#HomeRemodeling | Valentina Expressions

A Watchful Eye | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

22 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #HomeRemodeling, #HomeSafety, #HomeSecurity, #HomeVideoSurveillance, #InfraredNightVision, #SecurityDevices, #WirelessSecuritySystem

Economic recessions and depressions are often a cause of violent riots, insurgency and disobedience of law. Growing differences in socio-economic classes are creating dissatisfaction among the working people who are seeing their purchasing power diminished day-by-day and witnessing an unstable future with no return.
The latest riots in Vancouver in June, riots in Italy and London in August arose precisely from these feelings of resentment towards richer and well-to-do classes. I don’t want to be alarmist, but it could happen in this country too, after all we have our hands full of economic problems and we are certainly not exonerated from these occurrences.

I have studied security systems for a while and I have collected much precious information from manufacturers of these devices. I feel an urgency to bring you tips on how to protect your home, your valuable, but above all, your loved ones, not only in case of riots, but to protect yourself against burglary, vandalism, fire and other accidents.

Your attention should go to the front entry first! I suggest keeping your front door closed and locked at all time, even if you are inside the home. The door should have a deadbolt lock, which is not easy to open with a simple ID card and a peephole that has 180º view. The front door must be well lit with wall sconces on both sides of the door and above lighting.

Install lights around your home, in critical or dark areas install exterior sensor lights and make all the pathways bright and pleasant to walk through. Set economical timers for the interior of the house to turn the lights on and give the appearance that someone is at home when you are not. Intruders don’t like lights or noises.

Shrubs and bushes should be trimmed, especially around windows. Overgrown bushes will protect burglars and criminals from being seeing while they are gaining easy access into the home. All the windows should have the same type of locks and pins, so once the mechanisms are memorized, they will be easy to use.

Security System is one thing you should not try to do on a discount, spend the money!

(Photo above: http://www.securitysales.com/news/adt_nearly_half_of_new_subscribers_buy_pulse_home_automation/slideshow/0)

A well-designed security system should protect you against burglary, vandals, fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, household flooding and other dangers. Experienced, trusted local authorities such as police and fire brigades should monitor it.

A wireless security system offers a better protection, in that it is easy to conceal, will not interfere with the beauty of a curb appeal and there is no hard wires the burglars can cut.

Wireless security camera is a must. In combination with other wireless security devises, cameras are also a way to monitor children playing in the yard.
Make sure the wireless security system you are going to purchase is easy to operate for everyone in the house, it must have a maintenance plan to cover parts and service and that it will not go off by a dog walking by your home, winds or heavy rain. Night vision is not only for war actions. Infrared technology allows you to record your house at night and guard you against night intruders.

Every day simple actions to protect yourself:
1. Don’t ever hide the keys of your house under plants, doormats, or above the door.
2. Leaving boxes of recent purchases such as computer, HD T.V., or appliances outside your door is a good way to show that you have made an expensive purchase. Cut up the box in small pieces and place it in the trash.
3. Photograph and make a video of all your valuable, retain the receipts of those purchases and deposit everything in a safe deposit box along with valuable documents, insurance policies, wills and all that pertain your life.
4. Keep house keys and cellular close to you at night.
5. How about Neighborhood Watch Association? This is where you can get informed on what happens around your community. Join a group near your home.

Some things in life are replaceable, but certain others when they are gone, they are lost forever. Are you willing to lose them?
Should you need advice on security systems, I shall be here to help with your needs, just leave your name in box below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, is the principal designer and owner of Valentina Interiors & Designs. She is a trained designer and has been in business since 1990. She works on consultation and produces design concepts for remodeling, upgrading, new home, décor restyling and home fashion. “Vogue Italy” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Find her books on:

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

Going Eichler | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #1950Architecture, #1950Colors, #1950Furniture, #DecoratingEichlerStyle, #EichlerArchitecture, #EichlerFurniture, #EichlerStyle, #HomeRemodeling

In about a couple of weeks, I will be filming many California homes for an Italian T.V. station, in Italy.

