Awards Month | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Monday, Apr 15 2013

Top Of The World

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How fun is this? This month two awards landed on this Home Designs Master site and one award on Valentina Expressions site. In this month of April, I have not said THANK YOU yet, therefore it is time to appreciate everyone who awarded me.
You have no idea how happy I am to have followers interested in the subjects I write. A few of you I have met in person and it has been a great experience to translate friendships from the virtual to real world, but due to distances and time, many of you I will never meet, unfortunately.

However, reading and learning from all of your experiences and situations, getting amused with some of your posts, or knowing to have companionship through your blogs is all very precious to me and it makes feel less lonely at times. Thank you for being here.

The Dragon Loyalty Award came from Katrina Perkins - http://katrinaperkins.wordpress.com – a beautiful actress “A force of Nature, with intense acting skills”. Thank you Katrina, sorry for being so late, I didn’t forget it.

The rules are as follows:
Display the Award Certificate on your website.
Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award.
Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.
Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post.
Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

I grouped a few things about myself in a short video of my past.

* I have always liked being on stage, not for some strange self-admiration, but because I really like theatre and all the stage representations. The first time I was on stage, I was five, a few centuries ago, for a solo Christmas recital.

* In that occasion, I met Santa Claus for the first time. He intimidated me when I received some candies from him. Only now I know that under those Santa’s clothes there was a teenage girl.

* I never made to be an actress, but I became a theatre goer and I conduct business with humor.

* I was born Italian and have been a Francophile all my life. My first car was a French-made red-orange Citroën Diane 6, made for young people, fun and snazzy. The shift gear was on the face of the dashboard instead of the driver’s side and windows slide back and forth instead of rolling down. Miss it so much!

* I love sun, sea and colors. I am in the sun winter and summer at least one hour a day to play in my garden, exercise at the park, hanging laundry, cooking, or goofing off. I don’t burn in the sun and I look tanned all year around. Pardon the legs, the photographer wanted to take a full advantage of his lens.

* I never forgot my Italian roots and where I was born. In my home we eat Italian food, anywhere in the world my home has been and whether I have company or not. At times, I wear a chef hat that in Latin reads “Dux Coquorum” (leader of cooks) and the apron that reads “Lavator Amphorum” (amphoras washer). It confuses people enough to question me which I like the best.

* Love to wear hats and they do not have to be expensive, as long as they look good and mean something.

Well, I better leave something for the end of the week, when I will thank more people. This is fun.

Here are my 15 nominees: 
http://taylorjorjorian.wordpress.com – Photographic Surreal Impressionism

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com - Stories and photographs of her travels

http://leannecolephotography.com - A landscape photographer from Australia

http://myhomefoodthatsamore.wordpress.com – Food for thoughts and thoughtful food

http://greendoorhospitality.wordpress.com - Adventure within everyday entertainment

http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com - Freelance writer from New Zealand

http://hillsofherchastity.wordpress.com - Inspiring poems

http://imeldaevans.wordpress.com - Author and storyteller

http://wheresmybackpack.com - A traveller who has fun getting there and being there

http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com – Those who do not travel read only one page

http://nataliasarkissian.wordpress.com – Postcards from Italy

http://zenandgenki.com – Wellness in body and spirit

http://bluefishway.com - Thoughts from a divorced father

http://50yearproject.wordpress.com – Her goal is to visit 192 countries and read 1001 books

http://astronomybythecosmos.com – Cosmos never appeared so interesting

Create a great week. Ciao.
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
http://valentinaexpressions.com

Copyright © 2013 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

 

Valentina Cirasola is a trained 
Interior Designer 
in business since 1990. She is the owner and principal designer of her company: Valentina Interiors & Designs. Being Italian born and raised, Classicism and timeless style influenced Valentina’s design work. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. Author of three books available on:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

 

 

 

 

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Treasure Trove | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Monday, Feb 18 2013

It was 11:00 am when today I entered the Treasure Trove antique shop, where did the time go? It’s now 5:00 pm and the store workers are pushing me out the door. They can’t believe I have been in there all day and I can’t believe I forgot to eat, my favorite activity!

I am a contemporary woman, absolutely love the time I am living, but I adore the past and surround myself with anything unusual and original. Growing up in Europe it was customary to visit regularly “mercato delle pulci” flea market, they are the back door of history. It has been said that the dress Marie Antoinette wore for her coronation, turned up in a flea market years later after commoners had worn it and misused it badly. Flea markets and second time around stores are the creative source for a prolific fantasy. You must imagine a voiles curtain as a tablecloth instead, or a crystal glass for cotton balls and q-tips, or even a Bakelite purse no longer for an Opera night, but for a business networking event, where the purse might be used as an ice breaker.

