Velvet & Linen

A Giannetti Home Project with a British Touch...

 

Several years ago, Steve designed this house in Brentwood, California for his friend, contractor Paul Morrow. Paul purchased the property as an investment and sold the house when it was complete. 

A while after the new owners moved in, Steve contacted them and asked if they wouldn't mind if he popped by. Fortunately, the new owners are lovely and generous people, and they welcomed a visit from my curious husband. As it turned out, Samantha O'Connor is a talented decorator from England, who added a whimsical aesthetic to this traditional home. 

 

Samantha was kind enough to let us take some photographs of the interiors and share them with you here. I know you are going to love them as much as I do!

As you can see from the dining room, Samantha shares my appreciation for Swedish and European antiques. Her interior decorating reflects her love for shopping at European flea markets and antique shops. 

 

In this two story paneled library, Samantha did an excellent job creating an inviting sitting area, made up of a set of mismatched chairs paired with a fun sofa upholstered in several different fabrics.   

 Samantha used modern styled barstools in her all white kitchen. The glass tile backsplash also adds a contemporary feel to the space.

Samantha used modern styled barstools in her all white kitchen. The glass tile backsplash also adds a contemporary feel to the space.

 

 The kitchen is open to the breakfast room and has a lovely view of the backyard. 

 

A collection of one of a kind chairs, as well as a beautiful wood bench, provides seating around a zinc-topped table in the breakfast room. 

 

 In the back yard, Samantha has designed several welcoming seating areas.

 

 Beyond the pool, the garage has the look of a charming cottage. 

 

We can walk back into the house through the family room...

 

As we walk towards the stairway, we can catch a glimpse of the Farrow and Ball wallpaper above the ebonized sink cabinet in the powder room. 

 

A muted green painted mirror stands in the corner of Samantha's daughter's bedroom, near a painted vintage vanity

 

 In the master bedroom, Samantha chose a pair of aged chairs, upholstered in faded tapestry, and a  metal garden table in front of the bed. Samantha used a soft floral linen for the window seat cushion cover.

 

 In the master bathroom, the free standing bathtub sits in front of the dramatic circular window, with a view of the backyard.  

 

 Afion marble slabs cover the walls in the shower.

 

 We can use the back stair to go back downstairs....  

 

Thank you, Samantha, for letting me share your beautiful home!

All photography by Lisa Romerein.

To see more images of Giannetti Home projects, please follow me on Instagram (VelvetandLinen).

xo

Brooke

Copies of our books, Patina Farm and Patina Style now available!

A Giannetti Home Maine Barn in the Fall 2016 issue of Milieu Magazine

 

I hope you all are having a wonderful September. It's still pretty hot here in Ojai, but the mornings are crisp, signaling the end of Summer.

I wanted to share with you some exciting news. A beautiful barn that Steve designed with Interior Designer Courtney Hollander is featured in this Fall 2016 issues of Milieu Magazine!  

Although Steve and Courtney completed this project several years ago, it wasn't until last September that we actually went there with our photographer, Lisa Romerein, to shoot it.

I thought you might like to see some of the images that aren't included in the magazine article....

Located in Maine, this barn is a true "post and beam" structure.  

 

 

The foliage was just starting to change when we visited. Landscape architect, Bruce John Riddell did a beautiful job creating gardens that feel natural and effortless.

 

 

As you walk into the barn, the two story space is very bright and airy. With a neutral palette and industrial touches, the interiors also feel much more modern than the more traditional exterior.

A pair of Giannetti Home "Leila" chairs flank the ends of the dining table. Mixed with local antiques,  two Belgian linen slip covered "Nick" sofas face each other in the living room. 

 

The wood structure was celebrated and left exposed.

 

Courtney placed two striped linen "Nate" chairs on the upstairs landing, creating a cozy reading area with a view to the outside. 

 

Courtney's children have spent many Summers in the barn bunk room.  

Locally sourced antiques can be found in every room...

 

This bathroom is one of my favorite rooms that Steve has designed. He and Courtney made the decision to leave the structural beam exposed in the shower, a wonderful rustic detail that is contrasted with the more modern plumbing fixtures and granite slabs.

 

You can see more images of this gorgeous barn in the Fall 2016 issue of Milieu! Thank you to Milieu's Editor-in-Chief Pam Pierce, writer Linda Sherbert, and our dear friend Leslie Newsom for this honor!

