Written by Alissa Schulman | Photography by Meghan Bob Photography
During the pandemic, people learned to live differently. City spaces that once felt full of possibilities suddenly seemed small and disconnected. Nature called, and many homeowners answered. For one couple in particular, a real estate and development professional reconnecting with his music and a nonprofit employee with the soul of an amateur cowboy, the pandemic became an opportunity to turn their separate urban lives into a shared retreat in the foothills.
This was a real coming together for the two of them, says designer Breeze Giannasio. She had worked on a previous home with the real estate professional in the past, so it was fun to, with select items, give them new life and new meaning in this new context. But in many ways, it was really starting fresh and with the goal of blending lives together.
Giannasio's approach centers on creating spaces that feel deeply personal and collected over time. She wants guests to feel like they're getting an intimate glimpse of her clients, leaving with a perspective they may not have noticed before. Here, Giannasio hints at the couple's essence by layering natural materials like leathers, linens, and plaster, letting materials announce themselves and hold their own in the space, she says, while mixing high and low design, with West Elm furniture next to vintage market finds. Everything just feels cozy and invites your nervous system to relax, recalibrate. It really was a refuge for them.
Initially envisioning an airy space to celebrate the natural light from the primary bathroom remodel, Giannasio redirected toward handsome, dark, and moody. What was once a compact space now frames oak trees, the green outside intensified by black countertops and dark cabinetry. To the right, the outdoor shower creates an intimate peekaboo moment, as she calls it.
In the living room, that refined-Western vision comes into focus. A hide ottoman anchors the cream-upholstered seating area, while a cow skull above the fireplace blends into the wall behind it. The vaulted ceiling creates an unexpected lightness overhead with natural wood panels and white painted beams. Pottery brimming with greenery, mismatched lamps, and small wood stools offer a rustic feel, while piles of patterned throw pillows and blankets make the space feel inviting and lived in. Through the wall of glass doors, the terrace offers a reflection of the seating inside, here with a more grounded, darker palette.
She infuses nature into the adjacent dining room with a hand-painted James Mobley mural. The soft, sepia-toned tree imagery wraps the dining room, meeting Schumacher wallpaper designed to look like zellige tiles on the ceiling. The hard, graphic sensibilities of that juxtaposed with the soft, wispy mural that echoes the trees that are on the property feels like a really successful moment for what was previously a glorified flow-through space, says Giannasio.
In the primary suite, the designer created a journey through light and shadow. She raised the ceiling and added French doors to the garden, establishing new sight lines from the bed to the outdoors and drastically increasing the room's natural light. She gutted the bathroom and added a new picture window by the sinks, the view of the oak trees outside unexpectedly framed by black tile and dark-wood cabinetry. It felt like it amplified the green of nature outside to have this moody, immersive interior space, she says.
She compares the experience of the home to the silence between words. The negative space is important here, says Giannasio, where there's just a chair that's pointed at a view asking for someone to sit down and get lost in thought. There's a lot of opportunities for quiet moments where you just sort of get invited.
Layers of texture marry rustic and refined: hide, fur, and feathers balance hints of a cowboy spirit with the sophistication of custom artwork and contemporary design. It just feels really soulful, says Giannasio.
This article originally appeared in Home by Design, April/May 2026.
