#ValentinaCirasolaDesigner | Valentina Expressions

Where Did Thursday Go? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

18 Aug 2012 16 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #GratitudeDay, #ReaderAppreciationAward, #SinsOfAQueen, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner

Where did one day of my week go? I seem to have lost a Thursday. Did this ever happen to you? Yesterday, Friday, I was doing things I had scheduled to do Thursday, but towards to end of my workday, I realized it was already Friday.

I looked around in my studio, all the pretty pictures, décor, fabrics and props I use for my work and I realized that all of this is always here, they don’t move around like I do, they don’t get exhausted like I do, at times they hear some non-sense and they observe me silently, yet days revolve without even noticing them and the busyness of my every day grinding work puts me almost in a state of hypnotism. I was told that time in space doesn’t exist, so why should it exist in my timetable? Why am I in disbelief when often I lose one day in the week? Or why is it important to do something on Thursday or Friday, for example?

I worked very hard this week, I was able to achieve more or less what I wanted, Friday arrived upon my shoulder and didn’t even make any plans for the evening. Is this really bad, or unbearable? I don’t think so. There must be a reason why I lost one day. Perhaps something is telling me to slow down this train, which runs faster than the speed of light, to breath and to be thankful for everything I create and for the people supporting me. I want to thank Jamie from http://grandmothermusings.com/ for nominating me for the “Reader Appreciation Award”. I am late in thanking you Jamie, nonetheless I am very honored and humbly accept it.

Rules of this award are:
* Post seven interesting things about yourself.
• Nominate 5 people (I am bending the rule a bit) who in turn will post on their page the award with the link to the giver.
• Let them know about the nomination.

7 Things You Might Find Interesting About Home Designs Master

1. I was made to be on stage and I didn’t know it until a few years ago, when a business coach told me I am a show person and I should use this strong feature of my character as my business strength.
2. I dream of having a home made of brick façade with a theatre stage inside, where I can entertain my friends with plays, comedy, or classical music and real actors or singers.
3. I like to have a houseboat on the water and entertain at night under the stars “al fresco”.
4. I like to cook and eat preferably with people. My motto is “Never eat alone when doing business”.
5. I like political thriller films and any thrillers, but not horrors. My favourite are Hitchcock and Agatha Christy films.
6. I know a ton of people, but I only choose a few to be my friends and they are all good.
7. Here we go again, I lost something in the 7th position.

My nominations are for:
1. http://ancientfoods.wordpress.com/ – Joanna writes about the interesting history and roots of our food.
2. http://imeldaevans.wordpress.com/ – Imelda, is a writer, her blog is Wine, Women & Wordplay.
3. http://beyondthegreendoor.wordpress.com/ – Kenley writes about savoring the Everyday Adventures of Cooking and subjects related to food.
4. http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ – Jake at The Sunday Post blog is a photographer and graphic artist. I learn many good things from photographers.
5. http://roamandhome.com/ – Karen writes about her travel and dining experience.

I am so happy to be part of this blogosphere made of so many interesting and colorful people. I learn from your blogs and amuse myself with all of you every day. Yes, I do read you all every day. Thank you all for following my blog, I am very grateful for all your support and comments.
I don’t know who said this: “There are no strangers in this world, only people we have not met yet”. I want to get to know all of you.
Happy Saturday. 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 drawings for remodeling, upgrading, new home construction, 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. She is an author and her books are on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

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

The Sunshine Award | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

05 Jun 2012 14 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SunshineAward, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Yesterday Jamie from http://grandmothermusings.com/ nominated my blog for the Sunshine Award.

I have been blogging for a while on anything that has to do mostly with style, home décor, architecture, or fashion. You might have guessed it, I am a passionate designer.
From my site http://valentinaexpressions.com I write about Italian culture and food.

Although I love to blog, I must admit for a while it felt as if I was writing to a wall. It felt lonely, it felt like a giant void, I had the impression nobody was interested in style, or design matters. But I don’t easily give up, I continued having fun with my blog, at least I was putting down my thoughts. Now, I am honored you guys are reading my blogs and following me, which brought me to receive the nomination of the Sunshine Award.
I am supposed to nominate 10 other bloggers and talk about me in 10 questions. The first part is easy, the second is not, as I rather talk about other people and not about myself. Here are the award rules.

