Valentina

How We Were So Green and Did Not Know It | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Aug 2010 6 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EcoFreindlyInteriorDesigns, #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #EcoFriendlyHomeDecor, #EcoFriendlyHomeImprovement, #SustainableDesigns

Growing up in Italy, I remember looking at the hot water boiler over the sink in the kitchen, one boiler in the bathroom over the tub and another one again over the sink of the service bathroom and thinking how ugly it was to stare at them. In my mind as a child, it would have been better to have one big boiler hidden in a closet serving the whole house, as wealthy people had it. Wrong! One of the building green idea is to let water travel a short distance and save on electricity.

In the morning, as soon as we were all awake and up, all the windows were opened to allow fresh air in the house through the morning while the house was being cleaned. Bed sheets came off the bed and were shaken, mattress was beaten to get the “bed bugs” out, technically called dust mites. It is a good idea to vacuüm the mattress every day as you vacuüm the floor to get rid of dust particles hidden in the mattress that can cause asthma problem.

The kitchen was a sanctuary. First of all it was spotless, cleaned only with natural products, like “Savon De Marseille”. During cooking all the windows were open to let the cooking vapor, steam and grease smell escape out. Many times the kitchen were built outside the house perimeter. It was called the hot kitchen, a place only used to cook, the eating happened inside the house. (Photo left found on: http://www.rosemari.fr/categorie-produit/la-maison)

It was amazing to watch food preparation and wondering if all that it was discarded would have gone into my stomach instead. I was too young to understand that wasting food was not an option. Food was not pre-made, everybody made fresh food at home every day using every bit of food that could have been used. I remember all the egg shells, coffee and tea ground, discarded vegetable leaves and stems, fruit peels and much more went into the compote pile to make fertile ground for our home grown food. Fish heads, tales and bones along with discarded peel of onions, carrots and celery became fish stock. Eatable flowers rolled in sugar became candies. Apples and various spices became vinegars and tomatoes were turned into a sauce conserved for the winter. We never had leftover food (freshly made food is good for your health and look) and there was almost nothing going into the garbage, like plastics, packages, metals and sorts of things we see in garbage today.
Kitchen and bath furniture were made of real wood without formaldehyde and lasted for generations. Note I have called it “kitchen and bath furniture”.

Many items of clothing, at least the manageable types were washed by hands to give them a longer life.

(Photo Wikimedia: Immanuel Giel)

This contributed to a less spending and more savings. We bought only a few pieces of clothes needed to match with the existent pieces. All laundry was hung in the sun to dry. A few hours later they were ready and they smell so fresh and clean! Today, living in America, I still hang my clothes to dry in my laundry yard and I have never owned a dryer, with the shocking disbelieve of my neighbors who think I come from Mars.
We didn’t need energy-efficient appliances then, but we do today and we want to save money.
Our floors were made of stones and still are, stone floors are healthy, breathable, wash and wear. A bit of water and soap, voila’ the floor is clean.

During my growing up, we only turned on the lights in the rooms we were using and turned off all lights in the rest of the house. We still do that, electricity is so expensive in Europe.
Do you think that was living in an old world? Perhaps, but we didn’t have to care about saving the environment, because we didn’t abuse it in the first place and we saved all kinds of money, because there wasn’t much to waste. At the same time, we didn’t even know we were already contributing to saving the environment. Today we must revert to that way of living. How much money are you loosing for not being green and beautiful?

Since a few years ago, I am part of the “green concept design” helping people understanding how to build and design with the environment in mind. Talk to me about your needs, I am here to help you saving money and save the environment, the only HOUSE we have. Do you have questions? Please, leave a comment below. I will answer all of your questions within 24 hours. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, the principal designer and owner is a trained designer and has been in business since 1990. She works on consultation and produces design concepts for remodeling, upgrading, new home design, décor restyling and home fashion.
“Vogue Italy” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work . She also has made s few appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

To Balance A Bedroom | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

09 Aug 2010 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Bedroom, #BedroomColors, #BedroomDecorating, #BedroomInteriors, #BedroomStyle

A week ago a consumer found my company on Avaliving, a site where designers help consumers resolving their design challenges with brief suggestions. Based on the suggestions received, consumers have a faculty to hire a particular designer through Avaliving’s program.
We work through photographs that consumers send to us, description of the existent situation of the room to discuss and description of their desires and needs.
The challenge of this particular customer was to find a better solution for the master bedroom, a rectangular room looking over a lake.

