Home Designs Master | Valentina Expressions

Art Of Puglia: Taming A Stone | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Oct 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #LecceStone, #LecceStoneSculptures, #PietraLecce, #PugliaArtsandCraft, #RenzoButtazzo, #RenzoButtazzoSculptor

“It is warm to the touch and feels like a skin of a woman” says Renzo Buttazzo, Italian sculptor of a particular stone found only in Lecce, in the deep region of Puglia, South-East of Italy. I had the opportunity to interview him and a world of beauty opened up to me.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Above: Renzo Buttazzo – Italian sculptor)

Renzo Buttazzo calls the stone an “unstable precariousness”. Inspired by the simplicity of walls in the Puglia countryside, which were built only with stones stacked one on top of the other without mortar, Renzo designed a piece of stone furniture the same way. Each piece of stone he carved, hovers over the other, he stacked them like the walls in the country securely standing for centuries under all-weather conditions. The design style he chose refers to the square shapes of ‘70s.

(Above: “Yang” Stone Furniture)

Renzo Buttazzo started carving Lecce Stone at age 19 when the path he wanted to follow was clear to him. He wanted to create something “spectacular” with his hands. Experiment after experiment, he changed the way of carving a stone. Renzo empties out the block of Lecce Stone and creates from the inside out. He doesn’t use the traditional method of carving and shaping a block of stone into a figure or an object, as it has been done with marble and granite for so long. Lecce Stone, Renzo explained, is a soft limestone, as ancient as 4 million years, yellowish in color, warm to the touch and contains fossils, water and sand, basically the memory of past lives that have touched it.

(Above: “Aurea” Table)

He went on to say that the stone produces natural and magical games of light. He was the first to create stone lamps that, in his imagination, were not necessary to turn on. The texture and fenestration he creates in the stone lamps receive the sunlight at various times of the day, making beautiful fluid shapes on walls and surfaces, enough to free the viewer’s imagination. In the morning, the lamps are sculptures and in the evening they become lamps.

(Above: “Dormienti – Vulca” Light Installation)

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(Above: “Meltemi” Lamp)

His way of carving the stone inside out was so innovative to get the media interested in his work and at only age 38, the President of the Italian Republic nominated Renzo Buttazzo:
“Cavalier of the Republic” for artistic merits, a rare award to receive in Italy.

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(Above: “Maui” Floor Lamp)

The nature of Puglia, his native region, where he lives and creates, the shapes of the olive trees, the Karstic rocks of Puglia, coral reefs and the basin of the Adriatic Sea, are all the elements contributing to his inspiration. Touching his sculptures, which is something Renzo encourages to do, will give the visitors the right sensation of the stone’s fluidity, warmth and sensual shapes he attributes to the stone.

(Above and below: “Merlera” Sculpted Wall)

The sculptor loves to empty out the stone with ancient chisels to make it as light as possible, thus no one piece he crafted is equal to the other. In fact, when he receives an order of a large number of wall sconces, or lamps for the same interior, each piece looks different. The attention to detail he puts in his work makes every piece original and highly appreciated.

(Above: “Ovo” Bath Tub)

Due to its versatility, Lecce stone is used for interior applications, usually left in its row state, as it keeps the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The formation of a slight layer of mould protects the stone under any weather condition when used for exterior applications. From the steppe to the desert, Renzo produced exterior decorations for a church in Russia, buildings in Canada and in Dubai. He produces sculptures, lamps, wall sconces, and even stone furniture for famous resorts and hotels around the world.
He loves to talk about his stone lounge chairs for swimming pools, the “Mareposa chaise longue”. At the end of the summer, when people and noises are no longer there, the undulated chairs remain on the swimming pool as soft, silent sculptures of flying ribbons.

(Above: “Mareposa” Chaise Longue)

Renzo collaborates with various glass, wood and metal artists. The “Zeus” table created with metal legs, Lecce stone top and a crack made on purpose to be filled with liquid copper was a great hit at Milan Furniture Exhibition and sold immediately.

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(Above: “Zeus” Table)

Molten glass at the highest temperature mixed in with Lecce stone, burns the stone and creates unpredictable shapes. Once the glass cools, it separates from the stone and voila’ two objects tamed to the will of the artist are born with distinctive characters.

