Home Designs Master | Valentina Expressions

Gadget World | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Oct 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #KitchenGadgets, #KitchenTools, #PastaWheels, #UsefulKitchenGadgets, #UselessKitchenGadgets

I heard a whisper in my ears…. a shopper was telling me these new gadgets are for people who don’t know how to cook. How did she know I am a professional home cook? Perhaps the stuff in my basket gave away a hint of my serious cooking, who knows, but she got me curious to continue browsing around the shelves full of kitchen gadgets and to discover how other people cook or what they put in their kitchens.

Kiwi Peel & Quarter

Brussel Sprouts Twister

Cauliflower Florettes

Avocado Slicer

Tomato Corer

Strawberry Huller

Frankly, I must say, the gadgets look good in the kitchen, they are colorful, give the impression of getting the job done better or easier and in addition give the owner a serious chef look, but when it is time to wash dishes, this is myself talking, do I want to wash all those small parts and components that make a gadget? I am sure after a while I would get tired and will deposit them in the drawers never to be used again.

Frozen Herbs

Salad Shears

Garlic Chopper

Kale & Greens Stripper

Herb Stripper

Grape & Tomato Cutter

(All photos taken in Sur La Table store with permission granted)

I do have plenty gadgets in my kitchen, they are useful for my type of cooking, they might not be useful to someone else’s cooking.
The half-moon chopper, an Italian made tool is one tool I use all the time and the super fancy wheels to decorate my hand-made pasta. The wheels are very expensive but worth the price, they are custom-made by Luigi Desortes on the Italian Island of Sardinia. He is an artist, engraves the name of the owner on the handle and each wheel does its own original design.

My suggestion when you buy kitchen equipment is to look at your cooking style and find the tools or gadgets that will make your time in the kitchen easier. Often a good knife will do all that many gadgets can do.

Half-Moon Chopper

Pasta decorating wheels

A long time ago, I invested in a large chef knife collection to last me for a lifetime. With those blades, I chop, shred, slice, cube, Julien and everything else. My kitchen drawers are not cluttered and my washing time is minimal. Cooking is an art, don’t make it a chore. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens, cooking and extensive knowledge of food. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms, and entertainment rooms. Check out her books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Light Sensations | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Oct 2016 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColoredLights, #DivaLights, #InteractiveLights, #ItalianDivaLights, #MoodControllingLights, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

What if you could change the sensation of dark winter days?
In the fall, days start to get shorter, weather becomes cooler, natural light is low, the garden outside the windows looks dark at night with a very little hint of colors from flowers hanging on to their life, until winter comes, then it’s easy to feel in hibernation. Fall and winter are beautiful seasons, if you ask me. Fall with its jewel color tones picks up a subtle golden coloration and winter with snow time becomes nature amusement park. However, many people suffer depression during these months due to lack of sun and too much rain in some parts of the world.

What if you could change all of that instantly? What if, by placing some special lights, the entire environment surrounding the house could become a happier and colorful place? And not only that. Feeling sad? Change the color of the lights to permeate the room with happy feeling. Feeling too stressed out? Change the color of the lights to feel calm and relaxed. Need to be energized? Change the color of the lights to pick up new vibrations. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

DIVA Lights, Italian made, can do this for us, as they almost breath with the surroundings and our emotions. DIVA Lights, being managed by a software, sense the weather outside and change automatically into the opposite colors of the outdoor. Let’s say outside is gray and raining, by placing DIVA lights in the interior of the home, the lights will pick up the vibes of the weather condition and will change the interiors of the home into summer light tones and feelings.
In fact, restaurants in Europe use them to keep customer inside the premise longer, inside of their created spring-summer atmosphere when outside is cold, gray or raining. Due to the colored lights and the “feel good” atmosphere generated by the lights, customers feel to stay put. Who needs to go out there, when inside is cozier and colorful?

DIVA lights are portable, thus they reproduce in the garden the same scenario created in the home. DIVA Lights are intelligent, by placing them among the foliage, bushes and shrubs, the lights will feel the cold fall or winter temperature and will create warmer colors, contrasting with the evening-night colors. Suddenly the garden will not seem so dark, bare and uninviting. Under the moonlight with DIVA lights the garden will be luminous, will have a colorful appeal and will pick up a happier feel. Psychologically the lights help feeling better during the dark period of the year.