Looking at the pictures I received from the consumer, I realized the feet of the bed were pointing at the entrance doors. That is not a good thing to do in any culture of this world. The energy of the bedroom will become a really bad one when pointing feet at the entry. Even a person without any Feng Shui knowledge would know that.

My suggestion was to set the bed in a diagonal in the corner of the room facing the French door to get more enjoyment out of the view of the lake.
Setting a bed in the corner has the disadvantage of taking up lot of the space in the room, but there are other benefits in return, one being looking at a beautiful view for instance, if there is one. Another advantage is to free the spaces on both side of the bed and instead of having two night stands in the traditional way, there is an opportunity to create a short and interesting built-in unit behind the bed, made in a beautiful wood species hosting lighting for reading, music speakers, plants or flowers, photographs, accessories and candles, or it would be just a place where to rest keys, small changes and cellular phones.

One other way to decorate a bed that has been set in diagonal in one corner of the room is to fill the background with a beautiful overhanging canopy in sheer fabrics, tall plants and a game of lighting coming from behind the bed.

If there is no view to enjoy, create a fireplace. There is nothing more suiting than the crackling of the fire, while reading a book, or conversing with the partner.
Make sure under the bed there is no storage hiding to allow the flow of positive energy through the room and under the bed.

©Valentina Cirasola

At the feet of the bed, it would be appropriate to set a bench where to leave a purse or some clothes of the day. In different times there used to be a trunk at the feet of the bed with lot of the owner’s possession inside, gold, clothes, money and valuable housewares, always ready to go. Some people still do it today.

One or two slipper chairs were also furniture used at the feet of the bed, especially in women’s boudoir. The slipper chair with a very straight back and a small seat was created to slip shoes on and off, not to sit on for a long time. The ample and clumsy women dresses required very comfortable chairs to sit on like the “fauteuil” , “bergere” and “recamier”.

©Valentina Cirasola

Being the contrarian that I am, I never will suggest to take T.V. out of the bedroom. T.V. is a window to the world, watching the “tele” in bed in the arms of the partner is a good thing. It makes two people come together at the end of a working day and it is good for conversation, whether sharing laughter while watching a comic film, or political comments. Oh, by the way, having problems falling asleep sometimes? Turn the tele on something not too engaging, set the T.V. timer and in fifteen minutes you will be sleeping, guaranteed!
T.V. lowers the metabolism and puts you in a state of relaxation.

Many designers suggest that the bedroom should be luxurious like a hotel; a sanctuary like a chapel, silent, evocative, spiritual and T.V. don’t belong in bedrooms. Hotels have a T.V. right across from the bed, why should we not have it in our bedroom? Come on! People are human and real people like to do things humans do. Watching T.V. in bed is one of them. The important thing to remember is to conceal the T.V. in a cabinet to keep the electromagnetism in there.

I agree with all the designers that a working space does not belong in the bedroom and if there is a home office there, make sure by nighttime is completely closed and off-limits.

The bedroom should have indirect lighting all on dimmers to set the mood, except for reading lighting, which should be closer to your book and please do not exchange books for T.V. To balance a bedroom is also to share your reading with your partner. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer since 1990 and a former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles. Fashion designing has been her first career choice that made her happy in her own fashion company for fifteen years before settling in the interior designing business. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Elegance | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

24 Jul 2010 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Elegance, #HomeDecor, #HomeFashion, #HomePersonalStyle, #HomeStyle, Avaliving

In a world of an exulted cult of the appearances, people tend to live in vanity, exaggerations and in the desire to impress others at all costs. Often people’s aim is to overdo and to over say, not only in fashion but in every expression of life.

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.
Sobriety is not a sacrifice. I would describe it as the ability to choose only what is needed, especially when it comes to fashion as an interpretation of self, other than home fashion.

Some people think elegance is a gift and others think it is an innate talent. It could be somewhat true. There are people who know how to express and communicate with their look better than others. On the other hand, nobody is condemned to be vulgar, bulky and annoying, or just trust his/her own instinct. Elegance, sobriety, and simplicity are all things we can learn and cultivate and once we learn them, they can simplify our lives.