The producer is looking for homes of all types from extravagant to traditional, from elegant to casual and definitively homes that are not Italianate looking.
The idea of the show is to highlight California living and to show to European audience how people live in these parts of the world.

American homes are characterized with large open spaces, rooms communicating with each other, high ceilings, grand foyers, lighting effects, exterior vegetation, 3 to 5 cars garage, all features so very different from European homes. In fact, not by accident the title of the show will be Dreaming California.
Some of the homes I designed for my clients will be filmed too, but there is one particular home I am interested in featuring, the Eichler home owned by one of my friend, an art painter. This style of home is the perfect setting for an artist, vibrant, modern, open and transparent.

Eichler style architecture was designed by real estate developer Joseph Eichler between 1950 and early ‘70s, as a post war innovative architecture, affordable for the mass and all races. GIs returning home after WWII needed to create families, thus building homes fast and cost-efficient was a high demand of the market in the ‘50s.

The Eichlers were the first track homes constructed with standard material in a remote location and shipped where the building sites were. For the very first time this innovative concept was applied to home’s production, just as in the car industry assembly lines. Prefabricated homes in different styles are still produced.

The indoor-outdoor concept of these homes was for the first time featured on brochures and marketing materials of the ‘50s, something we have returned to like sixty years later.

The indoor- outdoor concept is so much part of today’s living, feeling that inner peace that only nature can provide is well recreated today with large windows, sliding doors, mirror reflections, outdoor rooms, or even operable walls. Exactly how the Eichler home was conceived then.

The particular features that sold these homes were open floor plans, flat roofs, interior atrium, post and beams, large glass walls, radiant heating, cork flooring, wood paneling. The builder’s goal was to offer to everyone the same details of elegant homes with affordable and eco-friendly material. Ah! This is want homeowners want today too!

Living in an Eichler today doesn’t have the same meaning that had in the’50s, it seems that this very particular style of architecture attracts people with certain traits, it fits the artist’s profile and any person in a creative field.

The interior décor cannot be any different from modern, colorful, vibrant, eclectic, or even extravagant, it’s a must, otherwise will not fit the linear and simple architecture. A traditional décor will totally clash.

(All photos taken by ©Valentina Cirasola inside the Eichler home with permission of the owner)

The owners of an Eichler home who lived in it since the ‘50s are now tired and are selling these beautiful properties, giving a good inventory to the real estate agencies.

Unfortunately, this architectural style marked an era, the Eichler home has become almost historical architecture and no longer is considered a ‘track home’ for the mass. With a higher status label comes the high price too. I know my friend the artist will never leave her Eichler. She selected excellent furnishing by herself, accessorized it tastefully and added some travel memorabilia pieces for a touch of whimsy. She changed it into a small, but pleasant paradise and of course, to feed her soul, she created a colorful vegetation, she can enjoy from anywhere in the house, but especially from her studio while she is painting her art.

If you want to know more about it the Eichler style, or if you want to buy or sell one of these homes, I work with many realtors I can refer you to, but if you like to decorate and furnish one, you have fallen in the right place. Leave your name and contacts info in the box below and I will answer in 24 hours time. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away your comfort. She loves to restore old homes, historic dwellings and she focuses on remodeling. She is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Illuminate Your Summer | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorsAndLight, #DecoratingWithLights, #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #GardenLights, #HomeRemodeling

Light is life. Where there is light there is a crowd of people and where there is a fun lighting there is also a fun divertissement.

(Photo left found on: http://weaselmedia.com/gorgeous-solar-lights-for-backyard/outdoor-solar-lights-landscape-lighting-houselogic-within-solar-lights-for-backyard)

We all know how to illuminate our exterior paths, the garden and the house and we do it accordingly to the style of the house. Illumination is one of those items in the décor that can go extravagant, out of the ordinary, be a bit crazy.
In my house I have lamps and light sources different from one another and yet they live together really well, adding the conversation element too.
I want to show you how to illuminate your summer with solar lighting in the fun way and save you money at the same time.