Crystal ball

Vintage findings

Crystal bowl & gold plated spoons

Pierrot face

Earring covering a nail

I also find old jewelry very interesting. A long time ago women used the parure, meaning matching set composed of broach, necklace, earrings bracelet and ring. I wouldn’t go around decorated like a boring Christmas tree, that’s why I buy only one of these pieces from a parure no longer matching and use it as drawer knobs, or as a decoration to hide a picture nail, other than wear it on a cashmere sweater, or attached to the pocket of a pair of jeans.

Going to a flea market I will never leave with what I had in mind to find and neither anyone else I know. This time I was looking for a particular mirror I didn’t find, but I left the store with things absolutely not needed that I will use in my décor with a spontaneous joy. I will hang the green hat on the French chair; I will wear the Bakelite purse to a business networking, serve coffee with the golden plate non-matching spoons, serve chocolates and strawberries in the red Depression glass vase; the Pierrot brass face has found its niche between my drawings on the gallery wall in the corridor and the crystal ball ended up in the pot with the Amaryllis.

If you are looking for furniture with a flavor of the past, I would recommend bringing with you measurements of the room you want to decorate, measuring tape, picture of the room, perhaps some of the texture you are going after and a color palette, then you need to learn the skill of bargaining. Often cash is alluring and speaks better than a credit card, if you want to bring the price down considerably.

The personalized décor I like for me is the type in which everything comes from different eras and lives together very well without clashing. In my house the metals, the woods and the picture frames are all different, but they mix so well people always wonder how I do it. Simple,  break all the decorating rules and shock anyone who comes to visit!  Long time ago, I tried to have a minimalist home to avoid those dusting moments every woman hate, but I didn’t feel comfortable in an empty home, it wasn’t me, the house was cold and uninspiring. As a result, I was out all the time and neglected my house anyway, thinking that there wasn’t much to clean and could have done it in a few minutes. Those minutes were never appropriate, nor convenient because I didn’t want to be there. Now, my house is warm, full, opulent and very colorful. Vintage is for the courageous!
Time for a glass of wine! I deserve it, I have helped history staying alive. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com  

http://valentinaexpressions.com

Copyright © 2013 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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My Christmas Village | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Wednesday, Dec 21 2011

I can finally take care of “building” my village. This year many days ran together, during the course of many weeks I lost at least one day every time and wondering where did my time go. How did I manage that? This year has been a real lesson for me and I will take care of my busyness at the beginning of next year, but now it is time to think of my Christmas village.

Years ago, I fell in love with hand painted houses representing Charles Dickens’s village. I was new in USA, seeing Christmas villages in stores were new thing for me, just as everything else was. I started to collect as many little houses I could until one day I had no more place to store them and stopped the collection.
The village I build for Christmas every year is my fantasy, not a real village. The style of architecture does represent Victorian England of early 1800s, the small statues of people are dressed in Victorian fashion, so darling, but everything else is a fantasy. I have a theatre for plays, comedies and ballet performances, the Opera House is grand. I have many pubs and restaurants, hotels, various shoppes, antique stores, a seamstress’s house, playgrounds for kids, the light house and a barn, an ice skate ring with moving people (battery operated), a few library buildings, a train station with a sound of a train coming and a real moving train, a battery operated toy. In my village there is no police station, no hospital, no government buildings and no schools. Hey, this is my village and in my fantasy we all learn from each other, we are all good to each others and help one another.

It takes many hours to put the village up, string all the lights inside the small houses, creating attractive streets and passages over bridges and gardens, arrange the houses to design an inviting village with the main drag with all the fashionable stores just as if I were a certified city planner. I like to place street benches next to cozy corners or views, kids and carriages in the right spots and attach all the sounds to make the village come alive. I like to keep all the lights and sounds turned on all day, but at night it becomes magic. The lay out of my village varies every year, streets and things to do are never the same and I amaze myself how many solutions I can create. It’s playtime!

I leave the rest of the room in suffuse lighting to allow the village to be on stage, when is completed it is quite beautiful. December is the only time of the year I can live almost in history, I get to step back in time to experience a much simpler and slower life even though is only in my fantasy and through toys. Perhaps during Charles Dickens’s time they said the same thing about a slower living style before the 1800s.