Einstein said: “To be simple, is to be brilliant” e someone else said: “Simplicity is the key of elegance”. Totally agree, in fact, I am the queen of simplicity.

Style and elegance are not easy to define. Style refers to forms, appearances, and character. Everyone has a style that can be beautiful or not pleasing at all, according to what our eyes project.
Let’s talk about home style, just to take an example. Baroque style is an elegant style, but ancient and not practical for the times we live in. If we mix Baroque style in the simplicity of contemporary furnishing, it can result in a dynamic décor and it will describe a person with a variegated and polyhedral character. But not everybody can make combinations of this sort, well thought out that looks good too.
(Photo Baroque chair below: http://foter.com/explore/baroque-living-room-furniture)

Elegance never goes out of style, that is if we don’t follow trends to the letter.
Another example can be the European fascination with the color black as a screaming trend in kitchen design. Come on! How would you like to eat tasty mussels (black shells) in a pasta specialty served on black plates, with a black drinking glass set, surrounded by black kitchen cabinetry?

As a designer, my goal is to accentuate the personality of the people living in the house I am contracted to design, making sure their spaces serve their needs and have an originality too. My spaces are not made with a cookie cutter. My spaces are timeless, they cannot be recognized as made in 2008 or 1998 and yet I am a person very much projected in the future, but I don’t feel I must follow trends dictated by any industry.
I take only the best part of the trends, the rest I invent it myself and that is “my trend”.

How can you, in a few simple words, explain this concept? Any home can be simply elegant and stylish, I am here just for that. My help is simply available to style your home in a livable elegance.
Please forward this article to someone you think might be interested in reading it, or in receiving the same tips. Comments are welcomed. Thank you.
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As seen on Affluent Living:

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Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer since 1990 and a former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles. Fashion designing has been the first career choice that made her happy in her own fashion company for fifteen years before settling in the interior designing business. Find her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Unwind, Ferragosto Is Coming | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Jul 2010 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingForSummer, #ItalianCustoms, #ItalianFerragosto, #ItalianLifeStyle, #SummerHome, #VacationTime

The word Ferragosto comes from the Latin word Feriae Augusti, the pagan feast in the year 18 A.D. made in honor of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus.
On the 1st of August the Romans celebrated the harvest of grain, cereals and the fertility of the earth. This festivity would last until the end of August.

Feriae Augusti, or Ferragosto as it is pronounced in today modern Italian language was intended as “the relaxation of August” from the working year. This festivity would develop with public rituals and banquets, excess of drinking and sex practices to which everyone was permitted to participate, including slaves, maids and the lower class, along with the nobles and emperors. Horse racing, bull fighting and sports events were organized to add to the public entetainment. Even the working animals, such as cows and donkeys were left to relax for the whole month of August and were dressed in the festivity attires with lot of flowers to decorate them. The workers would give good wishes to their employers and would receive a good tip from them.

The festivities would reach its peak on the 15th of August as it still happens today. Through the centuries the Feriae Augusti, or Ferragosto became so eradicated in people’s lives that the Roman Church decided to turn it into a legal festivity and made a holiday rather than suppress it.

Today in Italy and all over the Christian Europe, Ferragosto is celebrated as a religious holiday and as the mid-Summer holiday.
Modern Italians and Europeans treat this holiday as the longest vacation time of the year. Fun, amusement, eating, resting, dancing, socializing and absolutely no work activity is conceived. Therefore, if you are in any import business, when dealing with Italy remember not to place any order of merchandise in July and August. Factories are closed, people are enjoying their vacation and no one is in town.

A few suggestions to beat the heat

In August, being the hottest month of the year, people tend to wear light fabrics, such as linen and cotton. They are the breathable fabrics of all, luscious and delicate textiles that treat our skin in a delicate and gentle way.
People eat very light food to beat the heat, fresh fruit and vegetables to supplement the loss of water through copious perspiration.

Outdoor dining is very common in Italy. People tend to eat late in the evening to catch some cool breeze.
Restaurants and chalets/balere (open air discotheques) are packed until very late at night and promenades pullulate with people.
Nighttime is magic for an intimate dinner, or to pull the small hours of the night talking and joking with friends.