(Above: “Velata” Bowls)

Vulcanization is Renzo’s way of shaping volcanic black stone and incorporating it in the Lecce stone to create dark-light effects and original rhythms.

(Above: “Niura” Sculpture – Vulcanization)

I asked him about his future projects. He wants to fight globalization by returning to its origins. With the help of the European Community Renzo has plans to teach his art to youngsters, teach how to work all materials nature produces, teach them to appreciate the history of Italian craftsmanship and the value of creating objects by hand, making sure the posterity will keep the art alive. Creating a piece art also means knowing how to sell or place it in the right interior, with the right client that will appreciate it.
To his teaching he wants to add market studies, the philosophy of understanding world customers and their needs. The duty of an artist is to hand the past to the new generation to build their future.

(Above: “Vulca Casa” Lamp)

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(Above: “Reef” Vase)

(All works by Renzo Buttazzo – permission granted to use all the photos).

Renzo Buttazzo concluded our conversation by saying he creates for himself first to satisfy his needs. Customers take home his passion, his love and his emotions. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a designer in business since 1990. She is interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. She is always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces she designs. Colour is the focus of her business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colours they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured her work. She appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and her story continues. Find copies of her book on colours ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors and the rest of her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Layered | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

26 Sep 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CabinDecorating, #ChaletDecor, #ChaletDecorating, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/layered/, #HunterHouse, #LeatherFurniture, #MountainHouseDecor, #WordPressPhotChallengeLayered

Season is changing. Time for coziness, fireplace, hot cacao, and earthy food is coming. If I had a winter chalet in the mountain, I would decorate it just like this place with only small variations.
I would layer walls with images and objects of mountains and lakes, games and fish. The décor of the room would be layered with leather, plaid fabrics and Kilim rugs.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I would design a massive fireplace layered with stones and wrought irons.

My chairs would be very comfortable and spacious. I would want them made of rawhide, wood and heavy decorative nailheads.

All the interior floor would be rough distressed wood, layered with stenciled images of nature.

I would want an interior cascade ending in a pool where to relax with a colorful cocktail and a game room in the same area.

The entry door, of course, would be decorated with a heavy wood handles.

The exterior of the chalet would be layered with the suffuse light of lanterns and the ground would be layered with bright and cheerful beds of black-eyed Susan.

But this is not my chalet, it’s one of Bass stores and I fell in love the first time I visited it. I thought, If I will ever own a chalet, I would decorate it just like it, warm and cozy. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. Valentina is well-known for bringing originality on any project and for thinking outside the box. Her interiors are not made with cookie cutters, only follow client’s inspiration, lifestyle and personality. She offers on-line design consultations through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

It’s Called Playful Intricacy | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

10 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2018PantoneColors, #2018YellowSulphure, #HollyBerryGold, #PantonePlayfulIntricacy, #YellowSulphurLimeGreen

Everybody knows I love yellow in all the tints and tones. However yellow is not a well-liked color by many. This is one of the comment I hear often: “I feel jaundice in yellow”, or “For me, yellow has been the color of high-visibility rain jackets for construction, directing traffic…” My answer is: “don’t overlook the energy of yellow”. Yellow brings the sunlight in grey, rainy days, it’s inviting and uplifting when one is sad and slaps the depression away. Combining yellow and green, pushes out even more negative comments as: “I feel potted”. Ok, everyone has an excuse for not wearing this or that color. The problem I see is only one: once we settle for a comfortable color, we are not willing to experiment with other colors and often takes courage to go out of that comfort zone.

Next year 2018 Pantone, Institute of Colors, declared Playful and Intricacy two colors palettes of the year. They both contain yellow and gold tones, with the addition of green. Yellow and green have been around almost a decade in various combinations with other colors. I find similarity in Playful and Intricacy palettes, thus I am encouraged to use them together with my own twist. First, let’s see how I conceived one of my client’s dining and kitchen spaces using three colors, a sweet yellow pear, a beautiful jewel tone of berry and a light green-yellow. The kitchen cabinets in a blond type of wood and the walls painted in a green-yellow meet the berry color at the banquette seat under the window, which continues in the dining room, where I matched a sweet pear yellow. Then, the cove lighting in the dining room assured a warm ambience.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Dining-Mirror Wall – ©Valentina Interiors & Designs

Kitchen Banquette ©Valentina Interiors & Designs

Kitchen View ©Valentina Interiors & Designs

Let’s design a kitchen using each Pantone palettes. My inspiration came from my photograph taken in Napier Lane, in San Francisco. Yellow and Green look so nice in nature, one more reason to bring it in the house, or wear it.