In a separate area of the room, away from the village display, I don’t miss to set up a spirituality corner with my little manger made in Germany by wood workers artists who are still designing small items all by hands and some angels made of Venetian glass made in Murano. LED light strings and candles everywhere illuminate the rest of the house.

The custom of turning on shiny, bright and colored lights in December comes from the burning the “Yule Log” in Germany, a medieval pagan festival that occurred every December to celebrate the winter Solstice and the short dark days of winter. The burning of the Yule Log was a way to welcome light, the return of the sun and it represented Jesus as the light of the world.

However I want to look at it, I am one of the few people who decorate Christmas in a different way. The important thing is to celebrate a new light that will take the darkness of the winter away from our life and project us into the New Year with a renewed spirituality and new goals toward the humanity and ourselves.

I hope you will come up with your own different display too and please remember I am always ready to decorate and design with you.
Have a Happy Christmas and happy holidays. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com
www.Valentinaexpressions.com

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends fashion and interior well in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual. She is the author of the forthcoming book on the subject of Colors entitled RED-A Voyage Into Colors, due to be published very soon.

Valentina’s books on the Italian regional cuisine are doing very well. They are available on

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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From Italy To America | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Wednesday, Nov 16 2011

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

www.Valentinaexpressions.com

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

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. Valentina was featured in Italy on: “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California. She has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available on Amazon, through her publisher and her website:

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

 

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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Chaos And Dinner | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Saturday, Oct 29 2011

What a way to celebrate Halloween! Last night and for the second time, I went to a cabaret show at Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco, the ultimate crazy amusement. Teatro Zinzanni is one in a long line of high-spirited San Francisco theatrical experience.

The high pace, high energy program evolves in a combination of cabaret, cirque, opera, vaudeville arts, games and dances. There is no real stage, actors, singers and acrobats perform in the middle of the circular room and between tables where diners are sitting.

Guests are greeted at the door by young and beautiful women in fish nets stockings, garter, feathers and corsets. It is a step back in time, a prelude of an exceptionally fun evening.
“The Belle Époque” era, late 1800, is the style of dresses all the staff wears and the high performers are in their stage costumes or the character they impersonate.

The interior of the Theatre reflects the same era, with a lot of red velvet upholstery and gold trims, very frivolous, but very stylish and very Moulin Rouge.
Waiters and waitresses, bus boys and girls all serve in costume, dance and sing while they are holding in their hands the dishes full of food to be served at each table. This is fine dining at its best. I especially appreciated the squash velute’ soup with roasted apple slices, dill and a few lemon juice drops. Photographing during the performance is not allowed.
The scenario is happy, up beat and frivolous and the performances take place during the development of a 5-course dinner.

The only draw back is that unless you buy the table for yourself and company you bring along, you will end up being seated with many other people who might not be interested in socializing for the time you must spend together at the dinner table.

On my left I had a couple in their early ’50 and a couple in their early ’70 on my right. We made our acquaintances at the table.
The people on my right clearly don’t find life very amusing, because they did not even laugh one time during the show. The show was so funny, how could they not laugh? The people on my right were checking their watch every 15 minutes, counting the time aloud: it’s seven o’ clock, it’s 7:15, it’s 7:30, perhaps the show started past their bedtime and couldn’t wait to go home and get in the sack.

My evening was fun no matter what and I really enjoyed myself, but if I had been seated with a crowd more alive, the evening would have been an incredible one.
Perhaps those people sitting at each of my side, deep down inside, wished they could have been as a free spirit as I am.

The show at the Zinzanni mirrors the spirit of the city, a magical place that embraces frivolity, fun, intimacy and self-expression.
Enjoy life when opportunity comes, enjoy every moment and don’t worry about people who want to put a break on your frivolity or happiness.

If you have a desire to decorate a home theatre in La Belle Époque style, or only one room, I am here to help you, just leave your name in the box below. I would be thrilled to decorate in such exciting Parisian style. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

A Design Success Story Video:
http://youtu.be/pOKI6LkOkkA

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interior and colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. She is the author of three books available on

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

 

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A Watchful Eye | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Monday, Aug 22 2011

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!
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 loose them?
Should you need advices on security systems, I shall be here to help with your needs, just leave your name in box below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

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. Valentina was featured in Italy on: “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Find her books on:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

 

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Rotate Your Art, Rotate Your Mood | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Monday, Jul 18 2011

July 20th is Moon Day, I feel like celebrating all the lunatics in my life. I wished, but no, I am joking.
There is no doubt we are under the influence of planets and moon phases. I am wondering if the artist Sydell Lewis (http://www.sydellart.com/) featured here was guided by a fabulous moon when she decided to paint them.

