Home Designs Master | Valentina Expressions

Sexy Wood | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

28 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BathVanityCabinet, #CurvyFurniture, #ExoticWoodFurniture, #ExoticWoods, #WoodAccessories

Did you not think wood is a sexy material? To hug a tree and to get the energy of the Earth is a holistic experience, beneficial to our health and soul, so we hear it often. I believe it is true, I have had that experience myself and felt good. After a piece of wood acclimatize to a new environment, then worked to the best shape for its grain, levigated, and clear varnished, all its beauty reveals. These pieces of artwork Chris Smith made are very sexy, warm in colors, versatile for a male or female décor and caressing them brings nature to the touch, just like hugging a tree.

Lace Sheoak-Australian Timber by Chris Smith

Jacaranda Wood with bronze and patina by Chris Smith

Acacia body with Ebony finial by Chris Smith

Red Morrel Burl Box by Chris Smith

Most of the time people don’t see behind what the market offers as furniture choice. These so-called “designer woods” might be a little more expensive than regular oak or maple, the effect, however, when making furniture out of these woods is stunning.
I can tell you by my experience, that every time I designed furniture, such as built-ins, in various non-common wood, the value of the house increased. Those are features that sell the house faster. The feeling of owning original wood pieces is satisfying and rewarding.

At times, when I have worked for clients receptive to new ideas, I always used exotic but not extinct woods to make special furniture, it takes a special person to understand the sexiness of a piece of wood.

This special bath cabinet is made of harewood. It still stands in my client’s bath and remains a conversation piece with their guests. (Click on the pictures to view them larger).

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Master Bath Vanity by Valentina Interiors & Designs

Harewood

A house is not a container of stuff, a house contains our dreams and our lives. It’s better to have quality objects than a jumble of meaningless stuff, I think. Why not surround ourselves with objects possessing qualities that give great pleasure to see, to hear, or to think about? Remember the only designer who made these woods in nature is our Supreme Being, he made them for us to enjoy and to last more than a few lifetimes. This cabinet will outlive my client. Humans, on the contrary, create cheap disposable items. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been a lifetime designer in interiors and fashion. Her extensive training and knowledge in both fields led her in both directions successfully. She is well-known for designing custom furniture. She cares to make spacious and functional pieces, but she doesn’t forget to introduce the element of surprise, sinuous lines, attractive shapes and colors in the style fit for each of her special clients. She also focuses on color theory and color psychology to transform people’s life. She is the author of four books, one of which is on the subject of colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors.Barnes&Nobles http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Check out her newly published book ©The Road to Top Of The World – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Texture Italian Style | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

20 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AntonellaSuricoArchitect, #ItalianHandMadeFurniture, #ItalianTexture, #OltreformaDesign, #StrungFurniture, #TexturedFibers

What is texture? It is the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used. It is an essential characteristic and combination or interrelation of parts or elements (from Dictionary.com).

I had the chance to virtually meet Italian architect Antonella Surico, who does exactly that. She designs and produces textured furniture, using various material that she transforms in a tubular or flat coil as ropes, then with warp and weft handmade technique she turns them into furniture. “The leather texture, just to mention one material, fits perfectly with a demand of pure minimalism that never neglects the idea of refinement. Velvet, which is a trend at the moment, manages to convey the idea of elegance and warm hospitality”, says architect Surico.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

Her creative thinking translates into furnishing objects that embellish any space in a unique way. Each object comes from an idea of lines first jotted on a sheet of paper then transformed using colors and materials to become the harmonious essence of an environment.

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

In Italy people still like the “handmade” concept, as a distinctive feature and personal treatment. Handmade originality is a way to stay out of massification.
“Spaces in a home represent the most intimate places of emotions and life experiences, in there, it is a concentration of fragments of our existence. Each space is unique and deserves to embody the spirit of those who live in it” says architect Surico. I totally agree with her on this one.

https://www.instagram.com/oltreforma_design_official

However, and this is not a criticism of her beautiful work, it is just how I prefer it, I am not a minimalist, to me more is more and less is boring. I don’t feel comfortable living between four empty walls with nothing to look at or play with. A minimalist house to me feels much like a prison. These beautiful textures would go very nice in my maximalist concept, for both modern and traditional styles. Putting a room together, it is all about knowing how to do it tastefully, how to combine textures with colors, lines with styles and knowing when to stop.

In my opinion, the interior of a home must have a warmth character and must not look like commercial space, or have the look of a utilitarian, sterile, often cold place of work.