Solution #1 – Playful Palette:
Make all the kitchen cabinets of maple wood with a toffee stain. Decorate the backsplash with glass corbeau tiles in a mix of yellow, green, gold and toffee colors. Turn on the under-cabinet lights and the glass tiles will add luminosity to the counter. Incorporate a green credenza close to one of the greens in my color concept. Paint all kitchen walls in yellow and accent one wall in the same green of the credenza. Make a playful breakfast counter with berry and green stools, coordinate with berry dome lights hanging from above to finish the counter picture. Mirrors, in the kitchen to me are important to double the image of food. Mix antique and modern golden frame mirrors, place them strategically to reflect interesting views of the kitchen and the tasty food you will prepare.

Sources:
CorbeauTiles-www.glasstileoasis.com
Green Credenza: Overstock
Berry dome hanging light: http://www.Houzz.com
Counter stools: JCPennies
Antique sunburst gold mirror: www.notonthehighstreet.com

Solution #2 – Intricacy Palette:
Make all the kitchen cabinets of maple wood with a berry stain. Decorate the backsplash with glass tiles with a metal and gold background. The under-cabinet lights shining on these glass tiles will make the backsplash look like jewelry. Incorporate a yellow Sulphur island. Paint all kitchen walls in yellow Sulphur. For the kitchen counter use golden metal stools, coordinate with extravagant lime green pendant lights to finish the counter picture. Arrange an intricate table setting with square and round plates, in all the colors of this palette, berry, yellow Sulphur, gold and green.

Sources:
Sulphur island: J.A.S.Design-Build-Houzz
Metal gold tile backsplash: http://www.hominter.com
Metal gold counter stool: Amazon
Green pendant lights: Creative Home Decoration
Yellow plates: emiliaceramics.com
Lime square plates: http://www.partywedding.com
Polka dots cup & saucer: http://www.royalalbertpatterns.com

Use golden flatware for both palettes. From: http://www.shophorne.com

My suggestion: yellow or green by themselves might be bright and discouraging colors, for some people even difficult to combine. Look at the opportunity to tame these two colors by doing something out of the ordinary and boost your creativity. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in interior and exterior, color analysis, 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 was seen on RAI – Italian National TV and has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Don’t Worry About The Small Room | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

31 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingSmallPlaces, #SmallSpaces, #SmallSpacesSolutions, #SmallSpacesStorage

Are you challenged by a small room in your house? Don’t be! Consider a small room as the jewel box you will create, think of the fun you will have decorating and planning a functional space.
Small rooms teach us how to stay organized and how to save money as well, because you will only buy the necessary items. In a small space every inch counts and every piece of furniture must have a double function for storage and living tasks. Before starting a decorating fun, it is important to assess the room. Take out of the room all the items, edit them heavily, donate, sell or throw away the items not needed anymore and start fresh. There is a great feeling of freedom in doing a complete de-cluttering. You will see the actual size of the small space for the functionality and purpose you want to assign to it. You will know how much storage and shelving are needed. Yes, even small rooms can have a multiple purpose.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Furniture – must have many functionalities and be adaptable to any situation. Choose seating that have storage, cabinets that hide a retractable table or shelves, compartmentalized drawers to have everything in plain view. Use decorative boxes, trunks, luggage or ottomans as side tables and coffee table that can be used as extra storage. Choose a sofa for the daytime that easily turns into a bed at night. European furniture makers are masters of small spaces, they have created an array of items for small European homes. Heavy and dark furniture make a small space seem even smaller. One way to trick the eyes is to incorporate glass items and furniture with legs instead of boxy furniture. Seeing open spaces under the furniture will improve the room look bigger, at least visually.