(Photos courtesy of DIVA Interactive)

As I said before, from outside to the inside, the lights are portable, a smart phone manages the software even at a distance, the color system they bring to us is the secret. Today we want to “feel good” with the technology we use, when we entertain, when we eat exceptional food, when we exchange ideas in a living room full of friends, when we work, when we sleep and when we spend time in the bathtub. DIVA Lights promise these experiences and I add “change your colors, change your life energy and you will have a story to tell”.

Feel free to contact me about DIVA Lights, or go here:
http://www.divahome.co/
https://www.facebook.com/diva.light.home/

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 has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. 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

Atrium Delight | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Atrium. #AtriumDesign, #AtriumLiving, #HomeDesign, #HomeWithAtrium, #RomanHomes

house_of_vettii_peristyle

Lately I have gone back in history to find inspiration for home designs with a different feel and character, homes with pleasant lay-out flowing harmoniously from room to room, homes filled with natural light and homes where nature decorates the interiors just by itself. Modern shoebox homes don’t provide that inspiration anymore. In the market I see only houses with ceilings so high that even the soul can’t find a resting place and it escapes the body, or I find homes with rooms without any creative detail. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Sometimes ago, I went to meet a new client in a new built home. She was so tiny, skinny, short and young, when she opened the large six feet doors I mistook her for one of her daughters. The ceiling was 20 feet high, she even admitted to have a feeling of cold emptiness when she was in the house. She purchased large furniture to fit the scale of her high ceilings, but she felt lost in them and I noticed her feet dangled when she sat in the sofa. The house was a huge shoebox built on a small lot and no yard. Is that a good living sticking people between four walls and not a stitch of garden or outdoor space?

House _Of_Golden_Cupid

In Italy I grew up in a round building, one storey high with a terrace up above where women hang their laundry, dried tomatoes for the winter on large wood planks and kids played together. The building had a central atrium, a common area to everybody, open to the sky. It was a playground for the adults, it felt just like an outdoor space but it was really enclosed between walls secured by a large iron door. The adults gathered in the atrium to play cards, to shoot the breeze, to enjoy a drink or two, sharing food together, or in case of needs someone was always ready to help.
Balconies on the first floor led to each apartment and overlooked into the atrium.

In Europe people live in building apartments. It is still very common to find buildings with an interior atrium closed with a door to the exterior. Life around the atrium becomes a public one, puts everyone in close proximity, basically we know everybody’s business.

Even in America at one point atriums were popular in buildings with apartments. In fact, in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rear Window with Grace Kelly and James Stewart we see how the life of people living there evolved around an atrium. In a single family home an atrium is a private affair. Basically the backyard shifts to the front of the entry and it becomes the playground for kids and adults, a BBQ and entertainment area. The exterior door to the street protects and encloses people between walls.

House_Of_The_Faun

(Roman Homes photo source: Pompei – Past and Present – Guide to Reconstructions)

Patrician Romans built their homes in this fashion. In my picture the House Of The Faun (above), bedrooms opened up to the atrium, as well as dining areas for summer and winter. The layout of the house ran around the atrium. They situated bedrooms under a portico of Ionic columns, from where people and guests enjoyed the white noise of a fountain, bronze statues and the view of fragrant central garden. Kitchen, baths and servant quarters were located farther to keep the smells away. In the Roman atrium, musicians entertained with their music, men talked about politics and business, women occupied themselves with kids, gossip and women activities, the atrium was the area of the house for socializing, as we might use the living room today.

Centuries later my life as a kid evolved the same way in the round building with an atrium.

The four walls of a house are what they contain, they protect the dreamers. I dream of a natural living, surrounded by nature, colorful waters, positive vibes from a fluid architecture that exudes the earth’s energy, allows me to live mostly outdoor and shelters my friends and family as an oasis. Ciao, Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She especially loves to design all those rooms with a “make me feel good” tag attached, such as kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. She is a public speaker and a mentor. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books and an interior design book on the subject of colors, all-available here in this site on the Books page and on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Elements Of Surprise | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

15 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2016ColorTrends, #2016FallColors, #Anthropologie, #AnthropologieWindowDisplay, #FlowerArrangement, #PaperFlowers, #StoreDisplay

It’s one of those days in California, the sun is high, the air is fizzy, mid-morning coffee in a fashionable area with business associates. Women of leisure are out shopping and carrying shopping bags bigger than their size.
Window shopping is one of my favorite activities when I am in those parts, but I am always moving fast from window to window, perhaps because merchandise is the same everywhere and not much out there interests me.