Magic Solar Glowing Globes are good for any pathways, swimming pool edge line, or as stakes on the grass between vegetation.

Solar Stakes add a little comic life by mimic flowers and plants elevated to the nth power. Glass Solar Steaks go into the ground, the multicolored glass will illuminate in colors any trees, any shrub, any vast area of plain grass, now you only need imagination in creating your own secret garden fantasy.

If you have a swimming pool you can produce a nighttime underwater lighting show with lit up fountain creating water shooting scattered here and there on the water of the pool.
(aliexpress.com)

How about something to recreate pleasant sounds?
Whether you like quiet time with yourself, or entertain in style, these fake rocks are light enough to be picked up by one person and moved anywhere you like. Add speaker to them and your favorite music will fill the air.
(Photo fake stone found on: http://www.problemsolvers.com)

A chandelier in the garden, what a novel idea! They are not what they seem, they are hummingbirds feeders in the version of small chandeliers, artsy, whimsical, colorful. Any place in the garden is the right place, hang them off trees, pergola and arbors. My hummingbirds are very happy these days.

Now relax, sit in this “Paradisio” alcove, with UV-resistant fabrics and maintenance-free material and forget the world! (Photo: Paradisio.com)
There is so much more to do in recreating a summer of harmony: solar shower, outdoor heaters, nighttime fire and all the items I can pull together for you in a jiffy, while saving you money too. Leave your name down below in the box and I shall answer you in 24 hours time. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990.  She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.  She designs landscape and hardscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. Find her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Living In The Time | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CeilingFan, #DecoratingTips, #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #EcoFriendlyHomeDecor, #HomeRemodeling, #OutdoorFurniture

The concept of living in the time is about how to transform a living space in a more responsible and sustainable space while keeping it full of dreams and personal touches.
One of the most loved idea is the Outdoor as part of the indoor interiors. I don’t want to talk about trend, as I don’t see this outdoor idea going away anytime soon. We are more willing to live with the nature than being surrounded by cement, but the outdoor must have all the amenities, functionality and attention to details as any interior, to feel livable and comfortable. (Photo: Grandinroad).

Outdoor furniture should be carefully selected for durability under the weather. Teak Wood is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona Grandis native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. It is used in the manufacture of outdoor furniture, boat decks, cutting boards, indoor flooring, countertops and as a veneer for indoor furnishings. It is weather, termite and pest resistant even when not treated with oil or varnish.

One of my friend introduced me to Ifit another hard wood from Guam and Pacific Rim. The extremely dense and reddish wood is highly termite resistant and was once extensively used for interior woodwork such as flooring, window frames, corner posts, cutting boards and other accessories, as it is highly polished. These type of wood species being durable and pest resistant become eco-friendly because they will outlived us and hopefully we will buy them only once, but their traveling will need lot of petrol to take them from their native lands to their next destination.

While decorating with sustainability in mind, think of a variety of eco-friendly upholstery fabrics, such as organic cotton grown without pesticides and not genetically modified. Organic Cotton is printable in many patterns and choices are endless.
Hemp is stronger and more durable than cotton, needs half as much water to grow and doesn’t require pesticides. Hemp is just beautiful if it remains in its natural coloration, as shown on the chairs in my photo.
I was really surprised the first time I saw a Tencel Fabric, made of wood pulp fibers. The moisture and temperature control is the wonderful benefit of clothing made from this unique way of processing a tree. The Tencel fabric pulls the moisture from the skin and releases into the air. Lounging around the poolside, or having a soft bathrobe made of wood pulp fiber is pure pleasure!

