Above left: Designer Valentina Cirasola;
Above right and Bottom: A Kitchen Remodel in Atherton

Above: An Elegant Home Spa designed by Valentina Cirasola

"Being born in Italy, the capital of fashion, was only natural to mark my mother's steps who was a fashion designer all her life. I became a fashion designer too and enjoyed all the years I spent owning my fashion business. I was always interested in architecture and interiors, I think the two fields are so related to each other. From curiosity to doing it, the step was only a jump away. I studied interiors and architecture. Here I am 20 years later, happy to serve fun and variegated people in my interior design business in Italy and in USA.  I have no children, but I am the aunt of all my family members''  kids, my friends and my clients' kids." 

Designer Valentina Cirasola speaks with Ava Living:

What is your company platform?

I am an architectural interior designer by trade. I have owned my design firm since 1990, serving a variegated group of fun people.  My design focus is based on remodeling and new home construction.  My niche is in designing kitchens, wine cellars, entertainment rooms and baths, but of course I design other spaces too.

In my business, I love the interaction with the professionals who work with me and the interaction with my clients.  My passion is to envision things and spaces that do not exist yet, then designing and creating them. I love to design custom furniture which I always manage to produce locally with clever artisans.  I especially love colors. My life is a continuous evolvement of colorful events.

A few times, I have made appearances on T.V. Comcast channel 15 for the shows: “On The Town" and "Colorful Journey Of Success". 

My projects have been featured and published on major publications:

Vogue magazine in Italy
Gentry South and Gentry Peninsula
California Home & Design ……..and many more.

I am a published author of the book Come Mia Nonna-A Return To Simplicity and the author of the forthcoming book on the subject of Colors.

How did you get into the field of interior design?

I started my designing career as a fashion designer and for more than ten years I was happy to be in the field of fashion. Since I am a curious person and love to learn new things, I started to explore the field of interiors and architecture, fell in love and started a new career  with the same clients I had in fashion. I am passionate about my interior design business and “on demand” I am still creating fashion items.

What is your design philosophy?

As a designer, I resolve people’s challenges, my style is my client’s style. I involve them in my process of designing their spaces and at the end of the project, I leave them with a comfortable, functional space that is in tune with their life and will nurture their soul.

The homes and the furniture I design are made “exclusively” for each of my customers and no home is ever the same.    

What are your creative inspirations?

I am a woman of many interests, I am an excellent observer, take notes of everything and write constantly. I take inspiration from anything in this world.  I have educated my brain to see beauty even in the small details, no one pays attentions to. 

What are your best design references?

I don’t subscribe to any publications, but I read books, magazine, blogs and anything that comes under my eyes. I visit lot of art galleries and socialize with artists and creative people. I trot the world and learn from other cultures. The films I like to watch are foreign and my preferred T.V. stations are the cultural type. My friends are citizens of the world.

In your experience, what are the most most common design misconceptions/mistakes that people have about interior design?

To copy somebody else’s interiors and décor, or to copy from magazines. Each environments must be personal and suitable the person(s) living in it.

What is the one favorite thing that will make a room better?

Light is life. People are attracted by light and gravitate in spaces filled with a pleasant light. Nothing will look well, or well made, healthy, harmonious and pleasurable if lighting is not right. Even our skin will look dull and unhealthy under the wrong light.

Lighting must not be expensive to make any space look good, it must be well and strategically placed.

 Above: A Mediterranean Style Foyer in Hillsborough, CA designed by Valentina Cirasola

What is the design trend that you love right now?

Timeless and classic contemporary, with an accent of antiquity or with a foreign influence.

What is your top bit of advice for those in pursuit of good design? 

The focus of my business is on the remodeling or new built homes.  My suggestion is to never remodel or build with the “resale value” in mind. Make the new spaces for YOU and the people living with you only, not for the next buyer.  The house is your cocoon, therefore enjoy while living in it. The next buyer, 99% of the time, will tear down anything designed by the previous owner, just so they can say “this is my house now”.

For help with your room, check out Valentina's Online Design Services