Home Designs Master | Valentina Expressions

Train Ride

02 May 2026 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ErgonomicChairs, #Physical Allignment, #TrainTravel, #Travel, #Wellness

Travelling by train through mountains, valleys, forests and rivers is an exciting opportunity to enjoy the panorama of foreign countries and to meet new people. Some travellers get the computer out of their bag and stare at a screen for hours until the arrival, not me. I try to make eye contact with people, and if they seem friendly, I strike up a conversation. Sometimes it is just small talk and nothing else. I love it when I meet someone who will tell me the story of his/her life in just thirty minutes and suddenly becomes a new friend. Usually, women are more talkative and inclined to do that.

A few days ago, during my long train ride from Vienna to Verona, a friendly woman was sitting near me. We started to talk about the fable-like views of small alpine towns. The views were incredibly evocative and the snow was still there in some high areas.
Soon, I noticed she was not sitting in a relaxed way, as someone enjoying a train ride would be. She changed position in her seat often as if she was sitting on needles. Her sciatic nerve had flared up a few days before, she told me, just when she started her trip. That burning, pulling and needle sensation was too familiar to me.

Photo: Nir-Himi-unsplash

After a few decades spent perched on the drawing table, drawing houses and interiors, and after countless hours spent on computer work, I have suffered from lumbar fascia irritation myself, so I understand how painful and crippling it can be. I have studied this matter for so long and deeply, I have tried many solutions and resourceful remedies, so today I can give sage advice, but without the presumption of being a doctor.

I talked about identifying the sciatica type: is it disc-related, is it muscle compression, or is it spinal narrowing? I talked about how to reduce inflammation with the right supplements. Bottom line, no vitamin cures sciatic inflammation and the ageing cells, or so-called “zombie cells” as the lady called them. The most helpful approach usually combines:
Physical therapy/movement;
Anti-inflammatory supplements to regenerate the nerve;
Proper diagnosis of the underlying cause.

Since I developed this problem five years ago, I never took medications; I have been able to keep the lumbar fascia that causes sciatic pain in control. Chiropractic care three to four times a year, a lot of movement, walking, gentle stretches and learning about postures are all the things I do to keep the fascia in check.

The part most people overlook is the workplace setup, where we spend most of our day and where wellness needs to meet aesthetics. Being in the design world, I think of workspace as a designed ecosystem where posture, movement, and visual harmony all guide us into better habits. The goal isn’t ergonomic perfection—it’s effortless alignment.

The first element is the Chair as a foundation of elegance and support (not too plush). The chair for the lumbar fascia issues must slightly tilt the pelvis forward, keeping the hips just a touch higher than the knees and must not be bulky. A foot rest to shift leg position. Use linen, wool, and cotton in the workplace décor. Think European salon meets modern atelier, not office supply store.
The body responds to what it touches and unconsciously releases the tension.

The second important element is a Desk that encourages natural posture. A sit-stand desk is ideal, as the elbow needs to be at 90º when typing.

The third element is the Light, the invisible healer.
Warm, indirect lighting reduces muscle tension. The overhead harsh light is never a good idea in any room. A table lamp with a soft glow creates a more relaxed nervous system, which directly affects pain perception.

Give yourself a posture cue: place a Mirror thoughtfully to bring awareness. Mirrors always speak the truth.

Design movement into the working space, instead of forcing exercise. Create an “Anti-Sciatica Flow Zone” corner, meaning add a soft rug large enough for 2-3 stretches, candles and botanical scents to make it inviting and to calm the nervous system. This is creating a refined, restorative work area, or studio, where sitting doesn’t feel like a bed of needles, the body is supported and movement feels natural.