Although the Milieu article focuses on the barn, I would also like to share with you Lisa Romerein's photographs of the main house on this property...

 

 

The barn and the house have spectacular view of the water.

 

With the trees covered in yellow, red and orange, the view was particularly breath taking during our visit. 

 

This is the front of the main house. It's inspired by the classic Maine shingle style homes in the area. 

 

Like the interior of the barn, the inside of the main house is more modern in feel than the more traditional exterior. 

 

In the living room, Courtney mixed a Belgian linen Giannetti Home "Courtney" sofa with a pair of vintage leather chairs. 

 

Courtney spent months searching for unique antiques in the local antique shops to furnish the home. 

 

A set of leather Giannetti Home "Frasier" chairs surround a zinc table in the dining room. 

 

Of course, you also have the option of eating on the porch. Not a bad view!

 

Built in screens can be lowered during the buggy times of the year. 

 

The white Oak kitchen is open to the rest of the space. Courtney loves the soapstone counter tops. She says they are very easy to live with. They just oil them a couple of times a year. 

 

 

The warm wood and the modern detailing are a beautiful combination. 

 

A nook off the kitchen is the perfect place to read or play board games while enjoying the view. 

 

Similar detailing and materials were used in the powder room. 

 

 

As we make our way upstairs, we can take a break and sit on one of the cozy "Nate" chairs on the landing.

 

 

Courtney and Steve thought of every detail, like the baseball stitched leather hand rail...

 

 

The views are amazing from the second floor!

 

Courtney's extended family enjoys spending time together at the house, so having enough room for everyone is very important. This little sleeping nook in the guest room allows for maximum occupancy...

 

 

and the children can pile into the bunk room!

 

All of the bathrooms, including this bunk bathroom, have the same clean, modern feel. 

 

 

The master bedroom has a built in white Oak desk and book shelves. 

 

The white Oak adds warmth to the clean master bathroom. 

 

I hope you enjoyed this visit to Courtney's beautiful home in Maine! Thank you to Contractor Michael Hewes and his artisans for doing such a beautiful job! A very special Thank you to Courtney for letting us share it with you!

 As always, please feel free to ask questions in the comment section of this post.

To see other projects that we are working on, please follow me on Instagram (VelvetandLinen).

xo

 

Brooke

 

Copies of our books, Patina Farm and Patina Style now available!

Our Clients' Atherton, Ca home in C Home Magazine!

 

Steve and I are so honored to have our clients' (Annie and Jim Barnett) home featured in the Fall 2016 issue of C Home Magazine!  With permission from C Magazine, I'm excited to share the article with you here. 

 

Writer Leilani Marie Labong did a wonderful job explaining Annie and Jim's desire to capture the essence of their former traditional Cape Cod-style home while creating a new home that had an open floor plan and connected with their stunning gardens that included mature redwood, dogwood and birch trees.  

 

This image by Lisa Romerein really provides you with a sense of the airy, open quality of the main space of Annie and Jim's home. 

 

Thank you again to Jennifer Hale and Andrea Stanford at C Magazine for including Annie and Jim's home with so many other beautiful houses in this issue. You can pick up C Home now on news stands.

 

 Steve and I spent two days at our clients'  home with our amazing photographer, Lisa Romerein, and our talented styling friend, Erin Taylor, and I thought you might enjoy seeing some of Lisa's images that aren't in the magazine...

 

The oversized steel windows and doors on the back of the house allows the natural light to flow into all of the rooms.

 

On the side of the house, planters filled with hydrangeas and boxwood flank the zinc covered porches.

 

 

Annie and Jim loved many of the design details of Patina Farm. Although their home is a different style, we were able to reinterpret many of the Patina Farm elements, including the pale gray steel doors and the clean white plaster walls, to work in their modern/traditional style home. A pair of our Alix sofas  provide comfortable and elegant seating.

 

The clean architecture is complimented by the more rustic antiques throughout the house.

 

An antique mantel is the focal point of the living room. 

 

Annie and Jim's cherished antique pieces become prominent features in the all white entry. 

 

 

Annie found this beautiful black Swedish cabinet to display her collections. 

 

The steel doors in the family room open to connect it to the outdoor patios.  Our Nick sofa and Mason ottoman create a cozy area to watch tv or hang out while dinner is being prepared. 

