Three years ago, interior designer Brooke Giannetti started a blog to document her projects and her inspiration. She didn’t think anyone would read it.
Boy, was she wrong.
Today, Velvet & Linen has e-mail subscribers all around the world, and it routinely appears on lists of must read design blogs. (The Washington Post included Velvet & Linen on its own top 10 design blog list in 2009.)
The success of the blog has catapulted Brooke’s career, as well as the career of her husband and business partner, Steve, an architect, furniture designer and painter. And, it’s helped land their work on the pages of numerous magazines, including Veranda, Coastal Living, New Old House, Romantic Homes and Country Living Gardener.
Followers of Velvet & Linen are treated to daily doses of design inspiration via the Giannettis’ aesthetic: an elegant, yet unfussy, mix of antiques, natural materials and warm, neutral colors (think soft creams, grays, blues and greens).
The couple designs with real life and families in mind, they say. Their approachable interiors, which are both rustic and refined, blend the beautiful with the practical and the old with the new (heavy on the old). For them, the more weathered and imperfect, the better.
Brooke’s blog has also recently led to a book. “Patina Style” (Gibbs Smith, $35), which was published in August, is a crash course in the Giannettis’ signature style and showcases the couple’s homes and other design projects. The first printing of the book sold out in less than a month.
In addition to their architecture, interior and landscape design firm, Brooke, 46, and Steve, 51, have a home furnishing shop, Giannetti Home, in Brentwood, Calif.
Though the couple live in Santa Monica, Steve is from the Washington area. He grew up in Prince George’s County and graduated from the University of Maryland. Brooke was born and raised in Los Angeles.
In addition to their blog, their book and their thriving businesses, the Giannettis have three children, two dogs and five chickens.
We spoke to them by phone in L.A. about their style, their love of subtle color palettes and their affinity for painter’s dropcloths from Home Depot.
Explain patina.
Brooke: The beauty and natural wear that comes from use and age.
Why do you prefer vintage and antique pieces over new furniture?
Brooke: Old things have classical proportions that new pieces often don’t. And things today seem to be more manufactured than handmade, and we love that handmade connection to an artist. Old pieces also give you the feeling of being connected to the past. They almost have a different energy; they’ve walked the walk.
You say you “adhere to a calmer color palette.” Can you explain?
Brooke: We don't use bright, vibrant colors. We tend to use more natural, muddy colors, which we think create a calmer space, and we really like that they don’t compete with the frenetic life that most of us live. A subtle color palette has a calming effect and creates a place to relax, not energize.
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