In villas and Summer homes’ backyard vacationers organize their night life. Plain pergolas are easy to build and to dress up with hanging panels of sheer fabrics or inexpensive burlap. The breathable fabric provides privacy and it is sheer enough to let in the soft glow of the moon. A gazebo is an easy item to create. The portable types come in a variety of colors or fabrics and they can be installed in minutes. Like a woman going out for dinner, any patio can be dressed up too for the occasion.

Unwind and decompress, once a year at least, it is important to see life in a different perspective.

I have worked on remodeling single spaces or entire homes while my clients were gone on vacation. They gave me the keys of the house and said goodbye to the messy remodeling. I am so very grateful of the trust people repose in me as a service provider and as a person. My workers and I treasure their properties as they were ours.

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it. Comments are welcomed. Thank you. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and fashion designer, working in the USA and Europe. She combines well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. In her career she has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.
Check out her books on

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

Talking To The Shoes | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

20 Jun 2010 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HighHeelsShoes, #ShoeBox, #ShoeCloset, #ShoeStorage, #ShoeStyle, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

For someone who is used to walk every day on high heels is not easy to fall off the shoes. It takes balance, full concentration and a lot of attention to where the feet are going. On high heels, women cannot afford to be clumsy, or they will lose their “good impression”. High heels dictate a straight up posture and a very feminine coquetry attitude.

During the centuries, shoes gained more importance and became more visible as the skirts became shorter. They went from being simple strips of cloth to wrap around feet so the feet wouldn’t have to touch the ground directly, to the leather sandals the Romans wore. There were shoes on stilts as high as 20” to get through rain and muddy streets and then there were heels from low to medium made of wood. Shoes with heels in the XVII Century were made of silk, brocade, embroideries, and laces to be matched with the colored silk stocking.
Leather boots also came into fashion, high up to the knees and above. In the ’60s Mary Quant invented the forever young “mini skirt” and high boots became an adorable addition. I wore them both shamelessly.

Shoe heels also grew in height according to the forever changing fashion rules.

In Venice, the red heel for both men and women was considered a very sexy element of the shoe and it was an “attention grabber”. Showing the red heel from underneath the dress meant looking for trouble!

Shoes are a fetish, status symbols and the tradition of a nation. Some are real object d’art, some are impossible to wear (see the skeleton stiletto in my photo).

Their magical power is to turn the feet, a nonsexual part of the body, into a sexual excitement. That’s why we can’t have enough of them in all colors and styles. In Italy, during my growing up, I had a new pair of shoes at the beginning of the school year, generally brown, one new pair for Christmas in black for the elegant gatherings with family and friends and one pair of sandals for the Summer. Three pairs were all I had and they were supposed to last at least a couple of years. All the people I knew had the same custom or just about. Now, living in America, I cannot begin to count how many pairs of shoes I own and just like everybody else, I fell under their spell.
(Vertebrate heels by Dsquared )

Growing up in Italy, I often accompanied my fancy young aunts in their shoes shopping. I remember the salesperson asking if they wanted two strings or three strings sandals. The merchandise in Italy was never and still isn’t exposed for the customers to reach, touch and try on. Salespeople are there to find what you are looking for, they are your gofer. Sandals with two strings were a best seller, more exposed the feet were the sexier they looked. To me, now living in America, it isn’t any more a question of how many strings, it’s a question of how many pairs I can fit in the shopping cart and I like it! Thanks for all the choices available to me.
We all have such an irrational obsession with shoes that we must plan the right space for them in our homes.

One of the relevant aspects of my profession as a designer is to know how people are going to use their container furniture from kitchen and bath cabinetries to closets. I must know all their habits in order to design their wellbeing and comfortable living.

How to make a morning dressing process less stressful and be able to choose the right shoes for the right outfit without stirring ourselves crazy?
(Photo left: BH&G)

Take a photograph of one shoe per pair, print it from your computer and stick it on each box of shoes. It will be easier to find and match them with the outfit. Shoes will be talking to you much easier, instead of you losing time finding them. A walking closet, of course, is an ideal solution, where clothes and shoes can be displayed as your own shopping store. As an interior designer working in remodeling all kind of spaces, it is very important to me and to my clients to have an organizational team at our disposal. The team is made of professional organizers who know how to get us through an elimination process easily and painless before we start any demolition and remodeling project. This is my precious added value to my customers.
A simple order is the foundation of all good things.