Here fashion is all about black clothes. We can still feel the influence of Steve Jobs, dressed in his uniform: jeans, black t-shirt and black sneakers. It feels to me as everyone is mourning their own life.
I am sorry to complain about black all the time, but it isn’t the only color available and I will not allow anyone to tell me I need to wear the “black California uniform” 24/7. If it makes them happy, black is the color for them.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Flowers Made With Vegetable Twist Tie)

(Flowers Made With Paper Price Tags)

I was walking mindlessly, suddenly something struck me in Anthropologie.
To attract people’s attention, the visual department has designed these flowers all made with paper price tags, muffins paper cups and vegetable twist ties, you know the type we use at grocery stores to seal a plastic bag full of fruit or vegetable.
The “wow” effect was there and the curiosity too.

I entered the store and spent an hour studying store display, flowers arrangements and roaming around merchandise. This store is ready with new colors, as it is always attentive to market demand.

(Flowers Made With Paper Cups For Muffins)

(Photos taken in Anthropologie store with permission granted)

The paper roses made with price tags reflect the warm mood and emotional feeling of 2016 fall. We just need new vibrations in new color combinations, which are visible in the paper price tags’ treatment.
All those subtle and powdery colors is an indication of what we will wear in the next fall and winter.
Human creativity has no limits. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior-fashion designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive arts. She is a “colorist”. To her, selecting art means to bring out the best energy of her clients and nourish their soul. Valentina needs your story to design the home of your dream and add elements of surprise. She is the author of her book on the subject of colors: ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Cognac Collection | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Sep 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CognacColor, #Pantone2016FallColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WarmTaupe2016, #WarmToneColors

The sophisticated appeal of cognac colors retain its allure in part because it is a classic timeless color, which adds quality and prestige to any interiors.
Blending cognac is an art and so is blending cognac color with other colors.

This coming fall we will see bronze, cognac and warm beige mixed with warm and cool colors.

The Warm Taupe of this Autumn suggests reassurance and stability. It is a trusted colors because it feels organic.
It is timeless and it pairs well with the top 10 shades studied for this Fall 2016 season.
I like to pair it with Cognac for an additional flavor. Yes, flavor, because colors are not only made to be seen, but we should feel them on our the skin and sometimes even be able to say:
“I just want to taste you”.

In my imagination swirling cognac in a brandy sniffer glass warmed up slowly over a small flame is a sensual act that brings out all the tones and shimmering light of yellow, orange, gold, topaz and hypnotizes the viewer. Mixing various colors with Cognac to me has the same effect.
In my projects, I have done it always, even when these colors weren’t dictated by anyone. Their natural structure seems to bring happiness in my clients’ environment.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(A bistro in the kitchen on mahogany floor )

(Whimsical Bathroom Corner)

Italian Carrara Marble and Rosso Verona Marble

(Fireplace Italian Style)

(Custom-Built Entertainment Unit with a Secret)

Allow these colors to bewitch you. 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 has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Fall In Love With Fall | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #2016ColorTrends, #2016FallColors, #AiryBlueBodacious, #MusatardAiryBlue, #Pantone2016FallColors, #RedVoyageIntoColors

This fall there is a new, fresh way to combine colors we have already seen before. Spicy Mustard with Airy Blue or Airy Blue with Bodacious (a type of magenta) are a very new pair. Blues are leading the pack of colors this coming fall mixed with warm heart tones. Dusty Cedar is a real welcomed revelation for its brilliancy and the capacity to mix well with all the fall colors planned for this year. Airy Blue has an intrinsic light, it is weightless and it means serenity. It pairs well with all the fall colors. Let’s see how I have combined it. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Airy Blue, Spicy Mustard and Potter Clay – Color Combination – Concept One

If you are remaking a living room, for instance, here I have a couple of suggestions for you. My idea of a living room, provided that the size of the room allows it, is a playful space made up of various seating arrangements.

I have never liked the “large sofa” against the wall, two chairs on each side of the sofa, side tables and coffee table in front. I find this arrangement very boring.
My ideal living room is a space well designed for conversation or reading with various vignettes consisting of chairs for two or three people, a few tables between each seats or just one small table in the middle to serve everyone.

Airy Blue, Spicy Mustard, Shark Gray and Bodacious – Color Combination – Concept Two

(Furniture in my concept boards are from Grandinroad and Wayfair)

Besides central lighting in the ceiling, I like to add a source of light in each vignette, to create the rhythm of shadows and light. This type of arrangement facilitate conversations at a deeper level, allows to get to know a person closely, especially in parties, where nobody sits on the large sofa next to a person just met and everybody engage in meaningless small talks.