Her art is not only vivid in colors, but my eyes perceive a certain mysticism when turning the painting in different direction. In the back of some of her paintings there is a revolving mechanism, an innovative, brilliant idea, which turns the artwork upside down, or side ways, thus changing the image altogether and offering a completely different interpretation. Not all her artwork comes with the said rotating mechanism, some are still in frames as we are accustomed to see art.

The artist was telling me that the idea of the rotating mechanism came one day while she was hiking. She realized that the path she was on looked so much different coming back than the way it looked going up. Coming back she noticed more views and more details, just because she was crossing different angles.
All artists’ goal is to create an emotional and visual impact, but Sydell, also wants to create a stimulus for the viewers and open more possibility to their imagination. To that thought, I would add that she paints energy in a multi-striate form, which by turning it in many directions helps changing the viewer’s mood and fantasy.

Energy is exactly the positive or negative element which runs in our home or office spaces, it depends on how harmoniously the furniture arrangement flow with colors and light, order or clutter, cleanliness or dirtiness.

Chinese people celebrate endless series of festivals during the course of a year. Most of the festivals take place on important dates in the Chinese lunar calendar. Their furniture arrangements and the direction of a home when is in the building phase also have a lot to do with positive and negative energy.

I remember when my mom changed the furniture arrangement at least three times a year, when we were lucky. Sometimes coming back from school, my room had changed location entirely and not just the furniture.
I don’t know if my mom was guided by lunar changes, she was a fashion designer and a pretty creative type, but she sure allowed herself to be playful with the arrangements of furniture, accessories, fabrics and colors. She even used the backside of a fabric to create an original dress.
Today, in smaller doses, I do the same in my house, but only because I don’t have a huge block of time to play with my furniture. My wall art is in constant rotation, according to my mood. In the spring I put up bright and cheerful paintings, in the autumn I put up painting with warmer colors and other times, I take down everything and hang only mirrors. Accessories and accent chairs also go from room to room and find a better place to shine every time. This is called floating the furniture, a technique I use when I stage a home for resale. Moving furniture around from room to room will save my clients’ money while achieving a good decorating result. Even small objects will change the energy in the house when we place them in a different location, actually they will look even newer.

Nowadays we designers break rules more often than not. A portrait will always be seen with the person’s head up (I think), but an abstract painting leaves so much to the imagination.
Aside from the fact that I never see the artist’s interpretation, why not hang the art on the walls the way I see it, or the way it satisfies my mood in a particular day. Now we have the rotating mechanism to help us feel free to express ourselves even more without incurring in the situation of offending the artist.

As the lunar phases are created by changing angles (relative positions) of the earth, as our mood changes according to the angles of happenings in our life, the same way we should allow the energy of your home to change according to our likings. If you feel to hang a paintings upside down it’s OK, it is no longer considered “lunacy”.

As the professional who is always ready, I shall be prompt and ready to help you with any of your needs, whether it will be decorating, designing, or remodeling, just don’t forget to leave your name in the box below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/2/eC2LVXANG5U
http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/0/kWuB7I8uJjg

 

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She blends well fashion and interior in any of her design work. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual.
She is the author of three books available on 

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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A Versatile Corner | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Friday, Mar 25 2011

As featured on Avaliving, a site for designers directed to consumers. Thank you Avaliving for choosing my project among many others. Offering design consultations on-line any where in the world without leaving my office is a new addition to my business, resulting in a huge savings for the consumers.

The Story:
Any unused corner in the house is a good opportunity to turn it into a chatting, reading, or breakfast area. Sometimes is just enough to have a bistro table, a couple of wrought iron chairs and real flower on the table to create an inviting scene.

My Client had an empty corner in a large room she didn’t know what to do with it, especially because the room was a mismatch of eclectic furniture.
My goal was to create an “out of the ordinary” corner, a bit on the Bohemian French style and create vignettes in the rest of her large room that would communicate with each others while keeping each its own identity.

Each vignette would offer a certain activity: a game area, a reading area near a built-in bookshelf, a T.V. area with comfortable divans and club chairs and a conversation area.