Small Trunk Side Table with Storage – Wayfair

Convertible Love Seat – AllModern

Side Table with Storage – Ballard

Storage Bench – Grandinroad

Lighting – Layer heavily. It doesn’t matter if recessed lights are already in place inside the ceiling. To create an ambience and a sculpting atmosphere, scatter around the room, tall and small lamps with different colors and styles. Don’t try to match.

Scale – Trick the eyes with large pattern wallpaper design, large artwork and large decorative items.

Color – Bold colors go well with large scale items, together will make the room look expensive and, no, dark or bold colors don’t make the room smaller, it’s a myth! Have fun painting horizontal stripes if you want a room to look longer, or vertical stripes if you want a visually taller room.

Mirrors – Will open the space, especially if they are placed across or near a window. The bigger the better and if they have details is even more playful, will add interest to the décor.

Natural Light – It’s always welcome, along with the sun energy. If privacy or the view outside are not an issue, don’t cover windows with curtains, let the outside in. The room will benefit from natural light and everything will look more luminous. Otherwise, hang curtains as high as possible, and from wall to wall, outside the window frame to give the window wall a larger appearance.

Hidden Storages – People tend to use the space under the bed to store shoes and seasonal items. A positive energy must flow freely in the room to impact positively your sleep or your quiet hours, if boxes occupy the space under the bed, that positive energy and natural flow of air circulation will be blocked. This is where saving money comes into play. Buy only the necessary clothes, shoes and accessories to keep at a minimum the need for storage. You will win the clutter!

Rules are made to be broken, allow your fantasy to go where it wants to go.
I am happy to help you anytime, online design consultations are available. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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

Let’s Fix This Room, Shall We? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

22 Aug 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorfulInteriors, #FurnitureCoordination, #LivingRoomColors, #LivingRoomDesign, #LivingRoomFurniture, #SpacePlanning

At times, my home projects with clients fly by at the speed of light without even knowing how they happened. Other times, they come to a halt due to vacation time, kids interrupting schedules, hectic daily life, disagreement between husband and wife or for no reason at all. This is one of those cases. We started this room somewhere around February of this year and here we are, in the middle of August, with an unfinished, unwelcoming room.

I had to wait for walls to be painted, electrical system to be completed and the floor to be restained. The floor now is an attractive distressed, warm greige and a very elegant floor, so different from the previous butcher block floor. After all of that necessary work was done, it was time to choose furniture and sometimes that process can take a long, long time, depending on how clients react to ideas, style and colors, or how fast they take decisions. The secret of making fast decisions when choosing furniture is about answering three questions:
Prices – can you afford it?
Colors – do you like it?
Sizes – does it fit?
However, for people is never so cut and dry as it is for someone like me, trained not to waste time.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Above: the unfinished room as it is now)

So far, we have a red sofa, a laguna color Coletta chair, a rustic credenza with metal profiles and a beige cuddle chair. These pieces look disjointed in the room, the element that will function as trait-d’union between all the colors is missing and the project is not moving forward. I had envisioned a colorful room, a space vibrating with interesting and whimsy elements.The room has been dull for so long and that would have been a good enough reason to fix it fast. Ouch, I must wait to see my vision realized and work at people’s pace. 🙃

Many times, I must deal with people’s fear of colors and their preconceived ideas that colors will tire them and the room. The result is a fight with their emotions.
How can anyone get tired of colors?
My role as your designer is to calm souls, emotions and to convince that colors can only help them get out of the boredom of vanilla living.

(Above: my proposed concept of furniture)

The room needs a punch with a golden-yellow element to pull the golden tones of the walls together with furniture (a yellow chair). I want to add warm wood elements to contrast the subdued distressed floors (side tables, floor lamp) and warm elegant metals to elevate the metal of the credenza (lamp metals, coffee table).

(Above: my proposed pillows)

To complete the picture, I would like to see colorful pillows in yellow, red, orange and bluish to blend everything, just like a tasty cocktail. How can anyone get tired of this moderately colored room?
If it looks good on paper, it will look good in the room. Shall we fix and finish this room? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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

Story Of A Designer: Belvedere | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Belvedere, #BelvedereArchitecturalFeature, #BelvedereClassicArchitecture, #BelvedereGardenTerrace, #BelvedereRoofTop, #HouseWithBelvedere

Summer time in Italy is for fun, eating and meeting with friends late in the evening to burn the night until the small hours. Music playing in the distance, that type of elegant night clubs music of saxophone and piano fills the air and encourages people to stay sit in comfy chairs, sipping expensive drinks, while soaking the freshness of the sea. The breeze of the Adriatic Sea enters the room to make us feel the salty aroma of the waves. White sheer curtains dance around in the soft and warm sirocco wind. Nothing matters in the night, other than enjoying the cool air, good company, interesting conversation and….romance.

