it, if there was no possible way to add at least a window.

How about hosting dinner parties and entertainment? I remember a different functionality in European kitchens. We had a small area off the kitchen, closed with a door, where food preparation and cooking took place, we called it the hot kitchen, where there was the essential, a chopping table, a sink, the garbage and the refrigerator, the rest of the kitchen cabinets, storage and small appliances were in the better part of the kitchen. As soon as food was ready, we brought the plates to the table in the better part of the kitchen used for everyday informal eating. This same area was also the place where we had a cup of coffee with close friends, we paid bills, kids often did their homework and we mingled with family. Formal dining room was close to the kitchen, but not close to the hot kitchen, just so the cooking smells would stay away from the formal area. Outside the hot kitchen, we had the spice garden for our cooking needs.

If I were a builder, I would return to the European way of planning the kitchen for real cooks. For people who don’t cook but spend a bundle of money in remodeling the kitchen just to have a good resale value, I suggest to save that money and go on a fantastic trip. People who use microwave to reheating store-bought food don’t need to have a fancy kitchen. Any house will sell for various reasons, not because there is a fancy kitchen in it.

If I were a builder, I would pay attention to open spaces, dual-purpose stairs, I would turn a non-utilized spaces into workable zones and I would pay attention to creative details to build a livable home my way that would embrace soul, mind and body of everyone living in the house.
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As seen on Affluent Living:

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Remember to tell me your story, I will design your dream. Come one over to Facebook, let’s start a new friendship there too. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2013 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
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. Get your copy through
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Shoes Tell Your Story | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

08 Sep 2013 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #ArtOfDressing, #ItalianLifeStyle, #PolishedShoes, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SciusciáItalianFilm, #ShoeShiningKit, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

A jazzy music from the ’30 was filling the air of San Francisco’s street the other day. As I got closer, I recognized the music of Duke Ellington playing from of a boom box sitting on the pavement next to a shoeshine stall. I looked around and suddenly I was catapulted in a different time in a different country.

John_Thomson_-_The_Independent_Shoe-Black_(AIC_2012.234.19)_-_cropped

Photo by John Thompson – Wikimedia Commons Public Domain – The Independent Shoe-Black by John Thomson, 1877.

The colors of the street turned sepia colors and I was a girl in Italy walking together with my father, in a time when men took a great care of their exterior appearance and just like women, men too went into extensive hours of grooming to achieve a polished look. In my vision, shoeshine stalls were at almost every city block, ice cream vendors screamed to have the best ice cream of the entire city and bicyclists filled the streets with only a few cars, but the sound of San Francisco’s cable car returned me to reality. The magic of being in another era lasted a few seconds.

The street shoeshine stalls are disappearing in Italy too, as people find more convenient to polish their shoes at home. However, there is a majority of people in Italy still cleaning their shoes before leaving home. Italian people wear leather shoes more often than tennis shoes and the “dandy” affected look is still very much a high game in Italy. To have dirty shoes is a sign of sloppiness and uncaring to make bella figura, the Italian art of looking good in the eyes of others.

Kids shined shoes of American GIs during WWII out of necessity to make extra money. Italian film-maker Vittorio De Sica took inspiration from this new street activity to produce a film called Sciuscia’, which was the word kids shouted to American soldiers to attract their attention and let them know they were open to shine shoes. It was the way English sounded to them Shoeshine – Sciuscia’. They served only men and continued to these days.

An Italian shoeshine is a colorful street character. The man who wants to shine his shoes will be asked to sit on the high chair while the shoeshine will sing at him some Opera Aria or any well-known pop music, otherwise the two men will start talking about politics and sport, two favorite subjects men talk about in the street with strangers. A shoeshine might not be a highly educated person, but can speak four or more languages easily. At times, I heard them babble in Japanese, Chinese and Arabic, aside from the common European languages they have mastered well and mostly learned in the street from tourists. Rest assured that at the end of his service, the shoes are like brand new and the customer leaves amused.