I wanted the transformation of the space to be cohesive with these activities, I wanted to be comfortable for all the family members of all ages (family made of many women and a husband) and harmonious with all the shapes and colors.
The Client wanted to keep the majority of the mismatched furniture. That was my challenge! Some of them remained in the large room and some got relocated in other rooms. Floating furniture is something I do when I am engaged to stage a home for sale.

My inspiration for the breakfast corner came from a couple of pictures I have in my library, one of which, a 1940 Hotel, particularly struck my fancy.
The room came out a colorful one, a bit nostalgic and very Bohemian in the style of romantic French. The mood is a combination of comfortable, feminine, and quirky. To some of the painted furniture I added custom jewelery as door knobs.

Colors had to be vibrant! Plum, Chartreuse and golden beige, warm and cold palette always result in a playful role.

The unused corner turned out to be a versatile corner, breakfast in the morning, reading or music listening in the evening, extra seating when there is company. The unused corner is now very busy.

Do you have an unused corner in your home you don’t know what to do with it? Ask me, I have many solutions, even using the same furniture you already own, if they are in good condition. Repurposing something old becomes very new in a different space of the house and in a different light.
Leave your name in the box below and tell me how I can help you. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/2/eC2LVXANG5U

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Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interior and colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. She is a book author, find her on 

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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Is It Time To Restore Your Façade? | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Sunday, Mar 6 2011

Remodeling the façade of your home is like remodeling your face and the exterior surface of your body. It’s a funny analogy, but you will see why when you read this article. Think of a home like a woman’s face: the roof is the hair, the windows are the eyes, the front door is the mouth and the walls are the cheeks. All of these elements must communicate with each others with colors, textures and finishes. First of all take care of the exterior colors (cheeks). Is the color of the house tired and outdated? Refresh that make-up, just like you would do with your face. Apply a good primer and then suiting colors. Keep in mind the number three, light, medium and dark colors, it is not a set rule, but in the design world everything looks good in a composition of three.

The entry door should always be of an inviting color. If the exterior walls are painted in light colors with medium color trims, the door should be a dark color to anchor the house, just like the red lipstick anchors and complete the woman’s make-up. Do the opposite if the walls are painted dark. The front door is the focal point of the house, make a statement just like you would with a lipstick. Creating a perfect symmetry at your front door is pleasing to the eye. Light fixtures should be placed strategically to guide visitors to the door and should reflect the color and style of the front door.

If the hardware are out of date or dingy, your home may not convey a good aesthetic. House numbers, the entry door lock set, a mailbox should be working in unison. Mailboxes should complement the home and express the homeowner’s personality. Select a box that mirrors your home’s trimmings and woodwork or the exterior stones façade.

Low-voltage landscape lighting makes a huge impact on your home’s curb appeal while also providing safety, security and accenting the beauty of the trees and the house.

Renewing planter beds gets your garden into shape quickly. Prune growth, pull weeds, plant flowers, and adding new mulch to restore color that was taken away by sunlight and harsh weather. Birdbaths, metal silhouettes, sculptures, and wind chimes are good choices for outdoor art. Choose pieces that complement your home’s natural palette and exterior elements. Water features function both as yard art and cover up other harsh sounds.

If your driveway is cracked or stained, upgrade it with very strong and durable resins products that can be applied over the cracked concrete with half of the cost of pouring a new concrete. Dress up the driveway with stones if it fits the look of the house, then repeat the stone look to feature some other architectural details like posts or column footings.

Perhaps you like to conceal your house from the street view. Building a gracefully designed iron gate has a somewhat high cost, but with easy-to-build wooden kits, simply connect the pieces and get an instant arbors or garden gates.

I want to add here a suggestion of one of my trusted professional on remodeling our skin, as the façade of our body. It is an intriguing concept to remodel our “façade” in different areas of our life: home, skin, weight, image, but we all have a façade and we should know what to do about it.

From Sherry Woodward – Arbonne Consultant:
“It goes without saying that we all want to look young and beautiful, and put our best face forward. Having clear, smooth skin with a natural glow is the best way to look young and vibrant. As we age, this takes some work and a little extra effort, but it’s well worth doing… after all, our face is our billboard to the world.