I wonder if architect Antonella Surico has thought of different applications for her nice textures other than using it in minimal interiors. I would be interestest in her opinion. 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. RAI–Italian National TV invited her to appear in Cara Francesca Show and she has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Author of four published books, one of which is on the subject of colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The newly published book is ©The Road to Top Of The World
https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Settling In Your Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 Jan 2019 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BohemianColors, #BohemianDecor, #BohemianHomeFashion, #BohemianStyle, #MosaicFloor

I am so very pleased to see colorful home interiors circulating on my social platform pages these days. For a long time, I have wondered why people want to live in mortally boring beige homes when we live under a blue sky filled with the light of a yellow sun, surrounded by brown mountain, green grass, thousands of colorful flowers and food available everywhere (so I said in my book: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors).

Listening to realtors who want your home in a beige or white tone is deleterious to your spirit. A few times I have been indirectly involved in the selling process of homes. One time a client passed away and I had to take care of all her stuff. She surrounded herself in colors and not for one minute I thought it was going to be difficult to sell all those colors. Another time a client moved quickly to a new work in a faraway city leaving me and the realtor in the selling seat. The realtor preoccupied herself with the notion next buyer wouldn’t accept all her colors and she was so wrong. The third time I added colors in a totally white home I staged for sale. In all three cases, the houses sold in a week time.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

My new-found Facebook friend posted this colorful, vibrant, imaginative set of her homes, and I jolted for joy. This is a person with courage, I thought. The feel is Bohemian style, it is a playful style, not a matchy-matchy style, and difficult for some people to live in. Bohemian style is a mixture of textures, colors, shapes, and style. It is the style hippies of the ’60s adopted for their free-living concept and before them, it was the style of poor gypsies roaming around in the Bohemian area of today Czechoslovakian Republic. The chair, in particular, struck me. I remember reading her post, this is a chair remade from upcycled fabric, trims and decorative pieces found in vintage or second-hand shops.

Photo: Robbie Coole

Why does the Bohemian style still attracts many people today, including me? It’s a free-form style, it has no boundaries, no rules, and no constrictions. Most of all, it is a very personal style, a reflection of creative people who like to express themselves through colors. So, well done Robbie! I know the rest of your home is as colorful as this room.

Photo: Robbie Coole

Another true shocker this week was this stunning mosaic floor. Although many people commented positively and added so many likes on this post, I doubt many of them would do it in their homes. It takes a lot of courage to cover in mosaic the entire floor and three walls of a room, in this case, a bathroom. I can already hear someone says: “I don’t want to clean all that grout!”.

truemosaic.com

Decorating a home is fun, but then comes the challenge of cleanliness.
Who will dust all the items in a Bohemian style? Can you keep the Bohemian style orderly and organized in its “designed chaos”?
Who will clean this beautiful mosaic floor? Can you live carefully enough not to break this delicate work?

If you want to be yourself these questions should not discourage you from pursuing your dream home. Hire a cleaning person to help you or be diligent to do it yourself. This style will make it easier to accumulate items and will put you out of control in no time. 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. RAI–Italian National TV invited her to appear in Cara Francesca Show and she has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Author of four published books, one of which is on the subject of colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The newly published book is ©The Road to Top Of The World –

https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Stones Or Rugs? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

05 Jan 2019 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorfulRugs, #DecoratingWithAreaRugs, #FloorDesigns, #FlooringSolutions, #StoneFloorDesigns

Wall to wall carpet is slowly disappearing from homes and I am very happy. Smelly, unhygienic wall to wall carpet has never been one of my favorite items for home décor. I have seen horrific carpeted bathrooms and laundry rooms or foyer that made me cringe every time. I am glad all of that nonsense is going away. My title asks a question stones or rugs, referring to a floor of any room. This is not a hard choice, as people know what they like most of the time. If it was up to me, I would never ever propose area rugs, and wall to wall carpet. The dust and germs under the shoes brought in the house from the street, or even the dead skin under bare feet, are two sufficient facts to decide against it and yet people still ask for carpet and rugs. The health of a room depends much on the cleanability of each item to avoid dust mites from making their nest everywhere and create allergies.

Stones or rugs are two different looks with two different textures. A stone floor is washable with soap and water, stays clean and fresh, keeps the room cool in the summer heat and lasts forever. One way to muffle the echo when a room is large like a salon or a cave is to decorate it with upholstered furniture, pillows, throws, wallpaper and a lot of wood accessories. A large room carpeted from wall to wall is just a larger opportunities for dust mites to reproduce and multiply. A colder climate area would be the exception to my rules and I would opt for a rug, but not a carpet. I would place an area rug only in strategic places such as bedrooms, living rooms, or home office, just to add some warmth to the room.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

New Wave Rug – Grandinroad

New Waves rug – Hand tufted, 100% Chinese wool with a beautiful sheen that brings a bit of light on a grey floor.