Award Rules
** Include the Award’s Logo in a post or on your blog.
** Answer 10 questions about yourself.
** Nominate 10 other bloggers.
** Link your nominees to this post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.
** Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

10 Questions About Me

What is my real fear?
To be left completely alone in the world, with no other human being or form of life. Boy, that scares the hell out of me!

What did I want to be when I grew up?
I am still finding that answer. It’s so difficult to become one person only when I can be many people.
I am pretty happy being a designer today, but I like to cook I could be a chef too, or a comedian, perhaps I could be a comedian chef who designs my stage clothes. UHM!
I also like to travel, perhaps I can be a comedian chef who designs all my shows in different parts of the world in different sets.

What are some of my hobbies?
I like to sit at a cafe’ to observe people, listening to their conversations, watch street actions and write fantasy stories based on what I observed. When I don’t watch the world, I have interests in reading, painting, cooking, singing and in most of the common hobbies. Basically, I like to feel the ground under my feet. I will never jump off a bridge or a skyscraper to feel my heart in my mouth and my brain in my stomach just to have fun.

What hobby would I like to start?
I like to learn saxophone and play it until I am 100 years old. Perhaps that will keep me young, actually I am sure it will.

If I could tell people anything, what would be the most important thing to say?
Love, live and matter in people’s life.

What’s the best prank I have pulled off?
This is really funny, but I don’t know if it can translate well. I am Italian born and lived in Italy all my life until a few years ago when I decided to move to California.
One day in Italy, we were all teenagers, we decided to go to the cinema. A tall bald man was sitting in front of me covering most of the screen view, at least I thought he was. While he was watching the movie, he moved in his seat to the right and I moved to the left. He moved to the left and I moved to the right. I could not bare to watch the entire movie like that. So I invented something. I slapped his bald head saying: “Hello John, long time I haven’t seen you. What a coincidence, you are here too, why did you not say you were coming, we could come together?” Obviously he was surprised, he wasn’t anyone I knew, I just wanted him to move to another seat and he did. We were a group of belligerent, but innocuous teenagers sitting behind him, he couldn’t take us. As he moved to the upstairs balcony, we followed him in silence and sat right behind him again. This time we wanted to have fun. After about 10 minutes, I slapped his bald head again saying: “I am sorry sir, I thought you were my friend John. Excuse me, but downstairs there is a man who looks just like you, you might want to meet him”. Well that was the end of him that night. I think he left the cinema for good. Today those teenagers are all professionals, from lawyers to doctors, from bank directors to designers and architects and we never used any drugs, only simple fun.

What book am I planning to read next?
Generally read two books together. Perhaps next book will be a Molière comedy. Fun.

Coffee, Tea or Champagne?
Bubbles all the way.

Lemon Torte or Chocolate Cheesecake?
Chocolate cheesecake with added lemon flavor. Yummy!

10 Fabulous Nominees!

http://cosmiccowpie.com/blog/ – Navigate with Carra today’s stressful world.

http://bringingeuropehome.com/ – I love her story of Europe.

http://healthdemystified.wordpress.com/ – Health, fitness, and success.

http://nataliasarkissian.wordpress.com/ – Her postcard from Italy brings great story and pictures.

http://astimegoesbuy.me/ – About fashion dilemma.

http://thebigbookofdating.wordpress.com/ – Dos and don’t about dating.

http://letlifeinpractices.com/ – About Psychology, Relationships

http://grandmothermusings.com/ – Helpful hints on everything. She nominated me for this award.

Well, I am missing a few more bloggers, hope some of you will forgive me. You are all important to me, but it is late at night and I can’t connect my brain energy anymore. I have not worked on my book tonight, perhaps playing on-line was what I needed to do instead. Thank you for reading me. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a professional interior designer still having fun with her work even after twenty-two years, showing no sign of wanting to quit. Her book on the subject of colors is just about ready to be published. Stay tuned for the launch of ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors. In the meantime check out her books on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

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

The Power Of An Idea | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 May 2012 7 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ArtForInteriors, #ArtSelection, #DecoratingTips, #LucioFontana, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaCirasolaBookOnColors, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, Red-A Voyage Into Colors

(Concept Spatiale 1959 – painting by Lucio Fontana)

Not too long ago, I was 14 years young, and I found myself with a bunch of middle school kids going to visit the Pinacoteca, a large museum of my hometown in Bari, Italy. We were somewhat well-mannered kids, but the yearly school trip in a bus, guided by a couple of teachers was more an excuse to be silly for one day and an escape from everyday routine sitting at a school desk than a time to learn something in the fields of life.

