Velvet & Linen

Relaxing in the Garden Room

When we built our home 7 years ago, we had a long covered porch that went across the
back of the house. A couple years later we realized that the overcast weather in Santa Monica
meant that we barely ever used our porch. So, I convinced Steve to close it in with french doors
and make it into a garden room.
It is one of my favorite rooms in our house.
The kids love having friends over for dinner. There are many nights when we have at least ten kids
around our old farm house table. Isn't that what a home is all about?

My Latest Adventure in Decorating

Before we started this job, our clients told us that they wanted their basement to feel like
the Shutters Hotel in Santa Monica. Shutters has this wonderful restaurant that feels like
Ralph Lauren meets the Hamptons.
We used those ideas as inspiration for this room.
The nickel light fixtures in the room add some sparkle and give the space a more contemporary feel.

Our clients fell in love with this pool table. We used a gray blue felt which looks fantastic in the room.

The blue leather and the nickel studs on the bar stools add to the nautical feel.

A Wonderful Collaboration

My husband Steve is an amazing architect. We have a wonderful collaborative relationship.
We just finished a home that I am so proud of. I felt a lot pressure to have the interiors and gardens measusre up to his incredibly detailed architecture.
I really felt like I had three clients on this job: Steve, Paul, the amazingly gifted contractor who built this home, and our wonderful clients. My job was to make all of them happy.
I worked with our clients to select a muted palette of cream and light blue for the living room. We used clean lined pieces that reflect the slim lines of the architecture of this home.

The color palette inside reflects the amazing view of the Pacific Ocean that can be seen from the back garden. We wanted there to be plenty of places to relax outside and enjoy the gorgeous view.

We put a large farmhouse table on the covered porch in the backyard for big family barbeques.

The kitchen is so beautiful that even making the morning coffee would be a wonderful experience

Look for more spectacular pictures of the basement media room and the master suite tomorrow.
Sorry, I ran out of batteries in my camera!

Giannetti Studio - True Artists

Steve's family comes from a small town in Italy called Bagni di Lucca.
It was a town known for their ornamental plaster artisans.
When Steve's grandfather George, came to America, he brought his artistic gift with him, and
his two sons followed in his footsteps.
Steve grew up working in the studio surrounded by all of this beauty.
I remember the first time Steve took me to the studio.
It was like no other place I had ever seen.
Their attention to detail is truly inspirational!