Heather Rug – Grandinroad

Heather rug – The description says: dramatic, vibrant, “pretty-but-edgy” floral design. Large flowers are all the rage today, on wallpapers and on rugs, don’t be afraid of looking at bold flowers, after a while the eyes get accustomed and space becomes joyful.

Jules Rug – Grandinroad

Jules rug – Colorful abstract puts art on the floor.

Ellis Rug – Grandinroad

Ellis – Traditional rug design fits anywhere, even in a modern setting.

(All rugs are from Grandinroad)

Marble Pebbles and Distressed Wood Floor -Valentina Interiors & Designs

My question, however, is a different one. If the floor is created new, it is original and outside the box, made interesting to look at, the room is small (I doubt the stone floor creates an echo in a small room), what is the reason to cover it with a rug? This is the new floor I created for a guest room in a client’s home. It’s made of distressed wood and sinuous shaped marble pebbles by the French door leading to the garden. My preference would be to leave the floor naked as part of the furniture, my client prefers to have a rug and those above are my choices of a rug. If we must cover a new floor, let’s do it with colors.

We are at the beginning of the year, there is nothing going on out there in January, make changes now. Happy New Year. 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 online design consultations through Skype or Zoom and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of four books.
The latest newly published book is ©The Road To Top Of The World. https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8
All books are available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Christmas My Way | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

10 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ChristmasCelebration, #ChristmasColors, #ChristmasDecorating, #ChristmasLights, #ChristmasThemes

This week, business coach Georgia Lee London interviewed me on BeLiveTV, an online TV feature of Facebook I use also for my business. The topic was Decorating Christmas. We spent the first few minutes talking about my business and personal life just as an introduction to her audience, then we moved on to Christmas and how to decorate it.

I like to admire all the joyous display of lights around the towns, highly decorated stores and homes illuminated over the top, just like everybody else, to me this huge display of lights is another form of art expression. The bigger the better is what most people think Christmas should be and that is fine. I can’t imagine Christmas not being so lit up anymore. There was a time in my life when my native country went through an austerity period of many years.

Now, I am here in the wealthiest country in the world, where people don’t mind spending $5,000 for Christmas decorations, I want to soak it in as much as I can, taking tours through neighbors and enjoy their labor to put up such a spectacle for the public. I saw a program on the Italian TV dedicated to the transformation of homes in Brooklyn N.Y. every year at Christmas and this is a photo I found of one of the Italian homes. Stunning, it looks like Disneyland. Their electric bill, I imagine, is huge for a couple of months.

(Click on the photo to view it larger).

BrooklynNewYorkDykerHeightsChristmasLights

BrooklynNewYorkDykerHeights-Vincent Giulizio Photography

Deep down inside I have remained a person who likes “conservation”, moderation and classy décor. I would never have such a display of power even if I had servants, labor, chauffeurs, and butlers.
To me, Christmas is about lighting up a way to our new self, welcoming a new year of opportunities to realize our dreams; it’s about resting, renewing our family and friends’ ties; share food and allow our “Supreme Being” (whomever or whatever it might be) to enter our life. Everything else is just consumerism.

Here, in this video, one can see my ideas of decorating Christmas the easy way, easy on the pocket, easy to put up and take down. I care to create pleasant atmospheres around the home by displaying interesting vignettes in different corners of each room. The most important thing is to find a theme, choose the colors, sculpt with various light levels and never leave corners in the dark.

Your Christmas can be anything you like and if this event is not in your belief, celebrate your life. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

It’s my hope that through my writing and my suggestions I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspiring you to live in beauty. I love to encourage my clients to show their personality through various expressions of décor, or the clothes they wear. 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 one of my books on the subject of colors, the third in line of my collection, ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The Road To Top Of The World, fourth book recently published is also available.
https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

Mid-Century All Over Again | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

01 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

It was just yesterday we wore hats and gloves sets, bright colors, belted pencil skirts and cigarette ankle length pants. Our homes reflected the same colors and boxy furniture, then called modernism filled the spaces. It was a total rebellion from the previous traditional style, a kind of self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expressions. New colorful gadgets and home technology inventions came out in 1950-60s. The advertisement of the era focused on making a woman’s life at home easier than ever, to allow her more time to dedicate to family, friends and social activities. The mid-century kitchens are still very modern today in terms of layout and design. I am so surprised to see that not much has changed except the choice of materials and colors.
This kitchen below could very well be one of the kitchens today with different colors, of course.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I am wondering if the people of 1950-60s thought their furniture would become pieces of antiques in a short time of only 60 years. If they had kept it, today they would be valuable. A week ago, I visited a CB2 store, where I can find upscale modern furniture and this was exactly my consideration.