The Pinacoteca is a large neo-classical building with large open spaces and so much art on the walls we had never seen before, of course we were only thirteen and fourteen years of age. Each art piece amused us in some ways or another while teachers were making efforts in keeping us attentive to their explanations and comments on the beautiful art pieces. We arrived in front of Lucio Fontana’s paintings and we were abruptly silenced at the view of sliced up canvases, at least that’s what we thought they were.

The Argentine-Italian artist was well-known in Europe for his series of slashed monochrome paintings. Sometimes he embellished the slashed canvases with costume jewelry and glitters. Lucio Fontana, lived between 1899–1968. His art was seen a mixture of avant-garde art under Italian fascism and kitsch painting of the postwar economic miracle. “Fontana attacked the idealism of twentieth-century art by marrying modernist aesthetics to industrialized mass culture” said art critic Anthony White. His art was a reflection of his time and it was perhaps the beginning of pop art.

Lucio Fontana started developing the idea of space-oriented art, renouncing the usage of traditional materials and painting objects with fluorescent colors in dark rooms illuminated by ultraviolet light.

The perforated canvasses marked the starting of a new “Concetto Spaziale” Spatial Concept and did not come until the beginning of 1950. It was this idea that really left a mark in the art world.
Today Fontana’s works can be found in the permanent collections of more than one hundred museums around the world.

(Right: photography of Lucio Fontana by Ugo Mulas).

Why did I tell this story? I recalled asking one of my teachers on that field trip to the Pinacoteca, if Fontana’s art was really to be considered art. With all my disbelief, I thought anybody could have taken the knife and slash the canvasses. I thought art was supposed to be an extension of what is in our mind, not just an act of a “crazy moment”.
I said to my teacher that I could have done just the same and make a ton of money like him. She responded by saying: “Yes, you could have done the same, but he had the idea first!”

My teacher’s answer was simple, but powerful and stayed with me my entire life. Never underestimate the power of your idea, regardless of how big or small it might be. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive art. She is a “colorist”. To her, selecting art means to bring out the best energy of her clients and nourish their soul. She is the forthcoming author of her book on colors: ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors, which will be released very soon. Check out her books on

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

From Italy To America | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #PhilippeMatthewsShow, #SelfImprovement, #SinsOfAQueen, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, PMShow

The PM Philippe Matthews Show aired my interview yesterday on the Blogtalkradio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepmshow/2011/11/15/valentina-cirasola–from-italy-to-america

The homepage of his website says: “If You Like O You You’re Gonna Love P” and I truly do. Philippe is a wonderful, caring person.
Considered the Oprah of the Internet, Philippe Matthews is the owner of the PM Show and PM Blog Radio Talk Show, Internet entrepreneur and a Philanthropist.
He is the Author of: “SHOCKPhilosophy” book on mindset for massive manifestation, “Developing the Mindset to Be Rich Before Becoming Rich” and “How To Make Millions When Thousands Have Been Laid Off” books.

Philippe Matthews on all of his T.V. and radio shows features Bestselling Authors, Thought Leaders, Change Agents, Entertainers and World Class Experts in Personal, Spiritual and Professional Development such as Marianne Williamson, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Deepak Chopra. Best selling Financial Authors Robert T. Kiyosaki, Robert G. Allen and Suze Orman. Media and motivation moguls such as, Stedman Graham, Russell Simmons, Zig Ziglar and countless more!

I feel so fortunate to have been interviewed on his blogtalkradio and to be part of his Internet family of many respectful, well-known people.
The interview was a pleasant casual encounter between Philippe and myself as if we were in his living room talking about my experience of coming to America and make a 365 degree life adjustment. Philippe doesn’t ask questions that are different, he asks questions that make a difference.

In this interview I wanted to be an inspiration to young adults and to people who feel lost in the unfriendly economy we are currently living. Philippe touched on many points one of which was spirituality and business.
I am in a design service business and a tough one! I must sell my ideas, which are real to me, but intangible to my clients. I sell my services and my ideas without being salesy, with love, friendliness and a lot of humor, never as a pushy salesperson. I never forget to be grateful to my Supreme Being for what I have, for all the great people I meet everyday and for the opportunities I can create just by asking the Universe.
In fact, I made a joke that I have a direct line with my Supreme Being and when I want something it is easy enough to dial number one on my real telephone.
There is always that “Someone”, that “Presence” next to me ready to listen and never feel alone in this world, even though, I crossed the ocean by myself to set up a new life in America.