One other area that contributes to the making of a perfect outdoor living concept are the picture windows. It is very nice to admire the view from the garden, or the beauty of a night skyline of the city while sitting in a bathtub, but we must not think only of our inner pleasure. It is necessary to reduce home heating and cooling costs through air sealing techniques and house insulation. By plugging air leaks with caulking or weather strips, we can save more than 10 percent on the energy bill and by using Energy Star windows we reduce the heating bill by 30-40 percent compared to uncoated, single-pain windows.
Weatherized the entire home will provide year round comfort and savings.

Cool the house without air conditioning by using fans, specifically fans which remove the hot air from the attic and exchange the hot air in the house with cool air from outside.
A whole house fan is a large powerful fan that gets installed in a central part of the home (typically a hallway) and blows from the house into the attic.
As the house fan blows, the pressure in the attic increases and the pressure in the house decreases. The hot air in the attic then vents through roof and other attic vents. Of course this is a one time large expense.

Ceiling fans are less expensive and do a great job too in cooling the house without air conditioning. Tropical style ceiling fans will make a wonderful addition to any décor, whether it is traditional, rustic, tropical, or even elegant. Ceiling fans with blades up to 60″ or 72″ long are powerful and large enough to be right at home and keep us cool.
(http://ceilingfanmodels.com)

There is so much more to talk about the outdoor-indoor living, perhaps I will create a second part to this blog. In the meantime making a few improvements towards an intelligent living is already a good step. You, as a person, are an integral part of the environment. Cultivate flowers that will attract butterflies and grow your own food, it is possible even in pots on small balconies and you will elevate health and spirit. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes.
She is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Iron Power | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

24 Mar 2011 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeExteriorRemodeling, #HomeRemodeling, #IronDesign, #IronPower, #MediterraneanArchitecture, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Many times I drive through neighbors for discoveries, observing what people build, or just taking pictures for fun. Many times I see beautiful homes and many more times I find remodeled homes that were exactly made into a job, without taking in consideration the surroundings, or the style of the house.

(Photo: Ballard Design)

Branding your home is just the same as your personal brand. A person with a bubbly personality mostly likely will be colorful and an earnest person most likely will wear tone down colors. Imagine the opposite and the exterior will not match the personality of the person. The same happens with homes. Sometimes I see too many details that do not fit together, or a lack of.

For more than a decade American Ranch Style homes have been transformed in Mediterranean style, just with the addition of arched windows and nothing else. But Mediterranean style is much more than that. Stones on the exterior and interior are the important elements, stone window sills, recessed windows, thick walls, wood beams and so many more details. Iron, I must say is the cherry on the cake, it is the finish touch needed to complete the authentic Mediterranean look of the house. Rustic iron, iron aged with a green patina, oil rubbed bronze and plain wrought iron all seem very hard and cold, but against the stones and wood, iron is the only detail that will fit.

Besides, with a small expenditure on iron details here and there, the house will acquire that certain established look as if it has always been there for ages, that look of a lived home where the walls can talk, instead of the “propped up and finished yesterday” look. I am all for history and traditions.
Creating iron details in most critical areas is not very expensive, especially if all the work is done at once, volume counts and you get to see the results right away, but you also will benefit from the increased value of the house if you decide to sell it later.

What are the areas to improve with iron creations if your goal is to have a Mediterranean looking home? Let’s start at the front door by adding stones all around a solid wood door with all iron lighting and accessories. OK the iron crest over the door in this photo (top) is a bit too much, but your home is your castle, who can say different?
(Monogrammed Door Knocker-Horchow)

I love door knockers, I use them for decorations on garden walls, on doors different from the entry door and even as interior decorations. I have one on the kitchen wall, when I knock it, is to tell dinner is ready.

Not all the windows need a trellis. The trellis in this photo indicates the room is special and needs a special treatment. Use trellis as an accent, only to multiply the pleasure of being inside or near that particular room.
Planters add interest on the exterior walls, but also allow some climbing plants to take curvy shapes up against the wall, while forming a playful nature.

