The Bold and the Beautiful

Lacquering an entire room—floor to ceiling—in high-gloss royal blue isn’t for the faint of heart. And yet there she stood, confidently telling them to proceed. “Keep going guys! I love it!”

Valerie Sartini of Treasures Interior Design is nothing if not bold. She brings innovation, a heaping dose of style and a sprinkle of magic dust to all she touches. So when COVID-19 struck and things got dicey, Valerie barely missed a beat. She pivoted—as she is wont to do—and kept on innovating.

“It’s nothing we’re not used to,” Valerie explains while walking another job site, inspecting this, measuring that, checking the plans. “In my world, things are always changing. Design doesn’t stay still. But change doesn’t faze me. It’s part of the reason I love this business!”

It is constant motion and beauty in the world that inspire Valerie to create spectacular spaces for her clients. The lacquer room idea came from a San Francisco eatery. “I walked into an Italian restaurant with this exquisite red lacquer ceiling, and I was thunderstruck. I somehow had to recreate it.”

She proposed it to her clients but went bigger and bolder—designing an entire lacquer room in brilliant blue. The clients were thrilled with the results. “They were all in, and they are so pleased, which of course makes me so happy!” Valerie beams.

Not everything Valerie designs needs to be quite so shiny and blue. But it does need to be unique. “I work really closely with my clients, and we have lots of discussions before any designing starts. So when we finally get to designing the space, it fits the client like a glove—a very well-fitting, beautiful glove,” she smiles, as she sits on an unfinished staircase facing the sparkling Pacific and pulls flooring samples from her design basket.

Valerie’s strengths lie in finding perfect design elements for each job, finding that style fit and making it original. “The common thread running through the work is always going to be quality, innovation, collaboration and sophisticated style,” she shares.

Recently she used reclaimed barnwood laid in diagonal patterns on a single wall as a focal point in a bedroom. The wood’s coloring and texture juxtapose the soft bedding, creating a fresh take on beachy elegance.

Innovation is something Valerie has turned to even more these past few months as families have had to get creative with how they interact with their homes. “People are reimagining their homes based on new needs,” she says. “Outdoor spaces, work spaces, homeschooling spaces, kitchen spaces, gathering spaces have all changed form.”

This summer, Valerie worked with several clients to turn their outdoor areas into beautiful, expanded, safe living spaces. Adding outdoor seating, entertainment systems, fire walls, even outdoor kitchens were popular projects over the summer.

“Families are really wanting to stretch out and make every space usable,” says Valerie. “Being able to move outdoors has helped people feel like the real pleasure of summer—being with family and friends—hasn’t been too disrupted.”

Inside spaces, too, have needed reconfiguring. “You may have two parents working from home now, trying to juggle family and space.” Just another opportunity for Valerie to problem-solve.

As she wraps up the job-site inspection, her cell phone rings and she holds up a finger. “One sec,” she smiles as she steps away. When she returns a few minutes later, she politely says her goodbyes. “I gotta go meet a client—a cute young family starting to build.”

Because design doesn’t stay still. And neither does Valerie.

Valerie Sartini

Treasures Interior Design  |  310-545-9404  |  treasuresinteriordesign.com  |  Instagram: treasuresinteriordesign