Verona on the River Adige

We reached the destination: Verona, Italy. We had a long talk, lunched together, and we got to know each other on various levels. We went in different directions. Verona is promising and I have many places to see. Who knows if our paths will cross again? If it will, we were meant to remain friends. Ciao.
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, certified color analyst-therapist, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. Her books offer non-fictional, practical ideas. These ideas can be applied in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Mirror Energy

20 Dec 2025 5 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeInteriors, #LifeStyle, #MirrorDecor, #MirrorEnergy, #MirrorPlacement

December is the month to decorate for the holidays and to prepare our homes for guests visiting during the holidays. Most of the furniture stores I used to visit to get pieces for my clients have closed. This is the case at least in my area. The few that have survived are not even worth visiting. I often see people in charity shops, looking for bargains or unique items.

I like things of the past. They have a style and flair that modern items don’t have. I became a frequent visitor to second-hand stores, where I often find unusual items. Mirrors have caught my attention. Their reflection, if strategically placed, can be interesting and change the perspective on things. But, used mirrors and used clothes still carry the former owner’s good or bad energy.

A good cleansing at the dry cleaner and your used clothes will have a fresh energy. As for the second-hand mirrors, burn a white sage near them. Move the sage around the mirrors to clean them.

The first mercury mirror was invented in 16th-century Venice, Italy. This innovation provided a true, clear reflection as we see it today.

Before the invention of a modern mirror, it was a common belief that mirrors were the door to the underworld. It was the way to talk to the Gods, read the future and communicate with the dead. Oxidian was a black stone that, after it was polished, became highly reflective. The people of the Anatolia plateau, in what is now modern Turkey, used it not to see their reflection. Instead, they talked to the dead through it.

The Egyptians polished copper to create a reflective surface, but the reflection was distorted and never true to reality.

The reflection of a mirror is important to the well-being of the home and to your personal well-being. You want to show beautiful corners that will double the beauty when reflected in the mirror. Never show the untidiness and the uncleanliness. There are many rules about the position of mirrors that I observe religiously. For instance, never place a mirror across the bed. If you are sick in bed, your reflection of being sick will double. This will prolong your perception of being sick and will retard the healing process.

I hope you have a great holiday season. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2025 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant. She recently certified as a colour analyst/therapist. She is also an author of 6 published books, a storyteller and a longtime blogger. Her books offer non-fictional, practical ideas. These ideas can be applied in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Certainly Not A Languid Summer

18 Aug 2025 10 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Artwork, #GardenDesign, #PaintedCanvas, #PaintedFurniture, #StrikingPaintingWalls, Life

Summer is winding down. Days are getting shorter. For some reason, my work always seems to get heavier in the summertime. It has been said that Summer is the season that gives us permission to be lazy, not in my case. Clients who want to remodel a home or part of it always start the job in the Summer. They aim to complete the job before the end of the season and before the Fall holidays begin.

I was thinking of all i created during my last trip in the Spring. I made new friends, visited new cities and organized new speaking engagements in Europe, making the trip so much fun. I travel off-season, and I really love being on vacation when the rest of the world is at work. The lines to visit Museums are not long, restaurants are not full and life flows as it should. I get all the attention from service people just as I give attention to my clients in the Summer. While I was engaging in my occupational activities, I found time to paint a striped wall in my living room. The wall is long and tall. It has a high roof pitch on one side. It required the use of a tall ladder. I painted it all freehand while hanging on a ladder most of the time.

The stripes are burgundy and metallic gold. In the photo, staring at the wall, I look as if I am questioning myself: “What have I done?” Although I had never done anything so bold, I was more curious than scared. Paint is paint, easy to redo if the result is not quite the desired one. After I returned the paintings to the wall and the furniture against it, I was pleased more than ever. The gold stripes brought rhythm and light to the wall, and the room now has posh vibes.

After that experience, I moved to paint a boring brown coffee table and changed it into a leopard print. It has a gold metallic base as well. The purple sofa where this coffee table sits looks lively. Metallic gold is a recurrent feature in my home.

Did I stop here? Absolutely not. After a long time, I am painting again. So far, I have completed six canvases. The theme is fantasy flowers painted from my photographs taken in various places. The plan is to paint a series of six landscapes next.