(Photo: Trellis over Window – http://www.horchow.com/English-Overdoor-Trellis/cprod31840203/p.prod)

Photo © Valentina Cirasola

Let’s not forget a gate. An iron gate will give the house an aura of elegant mystery especially if you need to ring in to enter and someone answer “I am the governess”.
Well OK this fantasy might not be too unreal for a few elected ones, but iron gates look very nice on smaller homes too. Of course the design of the gate itself must be proportioned to the size of the house.

These are a few suggestions to guide you through thinking what upgrading you can do in your home. I produce designs for any kind of iron solutions that are fabricated by my trusted iron workers. Let me know if I can assist you with many more suggestions, just leave your name in the box.

I offer consultations on-line through Skype line and in the traditional face-to-face consultation in your home. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian designer and true to her origins, she provides only the best workmanship and design solutions. She is a book author. Find her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

A Fabulous Space For Bacchus | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #FurnitureDesigns, #HomeRemodeling, #ItalianKitchenStyle, #kitchenDesign, #KitchenRemodeling, #WineCellar, Avaliving

Wine Tasting Area & Chef Pantry ©Valentina-Interiors & Designs

Brazilian Cherry and Pecan wood inlay. This is the kitchen among many of my designs that Avaliving selected to feature this week. The area where the refrigerator used to be became a space for wines and an area where to taste cheeses, slicing prosciutto, basically an area where to prepare aperitif. The tall floor to ceiling cabinet hosts sixty bottles of red wines on roll-out shelves. Clients did not really require a temperature controlled room for the red wines, as they use them every day with friends and family visiting often. A small refrigerator for white wines under the granite counter top was necessary to free the space in the family refrigerator, already bursting with food serving two growing boys and the family entertainments.

Full Kitchen View ©Valentina-Interiors & Designs

I strategically placed this wine area between the new door to the dining room and the chef pantry. The supplies such as crackers, toothpicks, dried nuts, fruits and stuff for aperitif are now kept close by the wines and the wines have easy access to the dining area with a new passageway, saving the owner a trip around the wall.
Planning a well-functioning kitchen is not just about designing cabinetry to stuff the walls, but it’s about letting all the spaces communicating with each others and their function.

The “anticato” tile floor I added really suited the clients who are Italians and like me, they don’t care that the floor or counters show a little ring of wines here and there, the signs of a good time and the sign of a lived home. Natural stones will leave with us and will become beautiful when they start showing the sign of life, just like our stones in Europe are living through centuries and everyone admires their beauty.

Full Kitchen View ©Valentina-Interiors & Designs

This wine area was part of the entire kitchen remodeling with family and dining rooms included.
There you have it, another example of how I can change a kitchen from an unattractive 1970 cooking area into a contemporary dining, cooking and entertainment showcase. Thanks to Avaliving featuring it this week, more people will have the chance to admire it.

I am available to consult with the wine lovers out there and to design a fabulous space fit for Bacchus. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

(All photos belong to ©Valentina Interiors & Designs)

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She has been operating in the USA and Europe since 1990. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos. She is also the author of two Italian regional cookbooks:

©Come Mia Nonnna – A Return To Simplicity http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
©Sins Of A Queen http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

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

Hot Fireplace | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

07 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #Fireplace, #FireplaceDesign, #HomeInteriors, #HomeRemodeling, #LivingRoomColors, Avaliving, Decorating

©Valentina-Interiors & Designs

I am so happy to start my Monday with the news that one of my project is featured on Ava until next Monday, a site where designers can interact and connect with potential clients anywhere in the world without having to travel. Ava’s site is a place where anyone looking for home solutions can find it there and learn from the experts. Every week AvaLiving has a theme and based on that it features the best submitted designs.
This week theme is: Hot Fireplaces.

I presented my project in Foster City, California of an interested fireplace in the living room with attached built-in unit.
This room was part of the entire home remodeling. Clients had no preconceived idea of any style, or decor. They were open to any suggestions. The only request was that the T.V. would not be on top of the mantel, as it is usually seen in most homes. A fireplace is for enjoying fire, while reading a good book, or sipping wines in company of friends. A crackling fire should be a cozy background for watching T.V.