Fashion Services

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

Valentina Cirasola is an interior designer, in business since 1990 and a former fashion designer. She helps people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. Valentina is also a published author of three books:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

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

Sailors Are In Town | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jun 2010 5 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #EuropeanFashion, #NauticalColors, #NauticalFashion, #SailorStyle, #StripedFabrics

Stripes again! It seems as every other year stripes want to be vacationing with us in the Summer. This year white and blue stripes are everywhere with a touch of red and gold. The new city relaxed elegance is not about common striped t-shirts, white short pants, and white tennis shoes.

(Cropped jacket Polyvore)

It is about combining elegant daytime jackets with gold buttons, or decorative vintage passamantery with city shorts and sandals propped on high heels.
(Ellie Anchor Pin Up Hell Pumps)

Nautical theme and cruise time will give us the refreshing feeling of elegant nights spent at the Yacht Club, even if we don’t go on any vacation. Treat yourself with these small luxuries!

In your home this Summer relax with beach style décor. Create a cottage easy living with coastal breezy colors. Keep it sophisticated, then any beach accent can be added. (Photo left BH&G).

The fabric on the chairs embellished with mother of pearls buttons makes an elegant beach feeling.
It is just right to host casual parties in semi-formal settings. The slip-on covers can be changed in the fall with autumn colors for a different mood.

Change the look of any mirrors with an incrustation of seashells that you have brought back from the island vacations and if you didn’t go to the island lately, any gift shop or import shop in your town will have shells of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Shells look very happy on coffee tables in decorative glass vases, even more happy if they are repurposed in your garden as decorative elements, or as a potting solution.

Molly Wood Garden Design

(Photo right: Giant shell planter -Photo Sunset)

In your backyard, it is easy to create a party for two, a romantic evening tête-a-tête. Use a red and white striped cloth to cover a small bistro table. Cover the seat of a swing and all the cushions around with Sunbrella fabric in stripes and anchor print fabric. Serve a delicious salad in a large clam-shaped bowl. Light candles everywhere, uncork a bottle of Italian prosecco, or a Bellini if you like and a romantic night on the Italian Riviera awaits just outside your backyard. Don’t’ forget to wear one of those nautical shoes as in my photographs. High heels look even better when laying down…..I mean on the grass…..

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you. Ciao,
Valentina

Fashion Services
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She marries well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to unattractive spaces into castles.
Valentina is so far a published author
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Appear At The Balcony, My Love! | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

06 Jun 2010 3 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ItalianArchitecture, #ItalianBalcony, #ItalianCustoms, #ItalianLifeOnBalcony, #ItalianLifeStyle, Balcony, Italian-Life

Letters to Juliet, the latest film with Vanessa Redgrave and Italian actor Fabio Testi that every girlfriend of mine is talking about.
(Verona Balcony photo
http://www.freefoto.com/images/14/14/14_14_82—Romeo-and-Juliet-Balcony–Verona-Italy_web.jpg )

The film is based on “What if you had a second chance to find true love?” and of course there is no better place to talk about love than from Juliet and Romeo’s famous balcony in Verona. Hollywood’s ability to prompt women to dream still amazes me. The Italian sceneries in the film are so beautiful, the golden aura of the Mediterranean projected on ancient walls and stones contributes to the romanticism and fantasy. Juliet and Romeo’s balcony is the focus of the last scene that makes the story ending into “they lived happy forever after”. To a realist like me, it was just a nice few hours at the cinema.
But what prompted me to write this small piece is the balcony, a piece of architecture that pushed me back in time, when I was a young woman, constantly in love with anybody who walked.

Yes, it all happened on the balcony of my mom’s house and when my mom was a young woman, most “seen and being seen” happened on the her mother’s balcony too.

In Italy a balcony is a lived space, an added space to the house, or apartment. We Italians sit on the balcony to admire the view whether we have one or not and if we don’t have a view, we scrutinize our neighbors. We get to know them and all their family problems, somehow the balcony doors are always open. We cultivate small orchards on pots and every possible cooking spice, along with flowers. Colors, colors, colors burst from Italian balconies. Among the few produce planted on balconies, tomatoes take first attention, they are a must in the Italian cuisine.