In the meantime, the work in my garden is completed. I made a great improvement to an area between fruit trees that was no longer satisfying me. My gardener, who is not a landscape designer, followed my ideas to the letter. The project brought him satisfaction as it was evolving in front of his eyes. At the end of the work, he told me something surprising. He said he had learned a lot from me over the years. Often, he doubted his skills to build gardens the way I wanted. Still, he did it. I am happy to pass the torch of my knowledge. It pleases me to help a young person who didn’t have the chance to study. Now, he can offer those design ideas to other clients and not just planting or cutting weeds. The bistrot patio is the name I gave to this new area.

I thought by now I knew everything about colors. Then, the opportunity came to study a few courses with a Brazilian color master. I took the chance and I certified as a color therapist and color analyst.
In September, I will be in new courses.

I lived this Summer with intention, energy, and creative flow rather than drifting passively through long, idle days. I will have time to spend languid Summers when I pass to another dimension. Now, I only have time for exploration, vitality and purposeful joy. Ciao.
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2025 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant. She is also a color therapist, color analyst and author of 6 published books. Additionally, she is a longtime blogger and a storyteller. Her books offer non-fictional, practical ideas. These ideas can be applied in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

Exploring the Beauty of Liberty Style

06 Mar 2025 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ArtDecoStyle, #ArtNouveau, #GoldenAge, #LibertyStyle, #Roaring1920s, Home-Decor, Interior Design

Modern or antique buildings? Historical, patrician or utilitarian buildings? This is my dilemma when faced with so many styles of buildings. I must say, however, that one of the styles I can immediately eliminate is the wildly modern one, squared, with sharp angles, without any particular interesting lines and a lot of glass walls.

It seems to me that in large cities, the beautiful buildings erected in times gone by have remained to be admired and be part of the historical landscape, but in the suburbs, I have the impression that architects tend much more towards the modern style. Buildings of Art Déco, Art Nouveau and Liberty style today decorate many downtown areas of American cities as a testimony of a grand past, still at the same time, modern buildings stand side by side asking for the same attention.

(Click on each photo to see it larger)

Villa Scott by Pietro Fenoglio – Author Emanuela Meme Giudici – Wikimedia – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

During the last ten years of the 1800s, a beautiful, floral, flowing style that focused on nature’s elements took place. It was Art Nouveau created in Bruxelles by a group of painters, designers and architects who adopted this style for homes, furniture, lamps and even fashion. It soon spread to Paris during the “La Belle Époque” era and across the ocean. In Italy, it was called the Liberty style and in America, it was known as the Tiffany style.

Floral Chair Liberty Style

Art Déco followed soon after and stayed until 1930. It represented the freedom of the industrial age, an era of progress and prosperity. Art Déco used metals, glass and geometric designs in all aspects of life to express a new modernity.

Liberty style fits my character and my upbringing. As a lover of nature and Baroque architecture, I would have loved to live and be surrounded by Liberty-style designs. In Italy, Baroque motifs distinguish this style with curves and free-flowing elements from nature.

If I had to decorate a villa in the Liberty style, wood, marble, glass and wrought iron would not be missed. Mirrors with floral designs on gold frames, table lamps, large chandeliers and wallpaper with exaggerated nature designs would be all the attractions.

Furniture would have abundant curves; sofas and upholstered chairs would be made with rich colored velvets and sturdy leathers.

ShellChair — Shell Chair by Estudio Bola

The floors would alternate with fine herringbone warm-tone woods and decorated ceramics so that the beauty of each material would mark the passage from one room to another.