It’s not enough to just get an occasional facial, but a consistent daily skin-care regimen is necessary. Good habits in taking care of our skin start with the obvious things: a healthy diet, plenty of rest and keeping your skin protected from the elements. Think of your skin as an organ, rather than something that we can use and abuse, puts things in proper perspective.
Your skin needs daily care and nourishment in order to function properly. Moisture is critical to good skin health because it helps maintain a good skin barrier and creates a flexible, pliable skin that is soft to touch. Skin is a filtering system, designed to keep toxins out and let oxygen and nutrients in.

Just as important as a daily regimen is using high quality products that are safe & effective. Your products should be safe to use (i.e. not cause allergic reactions) and give you the results you are looking for – soft and smooth skin that has a healthy color. Become a “label reader” and learn about ingredients. Learn about toxic ingredients and make sure they are not in your skin-care products. Look for products made from organic botanical with vitamins and antioxidants. Pollutants from the air can deplete the antioxidant system of the skin, making the skin more susceptible to oxidative damage… causing premature aging. Vitamins can reduce or eliminate this damage.

I am an independent consultant for Arbonne International, LLC and I help people learn how to care for their skin using our botanically formulated products. For free consultation, please contact me at sherrywoodward@gmail.com. Visit my website to shop online: www.sherrywoodward.myarbonne.com“.

Now you see, as we refurbish our wardrobe for a new season; as we renew the skin of our face that has been beaten with wind and cold weather; as we purify of our internal body, the very same way we should treat our home façade to add value the our most important investment. Time is now, remodel your exterior and make it ready for spring.
As the professional who is always ready, I shall be prompt and ready to help you with any of your needs, whether it will be decorating, designing, or remodeling, just place your name in the box below and let me know what is your challenge. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/2/eC2LVXANG5U
http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/0/kWuB7I8uJjg

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

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 construction, décor restyling, home fashion and outdoor rooms. Check out her books on 

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

 

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Set The Mood With Colors | By: Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer Monday, Feb 7 2011

“Let me out of the grays and beiges please!” My client was screaming.
She managed a computer software company. For 10-12 hours a day she lived in a boring environment. She was longing to see a colorful home upon her return in her cocoon to balance her day. She requested bold colors and being single, she only had to please herself. As a designer many times defined “a colorist” I was in my perfect spot with this client.

To really understand her needs, I went through a long list of questions to find the right colors for her personality and her life style. We all know colors are easy for designers, but not for all the clients. Sometimes a color they like very much might not be of their liking anymore after the house is painted.
Colors can either break or make a space and I did not want the result to be a failure.

This client liked the warm and vibrant colors of the buildings in Italy. She had never been to Italy, but saw enough photographs and films to make her dream about it. Good enough, I am Italian born, I know what she wants exactly, so I dared. She was astonished about all the color palettes I could come up, but not overwhelmed. In all the palettes I coupled cold colors with warm colors and added some texture samples for the areas of her liking. She chose to texturize kitchen walls and lightly antiquing the green color areas of the family/living room.

She studied the color palettes for a few days, then we passed to the action: painting! The house came alive from the white walls you see here to all the colors. Emphasizing many architectural features was also my goal, in fact they looked so much better with the games of colors playing with each others.

I recall the painter singing while he was working, he really liked to apply those vibrant colors. The client was so happy and enjoyed the colors for a few years until her work moved her to another city and she was compelled to sell the house.

Now you would thing it is hard to sell a house with all those colors. I must admit that it is not true. Selling homes painted in beige and neutral colors might take forever. The boring homes dressed in beige, must offer other strong features in order to sell fast, such as price, location, square footage etc. But when the market is soft, economy is not so friendly, location is not the best of the best, is easier to sell homes with colors. Paint the walls in soft yellow and the front door in a golden tone of yellow or dark red and the house will sell immediately.
People feel attracted towards yellow because is the color of the sun and towards red because is the color of many food. These are inviting colors and mean family.

After this house was posted for sale, it sold in three days, just because of the interior colors. The next buyers told me later that everyday “she baths in colors”.

Let me know if I can do the same for you. I offer design consultations on-line. Leave your name and email in the box below, so I can give you details on how to contact me and I love to hear your comments too, thank you.

Avaliving is a site for designer helping consumers. My colorful project was selected to be featured for one week Feb.7-Feb.14, 2011 among many beautiful projects of other designers. It is an honor to be part of Avaliving’s community. Thank you Ava for featuring my project again and to the wonderful team who puts everything together. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/2/eC2LVXANG5U
http://www.youtube.com/user/affluentliving#p/u/0/kWuB7I8uJjg

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interiors and colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. Check out her books on
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

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