Valerie was born in La Rochelle, a coastal town in France. With two artisans for parents, she grew up fixing things around the house with her father, and sewing and knitting with her mother. Her father, a baker, would never have hired a carpenter, a plumber, or for that matter, a painter. He did all this work himself, and Valerie tagged along.

Her mother, a seamstress who started her apprenticeship when she was thirteen years old, learned her valuable skills at the side of a master seamstress. She later developed a passion for interior decorating and worked in collaboration with other artisans in charge of the renovation of historic properties, including the extraordinary Le Chateau de Souillac, in Jarnac, France.

“There was always a project in progress at home,” Valerie remembers. ”Something to repair or build, something to sew, or a room to paint or wallpaper.”

With her mother’s desire to constantly update the decor in their own home, Valerie developed her personal sense of style and showed particular interest in one aspect of design: painting.

“I remember painting our kitchen red,” she says. “I did not get much support from the family then – in fact, I cannot believe they let me do it! It was really avant garde.”

Her first real project was the remodel of her sister’s bedroom on the second floor in a traditional setting with a vaulted ceiling. This was the beginning of a passion for the art of makeover, using painting and decorating.

As a young woman, Valerie left her family to pursue her education, studying Classic Letters in Lycee Camille Guerin in Poitiers, and Lycee Clemenceau in Nantes. She received her degree in Philosophy from the University of Nantes and moved to the United States in 1986 where her father and family had immigrated to open a wholesale bakery with other European partners.

Valerie’s mother, whose passion and talent for sewing had become known in throughout the San Mateo area, started a window treatment business and naturally, Valerie was enlisted – mostly as a client liaison, since at that time she was the only fluent English speaker in the family. “I learned a lot about business while working with my mother,” she says. “Running a business is so much more than just doing the day-to-day work. I learned the importance of building relationships with every one of my clients, based on respect and service, quality, and dependability.”

Together, they served hundreds of clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, becoming well-known for providing outstanding quality with an unparalleled level of personal service to their clientele.

Valerie decided to pursue her true passion for painting, establishing her own business, Painting Etcetera. “On my own at the beginning, I used my experience but also learned a great deal through trial and error,” she says. “I fully developed my professional philosophy of putting in my greatest effort, in the most honest and dedicated way, to providing the best possible result to my clients – and I did just that”.

Distinguishing her business by her keen eye for detail, coupled with her innate knowledge and renowned artistic sensibilities in the area of color mixing, coordinating, and design, Valerie developed an excellent reputation for exceptional service and results.

She is very proud of her crew, who have been with her for 10 years, whom she trained, “the old fashioned and traditional way” she says, by working with them on each step from preparation to finish, from hand sanding to feeling the smoothness of a flawless finish coat.

“Actually feeling our work is the ultimate test we perform” she says. “Quality should be visible, tangible, and durable.”

In her work, Valerie is passionate about the engagement of the human senses, as she believes they define our most personal feelings and needs. She thrives on creating spaces in which her clients can live their true, personal life, not an imported version of the trend of the month from a designer’s magazine.