(Click each photo to view it larger).

Leonida, aka Leo is with Enrico leaning on the belvedere, admiring a great deal of beauty. In front of them, the green-azure waters of the Adriatic Sea have turned dark blue in the night, the distinctive smell of salt still comes through pleasantly. The true azure color of the water is visible only in the pool of lights reflected in the water from the villa. From the belvedere, Leo and Enrico try to define the horizon, imagining Greece on the other side, as it might be possible to see it during clear days, but at night the horizon makes a confusing line, sky and water become one.

Belvedere derives from two Italian words, bel, which means “beautiful,” and vedere, which means “view.” Belvedere is the ideal term for an Italian house or villa with a view.
Leo and Enrico started a talk on architecture, slipping into a deep conversation of classicism and pure architecture, they shared a vision of a house they would build for their soul and nobody else.

Some people are dancing the night away, cheek to cheek, on the same marble tile 18″x18″, clinging to each other for hours. Is dancing on one tile still done these days? Apparently yes, romanticism is still alive and Italy is the right place to get romantic. Leo and Enrico are there, on the belvedere, without a care in the world. The image of their relationship is taking shape in those small hours of the night melting away in a new fresh dawn. They are fantasizing about running away to a Greek island and never to return. Architecture and design as the common denominators, romance as a foundation. Their eyes sparkle…….

Every reference to facts, people, and situations is purely random fantasy.

I designed a belvedere for a client in California born on an Italian island. He grew up seeing this kind of architectural structure, which takes advantage of a scenic view of his homeland. His house on the Italian island looks over the Mediterranean on one side and the Tyrrhenian Sea on the other side. Listening to the stories of his youth, I knew he wanted to replicate the belvedere in his California house. I was ecstatic I designed it for him, to entertain his friends and family at night under stars and to sit down for lunch under the umbrella, soaking the warm indirect sun rays of the daytime, sipping a Corinto, typical Sicilian white wine.

The belvedere is usually built on the upper part of a house. However, the actual structure might have a rooftop garden, or it might be made in the form of a turret, a cupola, or an open terrace. That’s exactly what I wanted to develop for my client in California, a rooftop garden terrace with a cozy Italian feeling, fountains, putti, chili peppers plants, tomato plants, and many colorful flowers. I added an exterior spiral staircase from the master bedroom, which conveniently would lead directly to the belvedere.

You might not know that in California every little thing that will be built, must go first to the approval of the city and then the neighbors. Well, the neighbors didn’t approve of being seen in their backyard from the top of another house and probably were afraid of noisy parties lasting all night. Sight!!!
C’est la vie! Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation, and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Color is the focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry, and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V., and nonetheless, my story continues. Find copies of my book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors and the rest of my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

My First Experience As A TV Producer | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

18 Jul 2017 5 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #KMVT15TVShow, #KMVT15ValentinaShows, #ValentinaCirasolaTVHost, #ValentinaDesignUniverse, #ValentinaDesignUniverseShows

Valentina_Design_Universe_TV_Show

Wow, I finally made it. Check mark to another one of my dreams realized !!!
(Click on each photo to view it larger).
My first TV show production under the label of Valentina Design Universe was recorded live Friday July 14, 2017 at KMVT 15, Mountain View, CA.

I have been on TV as a guest many times before, but never as the host and a producer.
Being this the first show, I decided to appear on stage by myself to introduced the series and here I am, a few days later, with my own criticisms.

Stage_In-The_Making

A show of only 30 minutes without commercials seems a very short time, but once up there on stage, it becomes an infinity. I had prepared the topic and rehearsed it many times, as if I were reciting a script of a film.
However, I forgot to leave my notes beyond the stage and it looked as if I needed a backup security, just in case I would forget the sequence of lines to speak. So, I made the first error.

