An interview with the queen of home staging.
A working life that has always been linked to image and communication, which began in the family business, theCasadei Orchestradealing with everything
image and communication. Meanwhile, the passion for furniture and theinterior designwhich has grown with experience. We talk about Mirna Casadei, the 'queen' of home staging, who conquered the small screen with her tutorial space within the programme 'Detto Fatto' on Raidue, today lecturer in a course of
specialisation in this discipline organised by Italian Design Institute.
We met up with her to hear a little about her
professional life and beyond.
How did your passion for design come about?
Every year I visited many furniture fairs even though I did not work in that field. I did it just for pleasure, but maybe I knew in my heart that sooner or later I would
would have come in handy...
There is also an episode related to my childhood that somewhat marked my path: my parents had just completed the new house and my mother Pina, in collaboration with the various technicians, had personally taken care of everything related to furnishing, setting up, lighting. I was only 10 years old and I was always, every day, with her. She relied on a wonderful historic furniture shop in Rimini, the Prisma, which had (and still has) an immense display with pieces by the greatest designers. She would spend hours in the technicians' office choosing and designing while I wandered around the 7 floors of the display, lingering over every lamp and small armchair, looking at their shapes and details. I fantasised looking at objects, but beautiful objects, all icons of Italian design. And at times I would go back to their office to listen to their speeches. An exceptional experience that lasted about a year.
It was my mother who sowed this interior design seed in me, which sooner or later was to germinate and bear fruit.
What are the highlights of your career?
In January 2014, I attended a training course in home staging and from there I had the epiphany: I had found my way.
In May 2016 I had my first episode on Detto Fatto on Rai2, where I am still a Tutor in the furniture sector. The experience on Rai served to unlock my shyness
and not being afraid to jump in and propose myself. That's why it was a turning point for me.
Today, home staging is still my main job but I also devote a lot of time to training, which I really enjoy. Transferring all my experience, telling what not to do, explaining how to skip certain unnecessary steps
and achieve their goals faster. I don't want simple home stagers to come out of my courses, but successful home stagers!
A particular satisfaction came in November 2018, when I was called by Ikea to inaugurate a new Ikea shop in Rome where I also held an afternoon workshop to present the Swedish giant's new services to an audience of 500 guests.
What do you love most about your work?
The relationship with people. I love being with people and I probably inherited this from the Casadei lineage. That's why I like to go on television and do training. Then, in my day-to-day work, I really like to look at houses from a new point of view and find those design details that make them unique and special. I like to create atmospheres.
What was the most formative experience for you?
Definitely the one in the family business: for many years I was involved in the design and graphic layout of advertising space and CD covers, video editing, creating stage sets, event organisation, venue management and much more. The experience I was able to create for myself through this work was really rich
and very broad. And I put it to use in every aspect of my current activity.
You are a lecturer on the IDI course: how do you rate this experience?
The experience was exceptional because the organisation is really meticulous and meticulous in every detail. The offer is really comprehensive and the IDI manager followed me every step of the way.
always present and attentive to every need. A true problem solver. The group was very close-knit. Different life and professional experiences, but all the guys were very motivated and proactive. Really a great group, which after 5 days together I also grew fond of!
A colour, a book, a favourite song.
My colour is blue in all its shades, especially the more 'dusty' ones that have a touch of black pigment in them, because they are softer and more relaxing. I love blues perhaps because I was born by the sea and I live in Cesenatico, 600 metres from the beach. My morning breakfast is often on the pier watching the sailboats go by and the moored fishing boats swaying in the dock. I feel very lucky to have been born and to live here. I live in a house with large windows without shutters, made of
materials from nature (concrete and raw wood), fitted out only with neutral colours (rope, beige, tobacco and grey) and many touches of sea blue. A curiosity? I'm allergic to the pigment used to create the colour blue and I couldn't even wear it (twist of fate) but I can't help it! Nowadays I mostly read manuals about communication, marketing, colour, home, etc.. From my school days
A book by Ernest Hemingway that my middle school Italian teacher made me study has stayed with me. The teacher was also a writer, musician and poet and the book is 'The Old Man and the Sea'. The sentence that closes the book still gives me the shivers today perhaps because I see my father so much in it: 'the old man dreamed of lions'. The 'old man', despite his age and the many adventures he had lived through, still had great ambitions. I don't have a favourite song, I listen to all kinds of music. I love rock and Italian music to sing at the top of my lungs in the car, at home while cooking or while tidying up. However, I have a playlist for every occasion: when I drive in
campaign I listen to Tracy Chapman's 'Fast car', if I'm driving on the motorway 'Tunnel of love' by Dire Straits is perfect, if I'm on a boat I like to watch the sea flowing by listening to 'Moorea' by the Gypsy King.
The trip he would like to take and the country and culture he loves most and why...
I have travelled quite a bit so from that point of view I feel fulfilled. I love England where I go often and this year I had the wonderful experience of the Maldives. The culture I love most is the oriental one: the calm, meditation, respect, light food but also the technology I adore. The trip I miss is Provence, I've always wanted to visit during the flowering period of the lavender fields and I haven't done it yet. But in life, thanks to personal experience, I have discovered that "never say never...".