If you had a fireplace in a living room in needs of restyle, which main color or color combination would you choose? I am here to help. Ciao,
Valentina
ww.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 has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Interview With A Young Inventor | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColoredLight, #ColoredLightStreaming, #DivaLights, #FedericoCardana, #InteractiveLights, #ItalianDivaLights

I am excited to be part of a new invention from a lad, Federico Cardana, Italian born, designer of DIVA Light, an interactive system of lights streaming in colors. I had the pleasure to interview him through Skype, learn from him and share ideas. Enjoy our conversation. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

DIVA Interactive Light

Valentina – Did you go to a special school to learn about lighting and lights effects?
Federico – I never went to a special school, but lights and colored lights attracted me ever since I was a kid, because I think people feel good around colors and lights versus shades or lack of light.

Valentina – How did you get involved in lighting? Was it always a passion, was it a hobby that at some point turned into something serious, or you just tried something new and got hooked on?
Federico – I think my passion for colored light came from the Lego constructions I plaid with since I was a toddler. All those little pieces force a kid to build an imaginative world and to create something magical based on colors. That attraction for colors remained in my life.

Valentina – Did your parents encourage you to pursue your dream to build and develop this light product?
Federico – Yes, my parents are aware of what I am doing and support me in full. They helped me going to USA to present my product in the Silicon Valley and care that this project succeeds well.

Valentina – You seem to be a very ambitious lad. Who inspired you to create a colorful product such as DIVA Light? If you had a mentor what value did he/she bring to your life?
Federico – My long time passion has been to create a useful something that have the power to make people’s life better or even change it. There are many entrepreneurs or companies who have created a physical product such as Bang & Olufsen, a Dutch Company that creates high-end electronics for homes and cars. Their products create emotions to the touch, transform a home in a world of connected and automated convenience. As a person, I looked up without a doubt to Steve Jobs. I think he is the person who was able to create “something” that revolutionized the way the world lives today. His cared for details and how beautiful the lines-shapes of his products look, but especially he cared to create emotions and feelings when people touch his product.

Valentina – What do you like the most about working with light and colors?
Federico – Light is life, anything luminous will attract people. Colors have their own meanings. Human brain perceives colors before words are spoken, before eyes can see and before ears can hear. Colors are a powerful way to communicate, to say something, to sell a product, to show a presentation, to convey an information and more. Think of street lights at any cross-road and how the device tells us to go, to stop or to be cautious. Nothing is left to a chance when a book cover is produced or a package of a product is made. Marketing is about using the right color for the right target. The value of my DIVA lights is to communicate feelings, to enhance with colors an environment and to create atmospheres.

Valentina – Is your DIVA Light competing with many products of the same type? If yes, what makes your DIVA Light better than other products and why should people buy your product?
Federico – There are similar systems on the market, mine it is a bit different. I have not created DIVA Light as a static element of décor only.
I wanted DIVA light to be an intelligent device, which when attached to other devices can interact with people and spaces with colors. Users will be able to change to certain colors based on their needs to indicate something is happening, a change of mood or situation, the arrival of a special person and so on. For instance:
1. DIVA Light can be used in a wedding ceremony to tell the guests the bride is coming, or in the reception room to inform the next course is coming to the table.
2. In schools DIVA light can be used to enhance the attention of students, or calm them down in moments of excitement or disruption and agitation.
3. In restaurants, the changing colors of DIVA Light can indicate a change of food flavor, from meat to fish or dessert.

My product offers an experience, it is interactive with people and spaces through colors, a simple software with an app downloadable on any smartphone manages the color changes according to the needs of a person. DIVA Light is also sound reactive, meaning the light reacts the nature sounds and weather conditions. Installed in the landscape of a beach house DIVA Light can change colors with the movement of waves, thus create a magical atmosphere when entertaining outdoor.
Since the scope of this device it to make people feel good, it also creates an element of bonding between guests.

DIVA Light

(photo courtesy of DIVA Interactive Lights)

Valentina – What is DIVA Light philosophy, is there one?
Federico – Diva Light is an experience because the device is interactive. Another good example is when the device is installed in a restaurant: let’s say outside has been raining for three hours, DIVA Light senses the gray weather, changes colors to sunny yellow, or pastel colors to emulate the sun or spring, thus changes people’s feelings and mood, entice customers to enter that restaurant, stay there for a while and spending while lingering.