Every home in Italy owns one elegant wooden box with all the necessary items to shine shoes beautifully and if not they have the basic creams and brushes lose in a drawer. I have a cedar box my mother left me and every time I go out the door, I polish my shoes and remember.
Now, it’s September and as every September it’s time to go through my shoes, get rid of the pairs I don’t want anymore and polish all the winter shoes. My shoes are well kept and someone else will have the chance to enjoy them the second time around.

Feet are the end of our body and often are not the prettiest part. They support the weight and the beating of the walk. We make them swollen and tired, the least we can do, is to make them look good. Shoes tell the story of who we are and men with polished shoes have my attention! Ciao,
Valentina
Open this link and scroll down the page to find my Fashion Services
https://valentinadesigns.com/services

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 and many prominent publications in California featured her work. 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 book Red-A Voyage Into Colors on the subject of colors, available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Did You Forget The Ceiling? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

03 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ArchitecturalDetails, #CeilingDesign, #FiberOptics, #HotAirBallon, #HowToDecorateTips, #RedVoyageIntoColors, Montgolfier

History brought us beautiful examples of decorated ceilings of grand homes with high volts, tall windows, large interior doors, intricate floor design and expensive décor. With so much opulence in home design, ceilings could have not been left undecorated, as they would have looked disconnected from the four vertical walls.

Builders today conceive homes very boxy and design them mostly to turn a quick profit, living out ingenuity and skillful conception of design. Ceiling is the one area I always complain about. Often they are painted white for convenience and left alone.

I see a home as the nest, which first gives me comfort with functional spaces, attractive features and needed amenities, then caresses my soul with colors suiting my personality and objects that bring humor or whimsy. I have been lucky to find a cute home with mansard ceiling lines and I have had fun turning my ceilings into whimsical canvases. This Montgolfier in my photograph is on the ceiling of my studio for my enjoyment and inspiration.

Curious of how it could look in the night sky, I photographed it and used Photoshop to manipulate the image into a Montgolfier flying in a night sky. Once I finished manipulating, I imagined painting a night sky view in someone’s room with fiber optic lights emulating the stars. The image in my mind was real neat. Not everyone is up to design the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling, but something more suitable to the person’s activities and modern life style is very possible. Playful rooms are not for kids only. Being a designer, playful rooms for me are a necessity.

Night ceilings we call skies are magic. Skies with stars and moonlight kiss us. at night. If we look up in the sky, in the daytime, we see the foliage of trees framing the sky picture beautifully while clouds encourage us to imagine any design our mind can sees. Fiber optics light produces the same warm, suiting and dreamy effect on the ceiling of our homes and they are energy-saving too. Let’s bring the beauty of a night sky inside and redirect our focus above.

The objective of my designing profession is to bring you the unusual for your unique personality. Let me help you with your ceiling design. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. She is the author of three books, the last one she wrote in on the subject of colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors. Get a copy of her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Saturdays Are For Markets | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

28 Aug 2013 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #FarmersMarket, #JeanAnthelmeBrillatSavarin, #NaturalGrownFood, #OrganicFood, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #VersatileBlogAward, #VintageFoodPosters, Fruit

Do you think it’s not possible to change our life only by changing our nutrition? It has been said that everything we eat become us, in order word “We are what we eat” ~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat Savarin, said it first.
He could have not been more right about food quality. Good nourishment charges our body with good energy and allows all organs to function well. Fresh food and live food as fish caught today and ate today is the best food to give our body live energy.

Vegetables, which are the lowest in the scale of living things, are implanted in the native soil and feed from roots, thus need to be consumed fresh. Anything or method used to keep fresh highly perishable food, in the long run, will damage our body with diseases; when we are not well we become anxious, preoccupied and stresses out. Bad food affects even our humor and bad food includes frozen food as well. The majority of people have gotten accustomed to buy frozen food for convenience. If food must travel long way will lose freshness and energy our body needs to function like a clock.