Herringbone Hardwood Floor

To remake a home in a Liberty style would be a nice achievement. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2025 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, color therapist, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Creative Bar Cart Ideas for Young Homeowners

11 Feb 2025 9 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeBarCart, #VintageandModernFurniture, #VintageBarCart, #VintageFurniture, cocktails, drinks

Have you seen a bar cart in the homes of younger generations lately? I am talking about the kind of metal cart on wheels with glass shelves that a few years ago was sitting in the living room holding bottles of hard liquor and fancy drinking glasses. In affluent homes, the leather world globe on an expensive wood stand was a refined touch for hiding bottles and glasses in a study or reading room.

Today, drinking habits have changed. People gravitate towards mixed cocktails, fine wines, European sparkling wines and artisanal crafted beers made in small local brewing establishments. This change of taste also changed furniture décor arrangements for drinking and storing glasses and bar accessories. Younger generations prefer a clean, linear style instead of frills that take up space.

(Click on the photos to view them larger)

On this note, I will tell you what I designed for one of my young couple clients’ remodelling projects.
I found a well-seasoned wood travel trunk from a different era, that had been turned not only into a large coffee table but, when necessary, became a table for casual eating on the floor sitting on cushions.
The previous owner added a few convenient pull-out leaves to the trunk for extra working/serving space and divided the interior into various compartments to hide alcohol bottles, glasses and bar accessories. It had been changed into an extremely useful object with a thousand uses and even a somewhat sophisticated object. When closed it became an attractive trunk, a piece of history gone by, that paired well with the cream colour modern bookcase unit I designed and a warm interior.
I was fortunate to have found it and the client was happy.

Whether you live in a modern or traditional home décor, you can find many solutions in the least expected places that can be adapted to your taste and style. In antiques and charity shops, or ethnic and bazaar shops, you will see a world of beauty that often is not even considered in modern furniture stores.

I am a collector of cordial glasses from different eras. I keep a ceramic elevation in plain view with some of my glasses which I rotate often for my personal pleasure.

Your home is an expression of your personality and an extension of your soul, stroke it often and make it feel good. Beauty makes life enjoyable. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2025 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Christmas Atmospheres

09 Dec 2024 9 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasCelebration, #ChristmasColors, #ChristmasColorScheme, #ChristmasDecorating, #VictorianCollectableHomes

Every year, I lay out my 1800s village, made of collectable handpainted Victorian houses with no Christmas tree. Very few other items decorate my home, I keep it simple and easy. Although I like to see Christmas colours and decorations in the streets and stores as they mark the change of season and the great excitement for savage shopping, to me, this season is spiritual as it marks the arrival of the new light on earth and in my home. I approach the new year and my personal goals with a renewed spirit.

(Click on the photos to view them larger)

“December is a tangle of Emotions…
You hate it a little and you love it a little.
It carries sumptuously laid-out tables and empty chairs.
Hugs that you live and others that you remember.
December is like this.
For the sensitive, it is like this.
(Translated from Italian – Angelo De Pascalis ~ Italian Author)

«Dicembre è un groviglio di Emozioni…
Un po’ lo odi e un po’ lo ami.
Ha dentro tavole imbandite e sedie vuote.
Abbracci che vivie altri che conservi.
Dicembre è così.
Per i sensibili è così.»
(Original in Italian -Angelo De Pascalis ~ Italian Author)

Decorations I made through the years.

Something I make new.

Whimsical findings that I make into flower arrangements.

Murano Glass Trees, a memory of Venice.

Whatever this holiday season means to all of you, I wish you splendid festivities and a great passage into the New Year. Ciao,
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Reorganizing Is An Art

23 May 2024 5 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Declutter, #FengShui, #GeomanticTheory, #HomeEnergy, #ReorganizingRooms, decluttering, home, minimalism, organization

I was pondering on the energy fields in homes and how objects and rooms are linked to our body organs. It sounds peculiar to think our organs have anything to do with rooms in the home, does it? Think about the theory of Feng Shui. The ancient Chinese Taoist geomantic discipline studies how to arrange spaces and objects within our homes to significantly influence our lives. According to this discipline, the position of objects, decorating homes in a certain way, or even building homes facing certain directions are all based on the Earth’s energy, astronomical alignments, sacred geometry and numerology to bring harmony into our living.
In the Western world, undoubtedly the living room is the most lived-in, or the central part of the house. It relates to the stomach which is the centre of our body and therefore relates to life’s changes. In various cultures, the living room might not exist as we intend it in the Western world, perhaps the kitchen is the central part of the home and it works just the same in relation to our stomach.