©Valentina-Interiors & Designs

In designing this fireplace I had a few challenges: two windows on both sides of the fireplace and not enough clean walls to place a larger plasma T.V. as the client requested.
The result of my studies of the room was to design a built-in unit attached to the mantel to make it visually looking as one continuous wall. The built-in unit would include a short bookcase, a smaller plasma T.V., storage for DVD/CDs and the fireplace itself.
The fireplace’s stones came from the work done in other areas of the house. Being budget conscious I make sure no material goes to waste, as usual in all my projects. The iron stone was very expensive, it was a good thinking to use the left over for the hearth application. As the professional who is always ready, I shall be prompt and ready to help you with any of your design needs, whether it will be decorating, designing, or remodeling.

I am honored to be featured on AvaLiving, thank you Ava for your support. Life is good at Valentina Interiors & Designs. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian designer and true to her origins, she provides only the best workmanship and design solutions. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Distinctive Direction Of Italian Fall Home Fashion | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

05 Oct 2010 5 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #FallColors2010, #HomeFashion, #HomeRemodeling, #ItalianColors, #ItalianKitchen, #ItalianStyle, #KitchenColors

A few months ago, I had the idea of declaring the month of October the month of Italian style. Many presentations will occur this month in the Bay Area, one of them will be the event I have organized with Frette store in Stanford Shopping Centre, Palo Alto, CA. Frette is an Italian house producing luxury bed and bath items since 1860.
In October Frette is celebrating its 150th Anniversary with a new collection simply called “Anniversario”. It is my interest as a designer, to present the new Fall line and show my audience how to use it, in addition to talk about the distinctive direction Italian home design is taking this Fall 2010.

Fashion and home design are two separate disciplines always intertwining and taking oxygen from one another.
Since the beginning of time, the human body has determined any project of building. The reflection on the human body has been the vehicle that made people want to paint the body, to dress it, to build cities, to build homes and their interiors and to design our entire surroundings.

The Italian word “abito” (English: dress) takes from the verb “abitare” (English: to live, to inhabit). The dress is the first place our body lives in and the body offers infinite possibilities to relate ourselves to the surrounding space. Fashion gives us the freedom and fantasy to dress how we want and the freedom to compose our own style in homes.

To dress a home goes far beyond colors and fabrics, it is the thread, which resolves the human body’s architectural spatial challenges and satisfies the human desire to be surrounded by functional and beautiful objects.
Dressing an Italian home interior is quite simple as long as lines and forms are kept at a minimal. As an Italian born, I can say that Italians live in antiquity, we open our windows and history surrounds us, but in our homes we are very modern, we like simple, straight lines and very few bold colors.

(Photo ref leather floor: http://www.stonepeakceramics.com/products-collections-tiles.php?coll=TOUCH&linea=FIRE)

A leather red floor would be perfect for a home studio with satin chrome furniture frames mixed with glass, as much as a white/beige striped closet doors would look so elegant on a white marble floor. Play it tone on tone and never go wrong.
Italian kitchens are not at all fussy, but functionality is a must, color is optional, they are either very colorful, we like Ferrari red by the way, or very black, greige (combination of grey and beige) and rivers of white. Forget the kitchen knickknacks all together.

Italian living rooms are made for “fare bella figura” – an Italian philosophy to present a good image, to make a good impression. Our guests, when entering an Italian home, musty be greeted by beautiful things and be seated in an even more elegant room, which in some cases, the family hardly uses for themselves just to keep it new as long as possible.

Baths must have the minimal essentials and powder rooms do not exist.

Space in Italy is the essence. Italy is a small country, its homes reflect the restriction of space. In comparison with American homes, I must say Italian homes are very small, but they are very fashionable and efficient. If you visit a building with eight apartments, you will see eight different home styles, each one being very creative and á la page. In one of those eight styles, you bound to find a classic antique décor too.