That’s why I suggest to go to the farmer’s market every week and keep in the kitchen only fresh food needed for one week. With fresh food comes the understanding of time management and changes in daily habits. Once must know to put aside a certain amount of time to clean and cook fresh food, but that’s is a small commitment to ask in change of a good health. Eating fresh food will improve mood, increase mental clarity, physical stamina will translate into a desire to want to do things and willingness to change to a healthier life. Changing relationship with food will change a life!

My freezer is full of ice cream, bread I make every week, hand-made pasta and food I prepare from my small orchard that will serve me just right when I don’t have time to cook, but it’s the food I grow with my hands, without pesticides or chemicals and it has not been processed by anyone but me.

This saturday, I will go antiquing after the market and try to find some cheerful vintage posters for the kitchen. Color to me is everything. Perhaps I can help you too finding a food art poster that will inspire you to eat fresh and local food everyday. Happy Labor Day. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Katya from the bottom of my heart
http://katyakitchen.com/2013/04/01/the-versatile-blogger-award
for nominating me a few months ago with the Versatile Blogger Award. Katya, I have not forgotten you, life got me so busy since then, I apologize for being so late in thanking you, but it’s never too late to let you to know how much I appreciate you and your support.
Follow Katya’s link to see the rules of this award and I will nominate 7 bloggers with similar interests. Go visit them, make friends and bless you all!

http://throughharoldslens.com
http://theamberlight.wordpress.com
http://minnascookingblog.wordpress.com
http://thismansjourney.net
http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com

Green Door Hospitality

http://sweetlittlethang.wordpress.com

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

Porch: Stage For Everyday Life | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Aug 2013 12 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ArchitecturalDetails, #CoveredPorches, #FrontPorch, #GardenSolutions, #ItalianArchitecture, #PorchLife, #PorteCochère, #Portico, #Veranda

Through history of the home and society customs, porches have been the stage from which people watched their neighbors and kept updated with everybody’s businesses.
“Porticus” Latin word for porch was an idea widely used in Ancient Greece and their love for style. Adopted by Romans the “portico” became the building’s entrance supported by columns with a roof structure over a walkway, which would protect people walking even if it was raining. Pantheon in Rome is the best example. This idea, celebrating high aesthetic and style, influenced many cultures since then.

By early medieval times, British people built stone or timber projecting porches for churches to give cover to worshippers. At a baptism, the priest would receive the parents with the infant and the service began in the porch. Buckingham Palace and the White House are two best examples.

(An ornate 19th-century porte-cochère, at Waddesdon Manor. Photo: Giano at English Wikipedia – Public Domain )
In Europe, I love to admire the “porte-cochère” (coach gate) a porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which horse and carriage (today a motor vehicle) could park and pick up the travels who would be protected from the weather, while doing their operations of getting in or out of the carriage/vehicle.

Victorian Architecture, or the Queen Anne style, proliferates with examples of homes with a sitting porch in both the front and the back of the home.

Porches cannot be propped up as one needs without unifying the roof lines and the architectural details of the house. Covered porches, also called verandahs, provide protection from sun or rain and insects providing an extra exterior living room that one can arrange with chairs, tables or even a cozy fireplace.

Today they are built mostly for the backyard, encompassing an entire side of the house. Open porches in the front of the house existed when people were friendly with their neighbors or casual passerby and a natural trust existed with each other. It was an opportunity to get to know the postman and the milkman. If people went on vacation, the neighbors watched the temporarily vacant home without even asking. It was a place to listen to the radio al fresco, share a drink, share some family news, gossip with next-door neighbor or enjoy the rain in silence.

(Photo Source: Porches from BH&G)

New homes don’t come with open porches anymore. No one sits in the front of the house and no one trusts anyone. No longer we care to know the postman, the neighbors and the milkman doesn’t even exist anymore. T.V. and computers have occupied our time. We need unpaid volunteers to watch our neighborhood, which the society can lynch at own satisfaction when and if one of them gets in trouble with the law for being overzealous protective of our homes. Those who want to understand, please feel free.