We all have abundant superfluous stuff that overwhelms us. Reorganizing a room or even the entire home could be a daunting task, I know, I went through that experience with a few clients. The best way to start is to tackle the room that creates anxiety and mental confusion. If the house is cluttered it’s also not clean and family discords often stem from an unkept home.

White sage – Photo: Karly Jones – Unsplash

Begin reorganizing by giving a spiritual cleanse with burning white sage that purifies the room. By doing this practice, every object will take on a new energy. Stay focused, and don’t start with time-consuming objects that will take you down memory lane, like photos, you will end up losing the main objective which is to tidy things up. Reorganizing photos will bring nostalgia, you will look at how fashion was, the hairstyle of a certain year, you will see yourself younger and all that happened in your life that has gone by. The items to be organized, books, clothes, music, papers and so on, represent your past and present, they often hide your desires or needs. Remember why you bought certain objects, do you think you will need them again? The phrase “I might need it again” creates a dependence on a specific object. It happens to women who want to lose weight and keep their wardrobe full of clothes that no longer fit in the hope those extra pounds will go away. You must be convinced a change will occur for real and that you will not return to the same clutter, then you create a future.

Between 1920s and 1930s Baron Gustav Freiherr von Pohl, after extensive research on his studies in the geopathic stress, found links between negative earth energies and diseases. He understood there was a correlation between the position of beds of people who died of cancer and the ‘black streams’ under their homes (decaying matter, burial ground, dirty river or canal, radiation, coal mines, electric power stations, microwave towers, and much more).

My analogy about each room in a home being related to each organ in our body is not one of my creative fantasies. Scholars, researchers, scientists, Feng Sui practitioners, spiritual coaches, numerologists and so many people have found the same connection between home and body.

The bathroom, for example, is a place for relaxation and personal care. It links to our digestive discarding track and how good we feel when the body’s functions are carried out successfully. The bathroom is certainly a room of Water (one of the elements of Feng Shui), which is why objects that recall the element of Fire must be avoided, such as red towels, red objects and red walls. According to Feng Shui, the bathroom must never be adjacent to the kitchen and main entry. To avoid contamination of energies, the head of the bed must not be placed against the wall communicating with the bathroom. These are some examples of how geomantic stress, body organs and rooms of the house are all related.

The message I want to give here is to think of your home as your body. As you nurture, clean and take care of your body and organs, it is important, just as much, to take care of your home, room by room. Ciao,
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Glowing With Salt Lamps

14 Apr 2024 11 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HolisticHealth, #HowToCleanSaltLamp, #SaltLamp, #SaltLampBenefit, home, Interior Design, lamps, mental-health, wellness

Our home is our cocoon, inside of which the work problems vanish behind the door and where we create a soothing atmosphere that will allow us to relax. One element that will help to create that atmosphere is the salt lamp, it glows pleasantly and diffuses a warm light in any room we place it.

I have a few salt lamps scattered in my home and each one contributes to making each room clean, healthy and nicely decorated.

There are a few things we need to keep in consideration about the salt lamps:
how they function and the benefits that will give us.

Some salt lamps have a great theatrical look due to the change of colours; they might range from yellow to pink, red, blue and even purple. Those colourful types have an LED bulb inside that makes all the phantasmagoric colours but doesn’t do anything for us other than having a deceptive appearance as a dream created by our imagination.

The typical bulb we must use is the classic incandescent small Christmas light that once inserted in the salt vessel will diffuse the amber colour we love so much and will give chromotherapeutic benefits as well.