Valentina – Who are your ideal clients, or where do you see DIVA Light being installed?
Federico – The fields of usage and application of this device are vast: restaurants, lounge bars, educational establishment, hospitals, home entertainment and anywhere one wants to create atmospheres.

Valentina – What made you decide to come to the US and live here for a few months? What goal did you want to achieve in the Silicon Valley?
Federico – Silicon Valley is a fertile ground for people who want to create and want to make a difference in the world. There is a particular echo-system non equal to others I have known. In the Silicon Valley and California in general people get excited about new ideas, are willing to meet and greet new things, give you 10 minutes of their time to hear you out, give out free suggestions and are willing to pay for a new finished product. All those suggestions and visions have been very valuable to me, I put them all together and created a product they want.

Valentina – What lesson did you learn from your stay in the Silicon Valley ?
Federico – In the Silicon Valley I learned not to stop at the first door that closes in your face. One must be tenacious in pursuing new endeavors, one must listen to all the suggestions, be focused and be willing to keep going regardless of difficulties. This is the only way to succeed.

Valentina – What advice will you give to another ambitious young person who wants to get out there in the market with any kind of new idea?
Federico – First, get in front of the mirror and be honest with yourself. Ask yourself if you are really ready to take on the project of the new idea. The road to success is long, uphill and hard. You must have courage to go on even when nobody shows a trace of trust and be willing to face difficulties. In addition, I think those who want to embark on the journey of inventions must believe in the product, must have a desire and determination to succeed, as I said the road is difficult, it needs discipline, diligence, cohesiveness and long hours of work. A young inventor who has the chance to travel must get to know other worlds. Travel cost money, it is better to use that precious time for constructive learning travel instead of just travelling for fun.

Valentina – If someone wants to contact you, do you have a website or a place where people can visit your products?
Federico – They can visit www.divahome.co
or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/diva.light.home
Email – federico@divahome.co

I hope soon I will be able to place DIVA Lights in my client’s homes or entertainment moments and I wish you all the success in the world, Federico, you deserve it. 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. Colors are the main 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 stories continue.
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

Your Fire Is An Element | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

09 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AmantiFireplace, #FireplaceDesign, #LivingRoomColors, #LivingRoomDesign, #ModernFireplace, #REDColor, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WallMountedFireplace

We have the same fascination today with fireplaces as our ancestors did when central heating had not been invented yet and fireplaces were the only source of heat. The difference is that today we are heavily submersed under city rules and regulations to save the earth and cannot use the fireplace as we would like.

In a few years, the sound of crackling fire and the smell of wood burning will be only a memory for those who have experienced it. I remember my grandmother’s large mouth fireplace where, as a girl, I stood inside just for fun, it was used for heating, to cook in, to dry clothes and when the fire wasn’t on, occasionally I played inside with my brothers. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

(fireplace in the design phase)

At this time, I am dismantling a fireplace in a client’s home (photo above) and we must abide to the city regulations. We are looking at a very contemporary style electric wall mounted fireplace controlled with a remote device.

(Ikea Ideas For Small Living Room Living Room With Fireplace Modern Stone Fireplaces)

A lush meadow with tall trees surrounds the house, the exterior environment feels very mountainous and even a train that goes by every so often contributes to the romance of the view. For this, I want to evoke nature by adding in the interior décor some elements of leather, animal prints, weaved fabric, baskets, wines and wine décor. I want to create also an enveloping feeling with a good ambience light, which communicates with the vitality of fire in the wall.

(Above: elitetile porcelana 12.2″ x 12.2″ porcelain field tile in pebblestone)

Triangles are the ideal symbolic shapes to create harmony with fire. I thought of treating the fireplace wall with stone cladding installed in triangles. These are pieces of veneer stones, pebbles or wood already set in a 12”x12” mesh easy to install. An alternative and less expensive solution would be to paint the new fireplace wall in a two-tone diamond shape or metallic faux finish.

Each of these treatments will turn the fireplace wall in the focal point of the room, thus a contrasting color and texture from the rest of the room are a must.

(Above wall finish from http://www.gspaintingpaloalto.com)

I see red somewhere in the new living room. Fire is red with all the warm colors of the spectrum: yellow, orange and even purple. Repeating the same red of the adjacent dining room either on the new fireplace wall or in one piece of furniture will make this living room socially happy.