Fashion and home design are two sides of the same creative coin, they both thrive on ideas and innovations.

Dress your home according to your character and personalize it as you would put together your fashion ensemble in the morning.
Carry a color scheme from room to room, mix modern with antique pieces, play with patterns, make art out of your memories and cherished moments, show your personality, be extravagant in small spaces, don’t forget to decorate cozy outdoor corners and make a “bella figura” with the main entry.

Hiring a professional designer, especially an Italian designer like myself will assure you the perfect look of an Italian home. I am ready to offer you my services, if you are. Ciao,

Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990 and a former Fashion Designer. She blends well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. Check out her books on

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

Valentina Interiors And Designs Has Been Featured Again! | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

06 Apr 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeDesign, #HomeRemodeling, #InteriorDesign, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, Avaliving

Hello World,
It is so rewarding to come to work on Monday morning from a short Easter weekend holiday and finding my name published all over the Internet. Avaliving, a site for designers offering their services on line, today has published my interview with them.
http://www.avaliving.com/article.php?aid=1617

As a designer, I have been part of Ava’s family since about three years ago. The scope of Avaliving’s site is to give a larger exposure to those designers participating in its programs.
My profession as a designer has really changed in the last eight/nine years. To be able to stay on the market and in a profitable business, I had to adapt to new ways of thinking and accept the new ways clients shop. It is not imaginable anymore to raise a sign outside the studio/office and think clients will come. Designers must have a presence in the local market made of referrals to sustain the business in a continuous flow and a larger presence on line, a new and most important way to sell services. It really doesn’t matter what kind of design business one might have, if a designer is in the service business, she/he is in the marketing business of selling designer services. This is the new twist, we can’t expect to be sitting behind a fashionable desk, in a well decorated office and expect clients to multiply.
I have transformed my business and my mindset with advices, solutions and strategies from expert marketers to achieve my dreams and help my clients in realizing their dreams.

I am an Italian expatriate by choice, not by necessity. I knew since I was a little girl my place was supposed to be in the World and not just in Bari, Italy, my home town where I was born, studied, worked and lived all my life. I made the decision to move when the time was right.

I carry with me the educational baggage of an Italian with the beauty and style I have been used to caress and admire. I bring the same into people’s homes, give my clients the power to design with me and at the end I leave them with affordable, comfortable luxury.

I said in my interview with Avaliving that my life is a continuous evolvement of colorful events. That’s because I am a curious person and I get interested and involved in everything.

People who know me say I am a great cook. Food is fuel for my brain. I don’t care what kind of petrol I put in my car, but I care about what kind of food I put in my stomach. In fact, I love food so much, I have written my first designer cookbook and published it: ©Come Mia Nonna-A Return To Simplicity.
Robert T., a friend and business associate of www.wine-fi.com says:
“Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”.

Check out my first book, it is making people happy, I was told:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna

OR

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

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Life is simply good!

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

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. 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.

Ava Living | My Profile | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

23 Feb 2010 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingTips, #HomeFashion, #HomeRemodeling, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, Avaliving

Ava Living is an online site for designers who are willing to offer services at a distance and willing to think outside the box in a non traditional way. I am often featured on Ava’s first page and often write blogs and articles on various subjects. Check out my work:
Ava Living | My Profile

As an Interior Designer, I deal with one of the most fundamental areas: the home. Home is where you return to relax; a place that props you up in time of crisis. It is the center of everything and a lot of the answers to questions of life are there.
As a designer, I resolve your challenges, my style is your style, you will be involved in my process of designing your spaces and at the end of the project, I will leave you with a comfortable, functional space that will nurture your soul and vital forces. Your spaces will be Pure – Elegant – Original.
I am passionate about my work and everything creative in life. I have founded my business since 1990.
Being Italian born and raised, my design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. I will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.
I am always at you disposition for any questions and I am in service with love.

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

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She combines well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially she loves to design kitchens and wine grottos. Author of the book: ©Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w