My_Wonderful-TV_Crew

Generally, in my everyday life, I wear mascara and lipstick, that’s it. My skin is very healthy and want to keep it that way. To go on stage, I needed to wear ton of makeup, so I did and felt very uncomfortable.
I thought, well…. 30 minutes will pass very fast. Jeez, I was so wrong! The hot spotlights pointed at me, melted the face make up in the first five minutes, making my face very shiny and reflective. Fortunately, the eye makeup stayed solid, however the face glossiness took all the attention and the eyes went unnoticed. The red lipstick, being blond with tanned skin color, usually looks good on me. Under the spotlights, the red lipstick became bright orange and picked up even the reflection of my bright yellow top. Not really the effect I wanted !

Afterwards, I was wondering how actors take all that make up caked on their faces for the duration of the performance, often a long performance…. I felt the pores of my skin were choking. Make up was not enough and the red lipstick was not the right hue. I made the second error.

My worst fear was a sudden sneeze, a cough, or a hiccup would appear for no reason at all. Nervousness can cause all kinds of unwanted reactions in a crucial situation and… good enough, a hiccup came. Nonchalantly, I said “excuse me” and kept on talking. I don’t know if the audience thought I made a mistake in my speech or heard the hiccup, either way the show went on. Speaking in public taught me to overcome minute issues.

Stage_Drawing_By_Valentina_Show_Gold_A_Treasure_Color

The topic was about GOLD – A Treasure Color. I chose it because I wanted to exude an aura of positivity, just like the golden light of the sun recharges our batteries. I explained why the golden light of the sun is important for both our emotions and physical being, then went on briefly explaining how to decorate with gold and how to incorporate it in our clothes.

The crew assisting me in the production of the show was marvelous. It was the first time producing and hosting my show and wanted to be perfect, but perfection is achieved with experience. I had thought of producing my TV show for a year. The time was right, I started it without fear and in total confidence. Perfection will come, I will learn as I go along producing the next shows. For now, the dream is coming true and that’s important. My motto has been always: “Just Do It.”

Staff_In_Production_Room

Working in TV and being behind the scenes is fascinating. The crew has a language and gestures of its own to communicate silently with the people on stage. The stage goes up and is taken down in matter of a few seconds, the speed of preparation is fast, timing is tight, people operating electronics, light, sound, microphones and cameras are synchronized to one command: “Quiet On Set” and “Talent Go!”.
Energy is high and at the end, when the curtain falls, it seems a train running a 1000 miles a minute, have come abruptly to a halt. What an exhilarating feeling!

My show under the label of Valentina Design Universe will run once a month every third Friday. I will invite guests with interesting topics in most shows and it will be fun. Stay tuned. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Designer Valentina Cirasola is a creative master in the art of living who makes little distinction between work and play. She expresses her creativity in the homes she designs or decorates, in the accessories and furniture she designs, in her books of colors, in her cookery books and in the way her energy influences people around her. She is now bringing her love for colors on TV in her own colorful shows she is producing under the label of Valentina Design Universe at KMVT 15, in Mountain View, CA.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Women Who Make Things Happen | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jul 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AnYesvanRhijn, #BlogTalkRadioAnYesvanRhijn, #BlogTalkRadioValentinaCirasola, #EntrepreneurBranding, #EntrepreneurMindSet, #Inspirational

Three years ago today, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by AnYes van Rhijn on her Blog Talk Radio show, all the way to France.
She is a business coach for mindset, self-confidence, self-care, personal branding and personal effectiveness for professional women.
Here is the link to the interview.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/womenwhomakethingshappen/2014/02/03/valentina-cirasola–the-interior-designer-who-loves-to-color-her-clients-world

At the time of my interview she was starting her series of radio shows and I was happy to have been chosen as a guest. She was a good host and directed the show to meet the needs of her audience. The core of the conversation was to help her followers understanding basic business principles and issues entrepreneurs usually struggle with, such as how to be productive in business, how to overcome self-doubts, how to be disciplined, even when, at times, there is little desire to work, how to set goals and achieve them.

