Gracious People: Brooke & Steve Giannetti

{Steve & Brooke Giannetti…  Two of the most gracious people I know.  They’re crazy about each other too, which I love to see.}

I met Brooke virtually, when I first started blogging over seven years ago.  Her kind & thoughtful comments would make my day and her her posts
at her blog, Velvet & Linen, were (are!!) always a true treat and so informative…
she delivers seriously educational and eye-opening information in such a relaxed, gentle way.   Though Brooke’s talent & experience
are off the charts, she has a way about her that makes you feel special and talented too.  She’s helped me through many phases of my business’
growth over the years, and my husband and I really look up to her & Steve.   We thought about them and talked with them when we made the huge
leap to work together and we’re constantly inspired by their unyielding vision for something big yet simple and pure.  They’re both very open
and have really shared their experience with us.

{Their home, “Patina Farm” welcome visitors with white roses and a variety of other plants in soft silvery green hues}

The aesthetic that Brooke & Steve have developed, “patina style” is so beautiful, soulful, and natural, and everything they touch feels as if it’s
always existed.  I often find myself thinking “What would Brooke & Steve do?” when making design decisions.  Their style has (and is)
been a big influence on my own style.  When we visited their previous home in Santa Monica, I was so struck by the “realness” of everything…
all of the materials felt good to the touch, there was such a depth to everything and a sense of age.  And they’re so fun and sweet and real.
They want good things for the people around them and they mean what they say.  They excitedly told us about their plans for building Patina
Farm and showed us drawings at the kitchen table of what was to come.  Dave & I were blown away and in love with the idea of building this
home around the existing ancient oak trees and knew there would be nothing in the world like it.  In my book I wrote, “I left their home with
a belly full of Italian food and a mini education” because just being there taught me so much.  There ability to conceive of things outside of
normal parameters and push limits is so inspiring.  They are two of the most creative minds in the industry and yet are so down-to-earth about
it.

{I can’t even get over their bathroom at Patina Farm.  Just whoah.}

When they wrote their first book, Patina Style, I gobbled it up, and though I’ve had to move more slowly with the second book due to a couple more
children having been added to our mix at home, I’m loving it every bit as much and again, feel like I’m getting such an education.  Reading
Patina Farm truly just makes me want to be there.  It’s like that.  Seriously magical, and I don’t use that word lightly. And I’m struck again
by how gracious they are- sharing sources, specific design challenges and solutions that readers can apply in their own homes- and they desire to help
others achieve something special, just as they did.  And it makes me miss my friends!!

{This is like Heaven to me!! That swing on the oak tree!!!}

Each and every page feels like it needs to be studied; there’s just so much to take in.  It’s all so beautiful and thoughtful!!!  You truly get
a sense for the slower pace that seems to exist at Patina Farm, and it’s inspiring.  Even my three-year old enjoyed looking through it with me
because of Brooke & Steve’s menagerie of animals!! (Oh my goodness- the mini goats!!!  I said “Aren’t they so cute Louie??” And he said, very
seriously, “Yes. I want them.”)

{Patina Farm, with gorgeous images by Lisa Romerein}

Anyway, if you don’t already know of Brooke & Steve Giannetti, I hope you enjoyed hearing about my love for them -lol- and you should definitely pay
a visit to Velvet & Linen and check out Patina Farm, and if you DO know
them, then I’ve sure you’ve experienced their graciousness in some way too over the years and understand where my effusiveness is coming from and why
I not only look up to them for their talent, creativity, and vision but for their hearts as well.