Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella Grace Troutt.
Hi Ella Grace, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Ella Grace Clayton Troutt, and I’m a Nashville girl through and through — born, raised, and still here. I grew up surrounded by women who understood that a home isn’t just a house. My mom, my aunts, my friends’ mothers — they all had this gift for creating spaces that were cozy and refined at the same time, places that felt like the love of the woman who made them. I genuinely believe the homes I grew up in shaped who I am.
My senior year of high school, I got the chance to shadow and intern at a few incredible design firms here in Nashville, and that sealed it. I knew design was what I wanted to do with my life. I considered design school, but honestly, I just wanted to start doing the work. That’s when I was connected with Brooke and Steve Giannetti of Giannetti Home, and they gave me the gift of hiring me straight out of high school. They believe design is caught more than it’s taught, and I got to learn under them for several years in the most organic, hands-on way.
When Brooke and Steve began spending more of their time on the farm and at Patina Home and Garden, I took a leap of faith and started Ella Grace Interiors. It was the most exciting season of my life, and also the most stretching — a lot of hard work. Today we’re a full-service design firm based in Nashville, working on projects all over the country: Texas, North Carolina, the Hamptons.
My training gave me a foundation of European elegance — organic textures, linens, blues and greens and neutrals, natural stone and marble. But as I’ve developed my own point of view, what I care about most is that a home reflects the person living in it. I listen to what my clients love and marry that to good design, because I want people to feel truly at home in the spaces I create. We work mostly in residential, though we’ve done some beautiful commercial spaces too: a financial firm, a few medical clinics, a couple of Pilates studios. But residential elegance is our heart. Personal, timeless, beautiful.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, no — it hasn’t been a smooth road, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be. The biggest adjustment in owning a small business is that A to Z belongs to you. My training was in design, and suddenly I was also handling invoicing, taxes, marketing, social media, managing people, and endless paperwork. Going from being an employee to being a business owner means everything stops with you, and that’s a real stretch.
I haven’t done it alone, though. My dad and my brothers were instrumental in helping me establish the business side of things early on, and my new husband, Preston, has been an enormous support to me in this recent season. But truly, my faith is the cornerstone of all of it. Knowing that God is directing my steps is what lets me hold the hard seasons with an open hand.
The other struggle is quieter, and it’s self-doubt. Owning your own business takes an enormous amount of confidence, and confidence isn’t something you always feel — it’s something you have to choose, often before you feel ready. Learning to trust God in those moments, and to keep going anyway, has probably shaped me more than anything else.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ella Grace Interiors is a full-service interior design firm based in Nashville, working with clients across the country. We handle projects from the ground up — architectural selections, finishes, furnishings, styling, all the way to the final install — so the space feels cohesive and complete rather than assembled in pieces.
We specialize in residential design, and I’d say we’re known for a look rooted in European elegance: organic textures, natural stone and marble, linen, and a palette of soft blues, greens, and warm neutrals. And always, somewhere, a fun pop of color — because life is meant to be enjoyed, and a room should have a little delight in it. We’ve also done some commercial work I love — a financial firm, a few medical clinics, a couple of Pilates studios — but residential is the heart of what we do.
What sets us apart is that I don’t come to a project with a signature look I’m trying to impose. My deepest conviction is that a home should reflect the people who live in it. So I spend a lot of time listening — learning what my clients love, what they’ve collected, how they actually live — and then I marry that to good design. The result is a home that’s genuinely theirs, not a version of mine.
What I’m most proud of, honestly, is that I love this work — and I think my clients feel that. The process of designing a home should be just as joyful as the finished result. I never want it to feel like something my clients endure to get to the pretty pictures at the end. The journey is part of the gift.
If there’s one thing I’d want your readers to know, it’s that we believe a home is formative. The spaces we live in shape us. That’s why I care about doing this well.
That last bit about the process being fun is a genuinely distinctive thing to say — a lot of designers won’t claim it.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I mentioned in the last page, but my family has been a huge help and first and foremost, the Lord, but also I wanted to fully recognize the people that I have worked for that I’ve trained me and also the clients that have given me the gift of working on their spaces whenever a client trust me with their home. I do not take it lately, and I am very honored that anyone would hire me to help create their space.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Ellagraceinteriors.com
- Instagram: @ellagraceinteriors
