Get to Know This Husband and Wife Design Duo (and Their Breathtaking Farm Home)
It’s not hard to admire the lives of Steve and Brooke Giannetti, the duo behind architecture and design firm Giannetti Home.
Not only do they manage their business together, but they also have a furniture line, blog, two published books and a menagerie of farm animals to care on Patina Farm.
So, how do they do it all?
We caught up with the couple on their morning walk to get a glimpse into their shared success.
How did you get into the interior design business?
Steve: My father is in the ornamental plaster business, and I used to work in his shop growing up. Later, I attended the University of Maryland and studied architecture.
Brooke: At 22, when I married Steve, I was still in college at UCLA, studying to be a lawyer. I hated it, and I started working for Steve, helping with the business side of his architecture firm. We were always designing our own houses together, and then as our kids started to grow up, Steve started asking me to help his clients with their houses, and it evolved from there.
What advice do you have for others wanting to work with their spouse?
Brooke: I think it’s about respect and separation of power. Steve is a big-picture guy, and I work on the details and smaller things. That really helps. I think always respecting the other person’s opinion and allowing there to be room for expression. It’s great to work together because we share a lot of interests and it’s worked really well for us. I can’t imagine not doing it.
Steve: Understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. People bring different things to the table, and you have to use those strengths to improve. Brooke has a great emotional sense of design because she doesn’t have a technical background cluttering her mind. She’s a great check on things because she can feel her way through them.
Two books, a blog, a company, a studio … How do you balance it all?
Brooke: We’re trying to get better at the balance thing. It’s not like we’re in a coal mine — we’re fortunate that we’re doing what we actually love to do. It doesn’t bother us that it fills our days. We are one of those examples of that whole “do what you love” being a good idea. If you can make a living out of it, that’s even better. It helps to always keep your eye on the goal. We’re offered a lot of different opportunities, and you have to ask yourself for each one: “Is this leading me towards the goal or is it diverting me from it?” Fill your days up with those things that lead you to it.
What inspires your work?
Steve: In the beginning, our clients inspire us. Obviously we’re really trying to design a house that’s beautiful, but the most important thing is that it supports the lifestyle our clients are trying to live. So I would say that the vision our clients have for their life inspires us most. We did the same thing with our own home Patina Farm. We had a vision of what we wanted our lives to be and matched it.
Brooke: We strive to make things timeless. We don’t look at trends or contemporary magazines much. We love designers who have been around forever and aren’t stuck in a period. We like things that feel natural and seem like they grew out of where they started. Steve’s architecture is based on classical proportions — all of our designs are inspired by that. That doesn’t mean the details can’t be modern, but everything is based on that.
You’ve been praised in your book Patina Farm for showing the “behind the scenes” drawings and plans for the space. What made you decide to do that?
Brooke: We really wanted to explain the entire process to people. We didn’t want to just say “look at our pretty home.” Designing a home isn’t easy. Most people don’t do this all the time and it’s extremely scary. We wanted to demystify the entire process. It’s not the only way, but maybe a piece can work for others.
Steve: We also thought it would be helpful for future clients to see the entire process they’ll be going through with us. The chapters are based on experiences and not rooms. People don’t have these clear divided rooms anymore; it’s all about nourishing, connecting and creating experiences.
What’s your favorite room in the house?
Brooke: My office — because it’s very simple. My goats sleep on the porch outside, and I can see the chicken coop and the rose garden from my desk. I filled the space with the architectural details I cherish. There are steel windows on two sides, plaster shelves and paneled doors we bought at the flea market.
Steve: I like my office too. I love the connection to the outdoors with giant steel doors. I thought, “What would be the best place to spend my whole day?” and made that. Offices are like anything else: Imagine a life you want to live and figure out how to create a space that fosters that.
What are you most excited to be working on right now?
Brooke: We have some great projects, but we’re also working on expanding our furniture line and getting it to a place where people can buy it wholesale or resale. We created all of the pieces we weren’t able to find. We wanted pieces that are complementary to antiques, but help build a space: a beautiful ottoman, a desk, really all of the things I can’t seem to find for my clients.
We’re also working on a clothing line based on our whole aesthetic. Our son Charlie is the design director of clothing and furniture line right now. It’s going to be full of beautiful fabrics, classic silhouettes, linen, leather, cashmere and muted tones. It will be around this fall with a more formal launch in the spring.
What is your advice to aspiring designers?
Brooke: Really sit down and think about what you’re trying to achieve with your designs. What are you drawn to? What are your philosophies? Write it down and keep a journal of things that work and things that don’t. Steve always taught me that design is a circular process, and you should be okay with that. Sometimes you feel like you’re free-falling, but you have it in you to get through to the other side.
Steve: Designing a space doesn’t reveal itself to you all at once, and it’s usually because you don’t have enough information. What isn’t working and why? Keep working until you love it and you’re convinced it’s effortless.
Finish the sentence: You know you’re an interior designer when __________.
Brooke: You realize you constantly want to redesign everything because it’s “a little not right.”
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