It takes courage to become an entrepreneur, accepting to earn money inconsistently at the beginning and to work lonely long hours. It also takes courage to accept changes. An entrepreneur must be ready for the transformation, which naturally happens with unfolding events of a new business. Fear is normal, but it does not have to blur the targets, never lose the vision of the goals one wants to reach.

(Photo Microphone: Free image https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/37056/microphone_record_icon)

My secret to endure hard times in a new business in a foreign country was not to put myself in the box, even if it meant to be a fashion designer one day and an interior designer the next day. I put all my qualifications to work with diligence, making sure they were all related. One of my business coaches once said:
“money is money, doesn’t matter where they come from. Honor it” therefore I had skills, I put them to work for me.

(Photo AnYes van Rhijn – Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/anyesvanrhijn/?ppe=1)

The conversation with AnYes then evolved on the difficulties a foreigner meets when doing business in the adopted country. I am sure everyone moving to a foreign country experiences difficulties with the new life, new customs, new way of thinking or even making jokes. Often, what was funny to me, was taken the wrong way by the locals. I had to adjust my thinking and speaking out loud was something I had to forget, otherwise I would have created the desert around me, that was not my goal.

Writing books, in a foreign language was also one of the questions AnYes directed to her followers, many of them are foreigners and want to write a book, but debate if writing it in the native language or English. I chose to write my books in English, only because I want to sell to the world and no only to a small country like Italy. Why put limitations?

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t have to be difficult or painful, as long as one conducts business with humor, caring for clients with love, understanding personal limitations, doing the best one can, resting between tasks or projects and never overwork. Make clients part of the business life, share moments behind the scenes, be open and transparent. Humans run businesses, treat the business as a friend with humanity and people will come.

I hope to have been an inspiration to all the brave and courageous new entrepreneurs out there. Thanks to AnYes van Rhijn I can remember that day, she was so great interviewing me and that’s an art on its own.
The story of my business continues. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Color is the focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and nonetheless my story continues. Find copies of my book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors and the rest of my books
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I Am Up To 500 | Valentina Cirasola | Valentina Cirasola

06 Jul 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BlogAward, #Blogosphere, #HomeAToZChallenge, #PhilippeMatthewsShow, #SimonCanada, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WiseDecorWallDecals

In 2010, after I had been writing in online forums, free-lancing in newspaper and smaller publications, I decided to open my first blog column called “Home Design Master”. The column was all about homes, home style, home décor and home trends. I gave out suggestions, tips, how to do things, sometimes I talked about memories on my clients’ home projects, sometimes I joked about funny situations on the job and I am sure I provided inspiration. My business of 27 years so far has given me so much to talk about. I had over 2000 followers and touched 133 foreign countries, the closest readers were from USA, Canada and United Kingdom.

In 2010,Italo-Americano newspaper published my article on the story of Italian balconies.
https://valentinaexpressions.com/2010/06/06/appear-at-the-balcony-my-love

In 2010, I created the event “October Month Of Italian Style” to publicize only luxurious Italian products. For that occasion, I wrote a few articles on Bedroom and Bed style together with an image consultant.
https://valentinaexpressions.com/2010/10/13/style-between-the-sheets-by-valentina-cirasola-interior-designer https://valentinaexpressions.com/2010/06/02/sweet-dreams

For three years, I was a contributor with my column “The Good Life” on The PM Show by Philippe Matthew, considered the Oprah of the Internet. https://www.facebook.com/thepmshow

In March 2013 – Simon Magazine of Canada http://www.simons.ca asked me to write an article for their publication and chose to elaborate on Candlelight Magic Pollution
https://valentinaexpressions.com/2013/03/05/candlelight-magic-pollution-by-valentina-cirasola-interior-designer

From Jan 2013 to Jan 2014 – I took up a Blog Challenge “From A to Z”. For the entire year, I wrote one blog a week about the Home, the subject I know best and for which I can provide a ton of information. Each letter of the alphabet became an article. I included history of furniture, custom and habits of homes through times, brought some novelties to my readers, elaborated on new products. The first article was about a bathtub. Basically, I had fun while I brought useful information and completed the challenge on time.
I am now thinking of turning that challenge into an eBook filled with interesting subjects.