Balconies in Italy are also used to hang clean laundry to dry in the open air, clothes dryers are not popular at all. Naples is one of the most renowned and characteristic city of Italy for its clothes hanging over the streets, leaving to the imagination of the passers-by observations and comments of who could wear those clothes. With a pulley, clothes span from one balcony to another, serving two different families on both sides of the same street.
Hanging clothes to dry from balconies is a practice most popular in the the South of Italy where climate is warmer and people colorful.

On balconies Italians “mettono tavola” meaning they set an outdoor table and dine al fresco, mostly at night, when they can be refreshed in the cool night air, after a long day of Summer heat. It is an excuse to participating also to the night life of people strolling down below in the street. While all of that goes on in the street, up in the balconies, people carry on with their lives until the small hours of the night, as if nobody sees them. In fact, when the weather is really hot it is not uncommon to get a mattress and sleep on the balcony.

To cut down on their routine tasks, housewives lean on balconies and drop a basket down below to the local family owned grocery shop, or drug store to get the small items needed for today’s cooking. The grocer puts in the basket all she needs and the basket returns upstairs, payment for that merchandise comes later. The basket is always attached with a rope to the rail of the balcony ready to be dropped down at any request. On the other hand, women at home, regardless of the busyness of their lives, always have time to spend a few minutes on the balcony to pass along a recipe, or a gossip with the next balcony neighbors, or at best a taste of their cup of coffee.

On Italian balconies young women, who are learning the art of coquetry, show themselves off to potential boyfriends, almost like showing off what they have to offer. The young girl coming out of their shells and new at this game, do everything in their power to attract the young man’s attention they are interested in. They appear at the balcony at the same exact time the young man is passing by, because they have studied him and learned every move he makes…..Suddenly, something falls down from the girl’s balcony, just when he is passing through……oh Heaven!….he is looking up….

In America we don’t socialize through our balconies. Actually only upscale homes have balconies, but nobody uses them, they are only there for beauty and to pay more taxes as exterior spaces. Some are even fake, no exit to it, only a rail attached to the walls as a suggestion of balcony. Our privacy is precious and guarded with sentinels, but when we go to Italy, funny, we like how everything evolves over there, even when people enter our lives through balconies without permission. My life in America is so different now, without that closeness to the neighbors and their lives. I truly miss my Italian balcony, a fabulous piece of architecture, that has been the protagonist of love stories through centuries.

So, let’s ask ourselves that “What if?”.

Valentina
www.valentinadesigns.com

This article was also published on:
L’Italo-Americano Weekly Newspaper and Italian American Heritage Foundation paper.

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Valentina Cirasola is an interior and fashion designer, in business since 1990 helping people with design challenges in both Europe and USA. She helps people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors, restaurants and more. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Sweet Dreams | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Jun 2010 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BedroomInteriors, #BedroomStyle, #DecoratingBedroom, #HomeFashion, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, Colors

Boy, did I sleep through the month of May, or was I having too much fun celebrating May, the national month of sleep? I wished that was the case. Actually, I was very busy with presentations and planning people’s home to build in the next few months, that I forgot to write this piece of information on time.

(https://omf.net.au/Products/Detail/2079)

Sleep is not static, movement is a natural part of sleep.
“When we are upright, our lower back and neck have a natural curve held in place by our postural muscles. In sleep, these muscles relax and we must depend on our mattress for support” , says Dr. Eric Grigsby, nationally recognized pain management physician.
European companies have been very attentive to inadequate sleep and to address the issues of back pain and discomfort during the night. They have developed bed systems with a unique blend of ortho-engineering and mattresses that will help resolving problems of sleepless nights. There is one particular bed Dux Bed that comes to my mind. It is made of thousands of springs contouring the body to help the spine rest in a natural position. The bed works while the muscles take a break. Swedish steel springs provide better contouring for the body, reducing pressure points which can help improve circulation.

