Review
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.
(Terri Sapienza
Washington Post 20110908)
From the Inside Flap
Patina Style celebrates the beauty that the passage of time brings to the things in your life. The antique and imperfect, the slightly worn combined with natural materials and a subtle color palette create a look that is both timeless and fresh.
Brooke and Steve Giannetti embrace the life in things: a newel post worn smooth by touch, a leather trunk bearing scratches of global travel, velvet that is faded over time, silver that is subtly tarnished, or a flowerpot wearing a covering of moss. This is the essence of Patina Style.
The Giannettis reveal how they create the look, repurposing salvaged objects, bringing outdoor pieces inside, turning old treasures into something better than new. Lavish photography and a clear design philosophy will inspire you to see the beauty in everyday objects and to develop your own patina style.
Brooke Giannetti and Steve Giannetti are the owners of Giannetti Home, a full-service architecture, interior, and landscape design firm as well as a home furnishings store.
Their work has been featured in numerous national magazines, newspapers and books, including Veranda, Coastal Living and the New York Times.
Brooke is the designer and the creator of the popular "Velvet and Linen" blog (on the Washington Post Top Ten blog list). Steve is an artist and furniture designer, and one of the most sought-after architects in Southern California. Brooke and Steve live in Santa Monica with their three children, two dogs and several chickens.