I will need my client’s fire to complete the room and to play the game of textures with colors. Creativity craves passion and courage, this is what’s all about when creating a space. 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 colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Let Pictures Out Of Darkness | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #GalleryWalls, #HowToDisplayPictures, #IlluminatedPictures, #LuminaeCrystalPanel, #PictureFrames

One of the many items that dress the house with class and elegance is the selection of picture frames, the particular way pictures are positioned on the walls, and how they are illuminated. It’s very common for me to see chaotic arrangements of pictures on people’s walls. They are either too high to look at the subject, or scattered all over without symmetry and meaningful effect.

Generally, picture frames must follow the style of the décor, antique frames with antique furniture, modern frames with modern furniture. However, this is not a rule set in stones and I like to break rules. It takes skills to break this rule and a good eye for scale and proportions, then walls will become attractive galleries of memories, subjects, and themes, just as perfect as a museum. One can choose very expensive or elaborated frames, floating frames, digital frames, shadow box frames, gallery wraps (painting spills over all sides of the canvas and needs no frame) and various style frames all on the same wall, but what about a device that illuminates the artwork all the way around. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

I was arranging pictures in a corridor of a clients’ home. The corridor was dark and all her family pictures made a confused composition on the walls. While rearranging, I thought of a better illumination to enhance the beauty of the people in the frame and the corridor too. The budget was a bit restrictive and I opted for a simple LED flexible cable light. The corridor looks better and the pictures are very symmetric and orderly. I asked myself what I could have done if the budget had been more generous.

(photo credit http://www.soophotography.com/blog/)

I roamed online and found this attractive light device. It is a real beauty called Luminae Crystal Panel, on the market already since a few years ago.
Luminae Crystal Panel uses 7-12 watts LED light, it is a long-lasting, most efficient light panel in the world and it is so thin only ½” of thickness that the only thing the viewer sees is the photograph inside. The panel illuminates the subject evenly without color cast. It sort of captivates in a modern way. It complements any photograph and illuminates as well the area where is positioned. Don’t let the modern look fool you, Luminae Crystal Panel will look good even in a traditional décor. This will make an amazing gallery wall. I can’t wait to try it in my next project.

If you have a mismatched gallery wall in your home or office, give me a call, we can organize it together. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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

Don’t let limited bathroom space cramp your style! | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BathroomColors, #BathroomDesigns, #BathroomLayOut, #CustomBathVanity, #CustomDesignedFurniture, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

The aim was to pamper a teenage girl by creating a modern bath that was comfortable, dramatic, elegant and functional. The space did not exist in the previous floor plan, it was created ex-novo from one of the rooms. My challenge was to use all the hard surfaces left over from previews projects my client had done on his properties. I had to work with what was made available to me and I still managed to play with my fantasy. I have designed many pieces of furniture for this home, this bathroom was one of the many challenges. As I progressed in the project, I realized I wasn’t designing for the 17 old daughter, I was designing more for the mother, two very sophisticated women, who knew exactly what they wanted. No time is ever wasted with people who have clear ideas of what the style of the home should be. The girl knew that in a year time she would be gone to college, she trusted her mom’s taste and let her have fun in choosing nothing but the best for the only girl in the family.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Valentina happy at the cabinet maker’s shop)

An Italian master ebonist built the vanity cabinet in Mahogany with inserts of Lace Maple. Its door handles and pull are real silver 925. The area for counter top was minimal, therefore purchasing an expensive stone, a beautiful Opera Fantastico marble was not a big expense at all. Flooring and the shower enclosure were the two areas where leftover stones from previous remodeling projects were used. A combination of Italian marbles and stones created the contrasting colors. Italian made wall lighting and a delicate seafoam wall faux finish set the tone for this small bathroom.

One day, the client sat with me on the freshly installed hardwood floor to shoot the breeze. In a rare moment of confession, she showed me her collection of original jewelry made of precious, semi-precious gems and told the story of each piece . They were beautiful examples of lapislazzuli, quarts, corals, African copal and much more. All of those eccentric pieces led me to my inspiration for the bathroom and the bedroom of the girl.

A small bathroom is one place a designer can propose expensive material without breaking the budget and almost have the license to do it. It is the right place a designer can show off abilities to make everything fit in a reduced space, still produce a functional bathroom with all the amenities and do it with style. Furthermore, using material from previous projects and know how to put them together in a new space is a magic only the expert with clinical eye can pull off. The results exceeded even my own expectations. Many designer magazines published this home and it was on designer tours many times. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

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