To have a spiritual guidance is very important, but to have a mentoring guide is equally important. I really never knew what mentoring was, other than having my parents as a guide and teachers. But when I arrived in America, I discovered a whole new way of thinking and it felt as if everyone I met had something more interesting to say than the person before. I followed very famous people, read their autobiography, their successes or non-successes, tried to understand their motivations and I stored the best examples they had to give.

Daydreaming was another point of my interview with Philippe. I had a vision of becoming an artist since a tender age, but it wasn’t well taken in my Italian family. I left my doors opened to all kinds of opportunities and when the time came, I took actions. No dream will ever come alive and take shape without actions!
It is has been a fun journey ever since I started daydreaming, a journey that will continue as long as I can with fun, humor and more opportunities.
In my design business, I don’t know when I stop having fun and when my work starts.
That to me is success!

I also have a column on ThePMShow website under the title: The Good Life, from which I publish my thoughts once a month.
http://thepmshow.tv/category/more/the-good-life/valentina-cirasola/

Much obliged Philippe to be enumerated among your high-caliber people. 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 homes, décor restyling and home fashion. “Vogue Italy” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. She has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15.
She is also the author of the forthcoming book on the subject of colors and two Italian regional cuisine books available on

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

Sweet Dreams | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

02 Jun 2010 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BedroomInteriors, #BedroomStyle, #DecoratingBedroom, #HomeFashion, #ValentinaCirasolaDesigner, Colors

Boy, did I sleep through the month of May, or was I having too much fun celebrating May, the national month of sleep? I wished that was the case. Actually, I was very busy with presentations and planning people’s home to build in the next few months, that I forgot to write this piece of information on time.

(https://omf.net.au/Products/Detail/2079)

Sleep is not static, movement is a natural part of sleep.
“When we are upright, our lower back and neck have a natural curve held in place by our postural muscles. In sleep, these muscles relax and we must depend on our mattress for support” , says Dr. Eric Grigsby, nationally recognized pain management physician.
European companies have been very attentive to inadequate sleep and to address the issues of back pain and discomfort during the night. They have developed bed systems with a unique blend of ortho-engineering and mattresses that will help resolving problems of sleepless nights. There is one particular bed Dux Bed that comes to my mind. It is made of thousands of springs contouring the body to help the spine rest in a natural position. The bed works while the muscles take a break. Swedish steel springs provide better contouring for the body, reducing pressure points which can help improve circulation.

(Photo above http://neurostis.com/dux-bed)

A mattress should do a few, but very important things:
It should suit the individual instead of one-size-fits-all.
It should provide an excellent support no matter how soft or firm the mattress is.
It should be comfortable and resilient for its entire life.
It should be motionless, not full of bounce and its components should not have sag formations.
A mattress intended for a couple should be tailored with a dual-adjusted mechanism for lumbar support and personal comfort zones.
Let’s not forget the feature of lower humidity and comfortable sleeping temperatures.

Aside from the bed technology, we should think of getting relief from the comfort of bedding and environment as part of your sleeping treatment.
Italian linens are renowned for beauty, lusciousness and how their delicate textiles treat our skin. Most Italian linens are made of a blend of cotton and linen.
Cotton being a breathable fabric is used in the interior face to touch the skin and all the other fibers including silk are used on the exterior faces for beauty. The good cotton is not about thread count, but about the quality of the longer fibers used in the weaving process.
Linen yarn has a fresh feel, a silky shine and high resistance. Linen can absorb water up to 20% of its weight without the body feeling any humidity, thus it is most appropriate in warmer climate.

(Frette bedding)

Frette is one of the Italian brand that comes to mind for its superior linens, bedding and elegant sleep wear. As I always say: “If you can’t roll in bed with an Italian lover, you can at least roll in Italian sheets”. When it comes to personal comfort, soul nourishment and health, quality matters.

I am here to help with any challenges you might have with your sleep, or your sleeping environment.

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. Ciao.
Valentina
Interior Designer since 1990.

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, in her career has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.
Check her books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w