The most important benefits we can draw from salt lamps come from the ions the salt emits. Salt is a crystal, the negative ions are emitted only if an incandescent bulb warms up the salt. The negative ions are then dispersed in the room to provide well-being and harmony, reduce anxieties, alleviate stress, clean the heavy air, fight bacteria and viruses.

One way to know if the room holds too much humidity is to place a salt lamp in a room and watch the lamp sweat. If it does, you have the proof that the room is humid. In this case, it is time to open all windows and refresh the air. The salt lamp is not a dehumidifier, it will only tell us if the air we breathe is humid. Placing the lamp turned off for a couple of hours outdoors is the way to prevent the lamp from sweating and outdoors it will purify itself from what it has absorbed in the house including negative energy.

I am learning about holistic health and natural remedies from an Italian alchemist who has a page on Facebook called “La Terra Delle Streghe”. I find his teaching stimulating and I am “enchanted” with a new world of information that is opening to me. This is an extract from one of his videos spoken in Italian. Ciao,
Valentina

Incense Moments

04 Apr 2024 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Alchemy, #Incense, #IncensePower, #IncensePurificaton, #IncenseVibrations, #NaturalIncense, meditation, prayer, tabernacle, worship

Let’s talk about the incense, that nice fragrance most of us like to turn on for meditating, praying and especially at the end of the day to create an ambience for a relaxation moment.

Incense has been used since the dawn of time. The three Kings travelled a long way to bring baby Jesus the gift of gold, incense and myrr. In the Catholic and Orthodox Churches incense is burned during the Mass. In Buddhist Temples, the followers burn incense every time they visit their deity.

Other than having a nice scent in the room, incense has a beneficial effect on the human being, its vibrations work on the body and spirit. However, the sceptics will argue that all incense is bad and toxic for our health. This is only partially true. The low-priced incense made of chemical material is dangerous to breathe and can cause harm to our health.

The incense we want to consider for our living and working environment is made with natural products, such as essential oils, tree bark, dried herbs, lavender and various plants, these are not harmful to humans or pets.
Each incense has its function. If we want to clean the air, a burned white or blue salvia is a perfect anti-bacterial and it is used to purify a house from low energy vibrations, those vibrations that make us feel uneasy and weighted down. Artemisia or Copal work the same way. Copal is a powerful incense for meditation as it is linked with the crown chakra and encourages pure thoughts during meditation.

I purchased incense to purify the chakras, one colour a day to go with the colour of each chakra.
I learned about incense from an alchemist I listen to every day who opened up a new world for me. Ciao.
Valentina

Persimmon

24 Feb 2024 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2024 Colors, #Art, #Decorating with Persimmon, #InteriorDesign, #Persimmon Color

Aahh, Persimmon, nature’s sweet and delicious dessert! The soft kind that I can eat with a spoon for me it’s the best.
The predicted colours for 2024 are earthy and nature-inspired tones, Persimmon is one of them.

Persimmon colour is less strong and less attention-grabbing than orange, although it is part of warm colours, it is calmer and more relaxing than orange. It’s often used to celebrate transformation like the New Year in Hawaiian and Japanese cultures. On holidays and Christmas tables in Italy, persimmons are always present, it has been said to bring good luck and longevity.

Persimmon fruit ripens in the Fall, however, the energy of this colour, ranging from yellow to light orange, can be used to brighten any room in Winter and Spring as well.

You might want to pair a Persimmon colour with a Blue Nova recamier for a classic look or with a leather chair for a modern look. BTW, I love the shell chair almost Persimmon colour.

It seems most people would tone down Persimmon’s colour with neutral colours. My photos of the hanging persimmons above are very eloquent. Nature gives the inspiration with green leaves, brown stems and yellow blooms. Adding a light grey wall, a beige carpet or some light yellow pillows are all great combinations to complete the picture for a vibrant and balanced environment. Sometimes to look at a photo and study the details is enough to find inspiration. Ciao.