Laurie Ghielmetti

It is one thing to work with an interior designer on a clean slate project, like a major remodel or a newly-acquired property. It is quite another to ask a designer to come into a home with existing furniture, and get a fresh and remarkable result. Laurie Ghielmetti re-envisioned the home with a new color palette, then selected and installed art pieces that brought out the best in its mid-century architecture. The firm’s introduction of unexpected—and very personal—touches in its accessorizing changed the personality of the property from an impersonal second home to a vital and exciting get-away. As a side note, I have worked with the firm’s principal, Laurie Ghielmetti, for more than 20 years in her role as an art consultant. There is no better teacher – for isn’t art collecting a process of learning about art and oneself? — than Laurie. I highly recommend her services in both capacities.

For the past decade, Laurie Ghielmetti has been our interior designer in 3 different homes, a house in Pacific Heights, a city apartment, and a lake house in the woods. She has an exceptionally keen eye for beauty, form, and color, and her ability to achieve balance and harmony on things as disparate as European antiques along with modern furniture, is a testament to her incredible abilities to unify space. Moreover, with her large reservoir of relationships and professional knowledge of art and the art world, she has helped us build an art collection that provides us with both stimuli and tranquility, providing great joy in our lives every day. As a true professional, she listens to what you say, sees what you like, and then creates a space that leaves the customer feeling like the design is their very own. That is professionalism at its very best.

My husband and I have had an exceptional experience working with Laurie Ghielmetti and her design associate, Kelley Matusiak for over 10 years with two different homes. We first hired Laurie when we moved to CA from the east coast. She infused a great sense of style and helped me integrate antiques from our former traditional home with modern pieces and custom made furniture fitting our new mediterranean home. One of Laurie's greatest assets is the deep network of design resources Kelley and she have cultivated over the years. The loyal painters, upholsterers and showroom professionals they recommended throughout our design process were all talented, on time, and on budget! When we moved to a new home in Lafayette, we hired Laurie again. Her "signature strength" as a designer is her highly curated aesthetic and her expertise as an art consultant. She took the time to understand our artistic tastes and introduced us to several art galleries which matched our interests and budget. She guided us through the selection of several paintings for our home which we absolutely love. Laurie is the consummate design professional and is a joy to work with. She is a tremendously talented designer with impeccable taste, who cares deeply for her clients.

I have worked with Laurie Ghielmetti for nearly 10 years, starting with my Bay Area home and including a major remodel of this home, and more recently a complete project for a new second home in Arizona. For my primary residence Laurie and her associate Kelley Matusiak listened carefully to what I needed the house to accomplish from a function standpoint and worked hard to help me realize my hopes for the house. With college expenses my early budget had some restrictions and Laurie and Kelley helped me choose furniture and art pieces wisely and the finished product for each of my rooms did not bear any evidence of a careful budget. Ten years in the making, my now beautiful home has been well worth the wait! For my second home in Arizona I presented Laurie and Kelley with a floor plan and my vision for this home and they quickly went to work. From shopping trips to make the counter, floor, and cabinet selections to furniture placement and choosing each furniture piece we had the house designed on paper before I even had a poured foundation! Over the months while the house was being built we accumulated furniture, rugs, bedding, etc. and when our selections arrived on move in day I couldn't have been more pleased. Everything is perfect from both a scale and style standpoint and every time I walk into my Arizona home it makes me smile because it is exactly what I had visualized. Laurie recently visited the house for our next phase of decorating - artwork and accessories. Laurie and Kelley have excellent resources in this area as well with a special knack for mixing artwork mediums and introducing color so the finished room is simply striking. Laurie and Kelley's list of strengths is a long one - they are excellent listeners, detailed planners, have great ideas and resources, and help their clients achieve beautiful spaces in every area of their homes. Laurie and Kelley refuse to let a room or area go unnoticed - from an artwork in an entry way to towel selection and placement in a powder bath to a well placed accessory or unusual furniture item every space they have "touched" in both of my homes is special - fabulous to look at with timeless style and at the same time functional and livable. I am very lucky to have partnered in design with Laurie Ghielmetti and Kelley Matusiak.

Laurie Ghielmetti is an amazing designer and art consultant. I was unsure going into my design what I wanted my home to look like. After much discussion, Laurie helped me figure out how to balance my needs, with a style that I ended up truly loving. When my home was furnished, I wanted to acquire art but was worried that a collection was out of my budget. Laurie guided me and after several gallery visits, I now have a home full of fabulous art that was within my budget and inspires me on an ongoing basis. I would highly recommend Laurie as a talented Interior Designer and Art Consultant.

I hired Laurie Ghielmetti's firm twice, with a former modern Noe Valley house and my current Pacific Heights home. Two very different homes, one modern that was a one month event oriented project, and one a 1885 Victorian that we did over a period of three years. In both cases Laurie listened carefully to my goals and my budget. She is very talented and resourceful. Working with her is a complete pleasure and delight. I was able in both situations to have a greatly improved, workable and highly aesthetic design for furniture, entertaining, seating, and living in my home. With bringing new life to pre-existing furniture, reupholstering with gorgeous new fabrics, picking curtain and pillow fabrics, or shopping for new pieces of furniture, Laurie has a gift and eye that considers the lifestyle, budget, occupants and art works. I have, with Laurie's help, as I have a very busy work life and practice, a beautiful elegant, fabulous and comfortable home that even my two teenagers adore. From helping me pick wall paint colors to placing art and creating custom bedroom headboards, Laurie is a true professional. I can't recommend her highly enough.

Laurie Ghielmetti has not only taught me piano (in her earlier life), but has been my interior designer for many years! She has worked with me in a number of homes, and has been terrific across the board. She has a very wide knowledge of a range of designs and knows just where to get things, who provides the best guarantees and service, and then she stands by to make sure everyone comes as and when expected and and is satisfactory to me in my home and in use. She's also a wonderful person to spend time with. And, by the way, her long time sidekick Kelley Matusiak is also terrific!