All the vignettes in the store incorporated the new retro mid-century style, colors of the new furniture collections are no longer so bright and abrasive as in the early original style, the shapes of the seating arrangements are a bit more round and everything seems to appeal to a younger population.

I love this semi-circular white maple desk by Brett Beldock.

Semi-circular desk by Brett Beldock

The Étagère is a classic of the era. This kind of furniture started as a set of open straight shelves for holding elegant tableware and vintage crystal decanters, with a cabinet at the base. It was a nice piece made to enjoy drinks. Later it became a bookshelf with shelves going in every direction.

Étagère

I sat on this ample leather Shell shaped chair, cognac color. This is a real beauty, comfortable, buttery soft, hand stitched, $2,000.

Shell Chair by Estudio Bola

This peacock-blue, feminine Récamier re-evoke the 19th-Century fainting chair. The corsets literally took women’ breath away. Now, we can just pretend to faint on a sofa lounge.

Récamier by Julia Von Werz

This year mid-century style is mostly about black and white, sleek, urban, minimalist with a faint interjection of brown and natural colors.

Round Table

Black Chair

Dining at CB2

And black is Christmas décor as well, this year. Christmas means many things to many people. It doesn’t have to be red, green and gold. A black Christmas décor is definitely not for me but I understand the sophistication of black.

CB2 Display

The logs on a leather carrier look really elegant and unless the fireplace is an existing one, grandfathered in, the logs will remain a decorative item due to the clean air conservation program many cities have adopted.

Leather Wood Holder

If Mid-Century is your style and you are thinking of upgrading your furniture, start your selection here. 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 online design consultations through Skype or Zoom and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of four books. The latest newly published book is ©The Road To Top Of The World.
All books are available on all available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Image by Valentina

Horsefeathers | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Nov 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AccessoriesCoordination, #HomeDecor, #OversizeAccessory, #VisualImpactDecor, #whimsicalDecor

In Europe, I was used to leaving the house, stroll the streets filled with many shops of a different kind, sit at a cafe or do window licking if I didn’t have anything to buy. Go out to walk at leisure, it’s the way of life in Europe. Shopping over there happens when people really need things, discounts come at the end of seasons, not every day, thus window shopping is a pastime. I love the feel and relationship I could create with small shoppe’s owners. However, due to the massive online buying convenience, even the structure of European streets is slowly changing and small stores are capitulating to online giant merchant corporations. A few days ago, in a networking event, I was telling a group of business women that the life of a designer doesn’t stop at 5:00 pm. Designers are in the constant “mode of searching” for clients. Sometimes, not all the accessories and artwork are in place when we finish a major remodeling or decorating. Choosing artwork is a very personal thing, is like choosing perfumes. Usually, at the end of a project, clients want to take care of their artwork selection, but if something is left open, we will keep an eye open for those details left to complete.

I just remembered this episode. I was walking in a small American town, doing window shopping and spending the afternoon of leisure with myself. Horsefeathers, I exclaimed! I spotted a huge wooden horse through the store window display selling Italian ceramics. The horse was placed in a dining area as a suggestion, I couldn’t help noticing it. It would have been perfect for the dining room in a client’s home. She liked horses and was looking for a gigantic one for her dining room, a type of playful horse, very whimsical, an icebreaker and a conversational piece. Why putting a horse in a dining room? Why not? The store must have read my mind. I took a picture, sent it to the client, told her the price and voila’ she got her horse.

(Click on the photo to view it larger)

This is just to say feel free to have an ordinary house, it’s your space, but if you want to have an extravagant, unusual and tasteful décor, the sky is the limit and nothing stops you from showing some personality, or whimsy. 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 love to encourage my clients to show their personality through their home décor, or the clothes they wear. 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 book on the subject of colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, or my latest travel narrative: ©The Road To Top Of The World.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Valentina Expressions

Sexy Wood | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Texture Italian Style | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Settling In Your Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Stones Or Rugs? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Christmas My Way | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Mid-Century All Over Again | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Horsefeathers | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

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Valentina Expressions Blogs

Valentina Author & Designer

Home Design Master

Join me on Pinterest

Visit my Etsy Store

My fourth published book: ©The Road To Top Of The World

My third published book: ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors

My second published book: ©Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts

My first published book: ©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity

Visit My Interior Design Work

Home Designs Master Blog

The Good Life Blog

Friday Fashion Blog

Trips To Puglia, Italy

Instagram

My Blog Awards Collection, All In One Page – Click on the picture frame to see them all. Thanks to all the bloggers for the awards I received

Some Of My Blog Community

© Copyright Notice