(Photo above http://neurostis.com/dux-bed)

A mattress should do a few, but very important things:
It should suit the individual instead of one-size-fits-all.
It should provide an excellent support no matter how soft or firm the mattress is.
It should be comfortable and resilient for its entire life.
It should be motionless, not full of bounce and its components should not have sag formations.
A mattress intended for a couple should be tailored with a dual-adjusted mechanism for lumbar support and personal comfort zones.
Let’s not forget the feature of lower humidity and comfortable sleeping temperatures.

Aside from the bed technology, we should think of getting relief from the comfort of bedding and environment as part of your sleeping treatment.
Italian linens are renowned for beauty, lusciousness and how their delicate textiles treat our skin. Most Italian linens are made of a blend of cotton and linen.
Cotton being a breathable fabric is used in the interior face to touch the skin and all the other fibers including silk are used on the exterior faces for beauty. The good cotton is not about thread count, but about the quality of the longer fibers used in the weaving process.
Linen yarn has a fresh feel, a silky shine and high resistance. Linen can absorb water up to 20% of its weight without the body feeling any humidity, thus it is most appropriate in warmer climate.

(Frette bedding)

Frette is one of the Italian brand that comes to mind for its superior linens, bedding and elegant sleep wear. As I always say: “If you can’t roll in bed with an Italian lover, you can at least roll in Italian sheets”. When it comes to personal comfort, soul nourishment and health, quality matters.

I am here to help with any challenges you might have with your sleep, or your sleeping environment.

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you. Ciao.
Valentina
Interior Designer since 1990.

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, in her career has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.
Check her books available on
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House As A Reflected Image Of Yourself | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

17 May 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #FurnitureDesign, #Interior, Avaliving, Fashion, Home Fashion, Style

Have you ever asked yourself why some homes designed by architect or designers look so much like showrooms, instead of reflecting the personality of the people living in the home? And why after having spent a boatload of money in the remodeling, the inhabitants of the house might not feel totally comfortable?

Designing a home is the same as having a custom dress designed for our body. A fashion designer or tailor will take in consideration the physical structure of the client, his/her beauty, the color of hair, eyes, and skin; will consider the personality of the client, his/her body language, texture, and proportions. It is just the same when designing a home. A designer should take into consideration all the characteristics of the client’s body. Therefore, that affirmation designers often know how to satisfy their client’s needs, it will never be true, unless a careful study of the client’s body has been made.

(Anne-Marie Gräfin Stadion by anonymous (18th c.)

Let’s see why a house should be the reflected image of yourself?
A man with a rectangular shape, tall and slim, will feel comfortable in a house with high ceilings, doors, and windows proportionally tall and rectangular furnishing with little or no curves.
A woman with a curvilinear body and a small waist will gravitate her choice of lamps and accessories around diagonal lines or A-Lines and her choice of furniture, door handles and architectural details most likely will have a few curves.
A person with an extroverted personality who makes easy friendship will feel comfortable among vivacious colors.
A person with an authoritative job will prefer the “shaded” colors, colors non-better defined, one of them being the “greige” which is the combination of gray with beige. The shaded colors are also described as calming colors.

Any space of the house designed on the occupant’s personal need should take in consideration the height of chairs, counters, dimensions of bathtubs and relate them to the person’s height to assure an easier usage and functionality. I would never decorate a home with oversized furniture if a petite, small person lives there and vice versa.

If we want to take the concept of personalizing a home a step further, walls, upholstered furniture, flooring should also be selected in relation of the color of eyes, hair and skin texture of the persons living in the house.

In a personalized home, a “private corner” for each person should be planned. It is not true that open spaces are always that good. At times we want to be alone with ourselves and it doesn’t mean we love the people in the house any less. The private moment once a day is necessary and the “appointment with ourselves” cannot be happening where there are open space and a lot of activities going on.

(Photo below: Henri Matisse – Woman seated in an armchair)

Gentry Design magazine, a prominent publication in California for designers and creative people featured me again this month.
The kitchen in the picture below is the reflection of my client’s personality and an example of how successfully I have interpreted their body’s proportions in relation to their space. The house they bought was built in the late ‘70s, but the client is a young couple. I had to modernize the house with many contemporary amenities, appliances, and electronics. They are minimalist, love neutral colors and love to meditate. They are tall and slender, the reason why I decided to leave the space open and free of kitchen top cabinets. Their height, the tall ceilings, and tall top cabinets would have looked like a bunch of soldiers lined up. It explains why the kitchen and surrounding areas are all painted in a light golden cream, furniture has been lightly antiqued and there aren’t many dust collectors lying around, only the necessary accessories. Lighting fixtures are also slender and rectangular, placed all in strategic locations to help them in their activities. Simplicity has been the key to this décor, as the couple loves to wear designer clothes with simple, but elegant lines, no frills.