In June 2013 – I accepted Wise Décor Wall Decals as a guest blogger – They shared with my readers a few thoughts on cooking as a form of love. https://valentinaexpressions.com/2013/06/28/guest-blog-cooking-is-a-form-of-love

Through the years, I received an infinite amount of blog awards from bloggers in my blogosphere. I was very happy and grateful to have met so many new people and became friend with so many more. I learned about new topics I would have never read and about the life of some bloggers, what they eat, where they have been, their preoccupations and goals. I feel in company of someone, even when I feel lonely. My awards are all collected in this link, or click on the pictures to view them all. https://valentinaexpressions.com/blog-awards

However, after my three books were published, I felt the need to create a website combining blog and books together and in 2014 I migrated Home Design Master blog column.
https://valentinaexpressions.com/2014/02/22/home-designs-master-has-a-new-home-valentina-cirasola-author-and-designer

Well…. the decision was good, but my followers and their comments didn’t migrate easily, WordPress couldn’t do much to fix the problem and I lost them all. I had to work harder to find new followers. I thought, why limit myself to only home design when I can offer so much more? Following that thought, The Good Life and Friday Fashion were created. Every Friday, I talk about fashion trends, fashion news, or express my thoughts on fashion like and dislike. The Good Like column is about Italian customs, travel, food, or memory of my growing up in Italy.

This week, I made 500 blogs and many more will come. Being a blogger has opened many doors for me, gave me the opportunity to turn my blogs into subjects when I am hired for public talks in groups and associations, aside from the fact that has opened the road for a new online business. Life is good. Thank you all. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Color is the focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and nonetheless my story continues.
Find copies of my book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors and the rest of my books
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Yellow In The Kitchen | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

30 Jun 2017 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorYellow, #GoldenYellow, #HowToDecorateWithYellow, #YellowColorScheme, #YellowDrinks, #YellowEnergy, #YellowFood, #YellowKitchen

A week ago, on the news, I heard some statistics on colors for homes. It was said that yellow kitchens don’t sell and blue bathrooms do, but missed to explain which blue will sell: dark blue, sky blue, aquamarine, periwinkle, turquoise, French blue, cobalt, indigo….I like to know who makes up these statics.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I never knew people buy homes solely based on colors leaving behind all other important features. For what I know, houses sell based on a good location, highly reputed schools and parks, vicinity to stores, convenience to reach main freeways and highways, house modern amenities, natural light infusing the home, a beautiful view, designed details, solid architecture, well maintained backyard and above all, an excellent sale price.
People will buy a home when they are ready to make that investment and will buy anything that suit them, even a fixer upper.

I bought my home with a pea green linoleum kitchen floor, a brand new medium gray carpet all over the house and an uncultivated backyard burned by the sun. I hated all of it, the floors and the backyard, but I saw the potential of my feature home. It had all the features I mentioned above, do you think I was going to pass up a good opportunity just because I didn’t like the color of the floors? No way!!! In fact, both linoleum and carpet were the first to go and little by little I designed a small paradise in my backyard. Now, I have a stone interior floor made with ashlar pattern, the same used in old European villas.

It goes with the golden-yellow walls of my kitchen and one special wall in the dining area colored in burgundy wine, which sometimes turns aubergine in different times of the day as the sun turns.

I want to remind the people who made up that statistic, that yellow is an inviting color, it’s the color of the sun. We get in the sun because it energizes our batteries, makes us feel positive and healthy.

Yellow is the color of many foods, the first one that comes to mind is yellow grape, which gives us delicious white wines and all the bubbles we all like so much.

Yellow is the color of cantaloupe, squash, apple, pineapple, pepper, banana, lemon, potato, honey, corn, cheese, egg yolk, orange juice, starfruit, chanterelle mushrooms, mango, polenta, turmeric, tomato, beets, peaches, do you want more?
Eat these yellow foods to feel strong, energized and happy. Why wouldn’t anyone want yellow kitchen walls?
Yellow is especially an appropriate color in a gray, cold climate. In those areas, getting up and make coffee in a yellow kitchen is a blessing. It helps to start the day in a positive way.

Perhaps those people in the news should look closer at the colors they wear…..

Don’t be afraid of colors, get outside your comfort zone and experience new colors, they can only bring you renovated energy. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Color is the focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and nonetheless my story continues. Find copies of my book on colors: ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – and the rest of my books Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w