Hello

I’m Gabi, nice to meet you!

I spent the first decade of my career leading marketing for a tech startup, while spending nights and weekends learning everything I could about interior design. I experimented with my own home, helped friends and family with theirs, and fell asleep at night dreaming of how to decorate hypothetical rooms.

When I had a baby in early 2023, I realized I could no longer squish my passion into nights and weekends, because, well, there were no more nights and weekends. So I opened Studio Gabriella to apply the past decade’s worth of practice, experimentation, and learnings to help people live more beautifully.

I’ve been an artist my entire life, and incorporate principles from artistic composition into my work as an interior designer.

From perfection to play: my design philosophy

I share my home with a very minimalist husband, our sticky-fingered toddler, and our tiny dog, Freckle.

Before having a kid, friends often told me that our condo looked like a magazine. I was flattered — I obsessed over every vignette, every bookshelf organized in perfect color coordination, vintage candlesticks in every direction. The dining table was always perfectly oiled, my indoor garden perfectly hydrated. If my home had a soundtrack, it would have played nothing but classical piano.

For the first six months of motherhood, I fought the chaos. I folded every burp cloth, removed stains on every onesie, and reorganized my son’s books by color every evening after putting him to bed.

The level of maintenance was exhausting, and I was no longer enjoying my home. The vignettes that once sparked joy now just felt like chores to maintain. And my style, which had once felt curated and refined, started to feel staid and stuffy.

So I rearranged the living room to welcome in the chaos and create space for my son to explore. This was his home too, after all.

Now, the scenes I used to view as clutter and chaos feel fun and dynamic. My home feels less precious. My home is, quite literally, a space to play.

Goodbye perfection, hello play. Cue “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and break out the pinot noir. It’s okay if a little spills on the carpet.

Areas of Expertise

I work with a wide variety of clients, ranging from 20-somethings who are ready to graduate from Craigslist furniture and want to be able to bring a date home without feeling embarrassed, to individuals and families getting settled in their forever home, ready to choose furnishings that will last a lifetime. I have a lot of experience helping couples navigate different styles and preferences, as well as helping families figure out how to balance beauty and functionality while sharing a home with little ones.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re into earth tones, neutrals, or bright pops of color — the design principles animating each of these styles are all the same, and my job is to work with you to help hone in on your style and make it work in your space.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • My style is earthy and collected. I love pairing new and vintage, floral and geometric, calming neutrals with pops of color. I’m drawn to earth tones: mustard yellows and ruby reds and olive greens and rusted oranges. I could live in a jar of Castelvetrano olives.

    I want my home to be both calming and fun, and gravitate towards neutrals with personality and subtle details. But I’m not afraid of color either.

    I’m a big fan of original artwork, and have relationships with local Bay Area artists whose work I’ve been following for years.

    I also believe that a home should reflect its residents, so my goal is not to impose my style on you; my goal is to help you get in touch with the part of you that smiles when you see certain shapes, colors, or materials, and learn how to work with your joy sparkers to create a cohesive space.

  • I always start off by getting to know you. I’ll ask questions like what do you want to feel when you walk through your front door (joyful? calm? relaxed? energized?), what’s your favorite space you’ve been in (perhaps a restaurant, hotel, or friend’s home?), and what you’re looking for out of working with a professional designer.

    If you already have mood boards, great! If not, I have several we can go over to discover what you’re drawn to and find commonalities in all of the images that speak to you.

    We’ll also discuss your constraints: do you have messy kids, furry dogs, or a clumsy partner who loves red wine?

    We’ll discuss your preferences for how to work — do you want to see how the sausage is made and get constant updates about all of the considerations running through my head about your space? Or would you prefer that I collate 2-3 options for each room, and only show you the very top choices, in order to minimize the noise and decision making?

    I want to get to know who you are, what you need and want out of your home, and what sparks joy for you. And if you don’t have an answer to that last one, then we’ll discover it together.

  • Many interior designers focus on designing picture-perfect homes without a single coaster out of place. The photos look amazing, but the perfection is hard to maintain when real life sets in. As soon as you add in unopened mail on the counter, a book you’re actually reading that doesn’t match the perfectly color-coordinated bookshelf, and a dog’s leash hanging out by the front door, the realities of how you actually live in the home starts to matter much more than the photos.

    I focus on designing homes that live beautifully. Real homes for real people living real lives. Whether you share your home with messy kids, furry pets, or a partner who just can’t seem to put anything back in the right place, chances are, your real life has some constraints that we’ll need to get creative about. I love problem-solving the puzzles that come up as part of the design process.

    I’m all about balancing beauty and functionality to create a space that brings you joy at every stage of life.

    I believe that a home should reflect its residents: your heritage, what’s important to you, your passions, your taste. I’m here to be your design doula, helping you tease out your taste and figure out how to make it work cohesively in your home.

    And if you just want to hand over the keys and tell me to make the place beautiful, then fabulous — that makes my job easy! But I’ll invite you to take part in the process as much or as little as you wish.

  • You’ve come to the right place! My husband and I have spent the past ten years navigating our differences when it comes to aesthetics, and we’ve figured out how to create beauty that works for both of us.

    I will work with you and your partner to find the common ground between your tastes and develop a shared sense of style together.

  • My rates vary based on the scale of project and how much work you want to do versus how much you want me to do. Typically, I offer a free intro call, and will follow up after that with details about pricing options.

    I’m really passionate about helping people live beautifully at any budget, so if you’re worried that interior designers only work with people with six figures to spend, don’t be. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can explore possibilities for working together.

  • Yes! I am happy to travel for the right projects, and accept virtual clients on a case-by-case basis. Reach out to me at gabi@studio-gabriella.com to discuss your project.

  • Yes, absolutely! I’m plugged into the local art community in San Francisco and Marin, and have relationships with artists across the Bay Area. I know where to find gorgeous art at specific consignment shops, and which international artists are worth ordering from.

    I also love balancing larger works of original art with more affordable pieces that are still full of character. And I’m all for untraditional art — anything that you find beautiful can be hung on your walls in an artful way.

Let's work together

Let's work together