I would like to conclude that we should strive to produce a personalized home, where each space and décor reflects who we are and not exclusively the fashion and trends of the moment. Houses photographed in design magazines are beautiful, well made, some are very intelligent, but they are not ”our homes”. If we copy them, or worse, if we take bits and pieces and transfer those ideas into our spaces, they might not fit the dimension of our body and might not agree with our soul, as all the dresses parading on a fashion runway don’t always end up covering our bodies.

Please forward this article to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Thank you. Ciao,
Valentina
Interior Designer since 1990
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior & Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She marries well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles. Get your copy of one of her books on
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Ciao Mamma | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

09 May 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #1940VogueMagazine, #EuropeanFashion, #InteriorDesign, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianStyle, Fashion

The Mother – a Queen of every household. My mom sure was The Queen and a lot more! She was our friend and confidant, the angel of our home. Today, I think she was named Angela not by mistake, I think there is a correlation between her name and who she was in her life. Her blond hair was like a golden aura around her face, her blue eyes were so transparent, one could see inside of her soul. Some of her friends thought her eyes reflected the bluish-green water of Adriatic sea in Italy, where we lived.

She was a simple person with a big heart and strong believes. She had empathy and was always ready to help others.
In her early life as a young lady, she was forced into learning to sew, but she would have preferred to go to school to become a psychologist. She was into people, could understand their problems and always gave her helping hand to resolve some rough situations people could not resolve on their own.

“Put a passion in everything you do and make the best of what you have” she kept telling us. This is what she did when she was forced in that trade, but after a while, she became such an expert in the field of sewing that she turned it into a lifetime business. And boy she was good! Her dress designs were in a high demand. She produced only exclusive, one of kind garment for the élite clientele.

(Above Simplicity magazine)

She found her inspiration in magazines like Mademoiselle and Simplicity and made those patterns much better. “Simplicity is the key of elegance” she kept saying. I learned that so well, that I made it the motto of my life. Actually, to that, I added mine: “When life is simple and easy, God answers”.

WWII was a time of scarcity, but for my mom was a time of increased creativity.
She made original dresses out of scrap fabrics. I remember her telling me stories of improvisation and studying better ways to get the most of everything, food, clothing and all the necessary elements of living.

During the war-time, she was photographed many times in one blue-white polka dots dress, which was turned over many times around. One time she had added white-collar and white cuffs, the next time she took off the white details and added red buttons and a red belt. “Make the best of what’s available to you”.

My mom was good at creating fashionable hats also with scraps of materials. Hats of the ’40s were so elegant and feminine.

She faced a lot of adversities in life that made her a tough human being, but she never complained. She thought that out of every adversity there is always something good to learn and found the way to turn any negative experience into a positive one. I am so grateful for this precious teaching.
Her love for life was exceptional.

In the early part of my career, I became a fashion designer, even though she kept repeating: “The needle is very small but very heavy. Go to school and learn a profession instead”. I could not help being attracted by her amazing creations. With a few elegant movements and a few folding and draping of fabrics onto mannequins, she would make any piece of cloth come alive into a beautiful dress. I must thank her for my love of colors, fabrics, and fashion, all the things I took from her and made a successful career for myself. I must thank her for the well-decorated home we lived in, simple and functional, but full of people who brought us much love. Simplicity is the rule I live by. I must thank her for showing me what really matters the most in life and for teaching how any hardship can be turned into a positive experience.

Today, in my career of interior designer, I do well just because my mom taught me how to be into people, how to listen to their problems and how to resolve them. After 20 years of serving a variegated group of people, I am still having a load of fun.
Long live mamma in our hearts and in the hearts of all the people you touched.
Valentina
Interior Designer
in business since 1990 and loving it!

Fashion Services
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Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over 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

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