Mediterranean Reverie

BROOKE AND STEVE GIANNETTI CHANNEL SOUTH OF FRANCE ROMANCE IN AN OPEN, GARDEN-FACING HAVEN IN LOS ANGELES.

- STEPHEN WALLIS

TUCKED BEHIND A FICUS HEDGE in Los Angeles is a half-acre oasis where Southern California meets the South of France. Here, sunlight glints off antique French terra-cotta roof tiles and filters through pergolas draped with climbing white roses. Large wooden shutters, painted a bleached gray, are set against walls of honey-toned rustic limestone. Verdant plantings of citrus, slender cypress trees, and bulbous boxwood are joined by gurgling stone fountains and a golden gravel parking court to round out the transporting narrative.

Created for an entertainment industry executive, his wife, and their two teenage children, this French-American villa is the handiwork of Brooke and Steve Giannetti, the married duo behind the architecture-design-lifestyle firm Giannetti Home. Steve, the architect, and Brooke, who focuses on interiors, note that while the house draws conspicuously on a classic Provençal aesthetic, it contains plenty of spaces that project more of a modern sensibility, a balance they struck to satisfy both the wife’s traditional tastes and the husband’s appreciation for contemporary. “What I’m trying to do is use the best of the modern world with the best of the old world,” says Steve, “combining styles in a way that feels authentic and celebrates the indoor-outdoor experience.”