Which porch in my gallery do you like? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a trained  Interior Designer  in business since 1990. She is the owner and principal designer of her company: Valentina Interiors & Designs. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and timeless style. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. . Find Valentina’s three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

An Island Of Beauty | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

13 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #GardenParterre, #IsolaBella, #IsolaBellaLakeMaggiore, #ItalianBaroqueGardens, #ItalianGardens

Looking at pictures on the web are you ever transported to far away places, dreams, or even back in the maze of your memories? It often happens to me. This picture of the Isola Bella on the Lake Maggiore, in the Northern Italian lake district brought me back to an age of my life, when fun and frivolities were the common words of the day.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

2560px-Borromeo-P3P-20170530-010_(36234155645)

(Photo: Isola Bella, in the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore, by CucombreLibre – Wikimedia Commons)

The powerful wealthy Italian Borromeo family built their home, or better their palace in the 1600s on an island original called Isabella, in honor of the wife of Carlo Borromeo III.
Isola Bella, as it is called today is made of three parts: gardens, palace and the medieval fishermen village.

The interior of the palace is a grandiose scheme of high ornamentation in the neoclassical style and Italian Baroque style. Very elegant and opulent! What really interested me was the garden area.

Gardens are developed on ten terraces, completed with statues symbolizing the nature four elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Designed in the formal Italian Baroque spirit of the 17th century, the Isola Bella gardens are formal, composed of parterres, geometry and symmetry, populated with sinuous statues, peaceful fountains, grotto and decorative sculptures. The splendid granite and marble stairs aligned with large terracotta planters take to the top where the unicorn symbol of Borromeo family stands proud and where the view of Lake Maggiore shines before the eyes of the visitor in all its beauty.

The botanical garden presents a subtle elegance refined by the harmony between the richness of the vegetation and the architectural elements. There is mix of plants for all tastes: roses, oleander, pine trees, citrus trees, pomegranates, magnolia, orchids, tamarind plants, camellias, azaleas and even coffee and tea plants.

Elegant peacocks, once were a favorite meat dish served in high courts gilded in gold and silver foil. Today, these beautiful creatures roam around on the grassy area proud and undisturbed.

Castello_Ruspoli_Vignanello1

(Photo: Castello Ruspoli, Vignanello, Italy by Mtl1969 – Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons)

Gardens must reflect the style and the colors of the house. It’s a mistake to build a neoclassical garden around a ranch style home, or a desert garden full of cacti around a French style home. Modern gardens must have a bone structure to build plants around and a good hardscape to create visual effects. Modern gardens must have a good soil to grow some vegetables and fruits (home-grown food are happy food), blooming of plants must be synchronized with the seasons to assure the garden is alive with colors all year around and must be low maintenance water saving. Let’s not forget to create private corners. The right lighting will dress up the garden to create the perfect atmosphere.

The parterre style in the neoclassical gardens built for relaxation and long walks were in demand in times when people lived a luxurious life in palaces, employed many gardeners and servants. They were in perfect harmony with the architecture of the house and with people’s life style. That style of garden would be high maintenance for today’s time and totally inappropriate for our life style.

(Photo Author Noambarsh – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isola-bella4.JPG)

Isola Bella is an interesting place to visit, especially for learning how so many varieties of plants can share the same space under one climate. In the meantime, a fervid imagination like mine might play a trick on one’s mind. Strolling around the gardens, I swear I saw before my eyes people dressed in the fashion of the era, speaking the old Italian language and enjoying themselves in the custom of the time. My mind must have wondered for a minute, but it felt like a long time. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina is an Italian Interior Designer since 1990 designing for USA and Europe’s markets. She loves to remodel homes and gardens. With her many years of experience she is able to cover a wide range of design solutions. Often her clients ask to designs the landscape concept complete with lighting as a complement to the interior design.
She offers design consultations on-line and anywhere in the world through Skype line. Valentina is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I For Illuminate Your Space | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Aug 2013 10 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CurbAppeal, #DesigningWithLights, #GardenIllumination, #GardenSolutions, #LandscapeDesign, #LandscapeLighting, #LEDLight, #MyPersonalAToZChallenge, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

I have the opportunity to design the exterior lighting of the house featured in my video. The house is located in an upscale area, but the landscape is not really upscale. it is utilitarian greenery. Most of the plants in this landscape are evergreen, a lot of foliage and very few flowers. This kind of landscape is congenial for public streets, as it requires little maintenance and little water. Basically, it’s a xeriscape planning, which is OK for today’s need to conserve water.