 

A pair of vintage zinc industrial lights (found at A Beautiful Mess), that originally hung over Elizabeth Taylor's tennis court, now illuminate Annie and Jim's kitchen island.

Who doesn't love a big steel window surrounded by white calcatta marble?

 

 

A pair of antique doors hide the bar in the breakfast room. 

 

 

Seen through the monumental steel window (all steel windows and doors by Euroline) in Annie and Jim's office, the redwoods make quite a spectacular view that can be enjoyed even when the glass steel interior doors are closed.

 

I have to also mention that the arched window itself is a pretty amazing view too!

 

 

The cement sink in the powder room adds a little contemporary edge to the house. 

 

A mix of Annie's own photography, as well as black and whites that she has collected,  are displayed on shallow white oak shelves in the upstair's hallway.

 

Annie's whimsical cherub sconces hang on either side of a beautiful chalky grey Swedish cabinet.

 

A pair of gilt mirrors add some shimmer to the all white master bathroom. 

 

 

 

Annie shares my love for Swedish antiques. We included all of her existing pieces throughout the house, including this beautiful chest in the master bedroom.

 

Laundry isn't as much of a chore when it's done in a room as pretty as this one!

 

Thank you to our amazing clients', Annie and Jim, for allowing us to share their home with you! Steve and I always say that our projects are a collaboration. Annie and Jim's home is a reflection of who they are and the clear vision they had of their dream home....

 

 

It takes a talented team to make a beautiful home! Thank you to Carter Seddon of Seddon Construction for overseeing this project.

Steve and I also want to thank Ryan Oliva and Javier Perez, our architectural associates. Madison Lussier, our interior design associate, kept track of all of the details... big and small over the entire course of the project. You're awesome!

Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section of this post.

To see pictures of our other projects as they progress, please follow me on Instagram (VelvetandLinen).

 

xo

Brooke

 

A New Adventure at Patina Farm: Sheep and a New Chicken Coop...

 

One of the main reasons we built Patina Farm was so that we could include a variety of animals to our family. When we first moved here, our family already included eight chickens, two dogs, and our house bunny (Señor Hector Fuzzbottom).

Hector thinks he's a dog...

Over the past three years we've welcomed our four miniature Sicilian donkeys (Buttercup, Daisy, Blossom and Huckleberry)...

 

our three miniature African pygmy goats (Thelma, Louise and Dot)...

 

and "The Sisters" (Sophie and Sera).

 

I know what most of you are saying in your head... "Oh my, isn't that enough?" Well, I guess it could be, but it's not...

We've decided to add two more little ones to our family. In the Spring, we will be welcoming two  Baby Doll Southdown lambs to Patina Farm. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with baby doll sheep, get ready to fall in love... They are an ancient miniature breed that look like they are always smiling!

image via Sugar Sweet Farm 

We've decided to wait until Spring so we can have two bottle babies. We bottle fed our goats and loved the bonding experience. Our goats love people, and we want to do everything we can to nurture that bond with our sheep.

image via Sugar Sweet Farm 

So, where are we going to put our new sheep? We've decided to turn our chicken coop into a lamb "baa-rn".  It's next to the goat garden, so the goats and sheep can get used to each other, but also allows us to keep them separated in the beginning. 

Since the sheep will be taking over the coop, our chickens are going to need some new digs... 

We've decided to build a new coop and chicken run behind the greenhouse in the potager. 

 

The coop will be attached to the greenhouse, allowing me to use the greenhouse for extra storage for chicken supplies. 

The coop will also have plenty of nesting boxes and will be totally enclosed, keeping the chickens warm or cool as well as protected at night. 

 

When we aren't around, the chickens will be able to dig in their chicken wire enclosed run that spans the entire length of the potager.  I plan to have them roam the potager in between planting seasons in hopes that they can take care of my terrible earwig infestation (apparently earwigs are delicious...).

 

 

Last week Jake Stone and his wonderful crew began building the chicken run...

 

We decided to use split rail material for the posts and beams so they will blend in with the existing fence. 

 

The roof beams are thinner than the fence posts to keep the structure from feeling too heavy...

 

The coop construction will start in a couple of weeks, and everything should be ready for the chickens before the arrival of our new lambs.

Stay tuned!

As always, please feel free to ask questions in the comment section of this post. 

Follow me on Instagram to see the progress of the coop as well as to see what other mischief we are getting in.

xo

Brooke