If I were the owner of this house, I would have had the guest areas, the main entry, and the front yard made up with seasonal flowers. I would plant vegetation synchronized with the regeneration of each season, where one group of flowers goes dormant, while the other group comes alive and together swing out colors and scents all year round. Then I would make up a xeriscape for the hidden, utilitarian and not so pretty areas, like the service areas and driveway. This is my first time designing only the exterior lighting without redesigning the landscape, that’s the owner’s wish.

All that green foliage doesn’t reflect the moonlight and makes the house very dark at night, while during the daytime makes it very heavy. The front door is not easy to find as it is completely covered with heavy vegetation, making it not inviting either. There is no curb appeal and no focal point. The backyard, with the exception of a few rose plants and Agapanthus bushes, has no interest. Being the house positioned in an upscale area, it needs an elegant landscape with character and “manners” and not vegetation for highways.

I will eliminate outdated fixtures and will create layers of LED lights that will cast silhouettes on the walls and shadow on the ground. Some fixtures will have colored filter lenses to give some depth in the darkest areas, as the bamboo area and some trees will be illuminated with a soft string of lighting. I will highlight the balcony wood rail with bullet lights. The backyard needs the ambiance of an outdoor living room. My games of lights will enhance the heavy foliage and will change the feel of the existing landscape into a garden that is comfortable for the people of the house and their guests, livable, energy-efficient and easy on the eyes.

Sharing is caring. Share me as often as you like. Through Skype line, I offer design consultation on-line, other than the traditional “in house” consultations. I design for people all over the world without moving an inch away from my desk. I am here to help. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina is an Italian Interior Designer since 1990 designing for the USA and Europe’s markets. She loves to remodel homes and gardens. With her many years of experience, she is able to cover a wide range of design solutions. Often clients ask her to designs the landscape concept complete with lighting as a complement to the interior design.
Valentina is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I goofed! | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

05 Aug 2013 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #FruitJuices, #HomeMadeJuices, #ItalianFood, #MediterraneanDiet, #SinsOfAQueen, #VeggieJuices

Am I an expert in cooking? Perhaps. Simply I like to say that I love to cook, cook well and I have done it for decades, but I have not come to perfection yet. I don’t have a sweet tooth for instance and sweets don’t come as good as I would like. The other thing I don’t do well is lifeless food, meaning diet food.
This past weekend I played around with juices. I produced very good fruit juices with fruit from the trees in my garden mixed with store-bought fruit and I did spectacular things. In fact I make colorful juices every weekend for my mornings delight.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Yesterday, I wanted to try a new thing: vegetable juices and I goofed. I used too much of purple and dark green vegetables with the result of a non appetizing and very dark juice. The taste is OK, very earthy and healthy, but my eyes can’t bear to look at something this dark. “We eat with our eyes first” I know is a cliché, but it’s really true.

I used the following ingredients, all in the raw state:
½ red cabbage
½ bunch of celery stalks
4 radishes
2 avocados
2 bunches of broccoli
1 bunch of collard
6 carrots
salt to taste

I would have liked to obtain a colorful veggie juice and I should have used more of red, yellow, orange veggies than green or purple veggies.

Cooking is like painting, it’s all about balancing flavors, aromas and colors.
The difference is that a bad painting rarely can be remade into a new image. This time I goofed and made a bad painting with my veggie juice, but it is recyclable into a new food. I will use a few spoons into minestrone, beans soups and chicken broth. It will be delicious and so healthy. Nothing in my kitchen goes to waste. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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