Meet Juliana De Giacometti Vitti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juliana De Giacometti Vitti.

Hi Juliana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Juliana De Giacometti Vitti. I’m a 46-year-old Brazilian interior designer, with a substantial amount of life experience. But at my core, I am a wife, mother, and total cat lady. Years ago, I fell in love with art and design, letting my creative drive propel me through life. It was a complicated, daunting, path, but one I would take hundreds of times. If you asked me to pinpoint a specific moment where interior design truly became my everything and
took over my life, I couldn’t. It’d been a part of me since I was a child, though one I didn’t explore much.

Even after I got older, it was left mostly untouched while I focused on getting a degree in Business and Marketing, and remained that way until I got a chance to leave the corporate world behind. I relocated to Tokyo with my husband for his work. I dedicated those years to travel, art, photography, and design. It was a life-changing experience where I rediscovered myself, my passion, and my talents that were maybe dormant for years. Still, we moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a few years, where I worked in advertising.

When my husband’s job moved us to the US, I finally got a chance to truly hone my craft and begin working with interior design. His work moved us all over the US, giving me the chance to explore Florida, Wisconsin, and now,
Tennessee. Oh, boy! Talk about reinventing yourself! In Brazil, we have a saying. Loosely translated, it tells you to “find your B-side”. Record players may have fallen out of style, but redesigning yourself for the better never did. Turns out, my “B-side” was my true calling.

My career could be described as a slow crescendo. A couple of years ago, I never would’ve guessed that interior design would become such a huge part of my life. I’d remodeled all the houses that we lived so far by myself, and had always gotten kudos for it. People began to notice me and my work, asking if I could work for them. They spread the word around, recommending me to their friends, even. Slowly, but surely, I grew. I love designing gorgeous spaces and adding a personalized twist to make people fall in love with their living spaces.

Breathing life into rooms has always been a knack of mine, and I couldn’t be happier to share it with others. My drive comes from making people truly happy with their homes and seeing the difference that my work makes in their daily life. I want to see them enjoying being in the spaces that I’ve created. If I can make somebody’s house a home, I consider my job done.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh no, definitely not. The road isn’t smooth for anybody, and I’m no exception. First, I had to work on myself. I had to come to terms with the fact that it was okay to leave the “career woman” behind. I wanted to pursue something I loved, while still being realistic. The roles of an ex-pat wife, a mom, and a woman living in a different country were difficult enough. I had to face different cultures and languages while grappling with having no family around.

But all these things shaped me as a person, and I hope to serve as a reminder that your dreams don’t have to fade
into the background, no matter where you are in life. To accept changes with positivity and an open heart is only easy in theory. It`s a process. With so many moves, I’ve begun to think of each one as a new beginning. Settle in and meet people. Be recognized, requested, and mentioned. Move again. It`s a cycle of constantly reinventing yourself, while
still trying to stay true to who you are.

The worst kind of struggle I’ve faced in this career, however, is when I notice that people won`t hire me because of my accent. All the experiences and trials I’ve gone through are suddenly held against me because of a misconception. It`s heartbreaking but thankfully is rare.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an interior designer, a modern European contemporary style enthusiast. I love to transform spaces and bring them to their maximum potential. From bigger changes in layouts to simple restyles in colors and furniture, I love personalizing homes and suiting them to my client’s taste. I study the floor plan, create layout options, and source furniture so that my clients feel comfortable with their choices. Design, comfort, timing, and budget-wise, I strive to almost make sure it is all in their favor.

Sometimes a minimalist, sometimes a maximalist, but definitely not the usual. I’ll give my all to bring their dream to life, bringing out the best in every style, and making the most of every room. I also want to change people’s beliefs that interior design isn’t affordable. Design isn’t about just buying the most expensive house and the most expensive furniture in designer stores. It’s about combining color, light, patterns, and textures.

I understand how to mix that old grandma credenza with a Scandinavian table. A house is full of memories and more than just a magazine-ready space. I understand that and help the two coexist. I am known to transform spaces on a budget. Most of my clients have mentioned that they used to spend much more money before hiring me, and even spent tons of money and ended up not liking the space.

Hiring a designer can save you time and money. People come to me for affordable and trustworthy home makeovers, and I’m proud to say I never let them down.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in one of the most adorable cities in the world, Gramado, RS in Brazil. The nature, the houses, the streets, and the food all contributed to, what I consider to be, one of the most gorgeous towns in Brazil. This, obviously, made me a lover of pretty things. A lust for design was always present in my life, even in my tender years–when I had no interest in playing with dolls, but, most certainly gave them the coolest houses. I was an art lover, specifically appreciating the abstract. I also love painting and consider Jackson Pollock my inspiration.

I constantly had disagreements with my family over our house, getting angry when I wasn’t consulted about anything. They’d usually spare me and change some things. I recall my mother having a horrible table centerpiece. I hid it every day, in many different spots, hoping she wouldn’t find it. On my birthdays, I’d never been able to choose between fashion and decor. Sometimes, I’d beg for clothes, other times, for a room remodel. I still remember my monochromatic blue bedroom.

I used to spend my summers at our beach house. I consider it a pillar in my life. Childhood friends, surf, and ice cream. Many of my best memories rest by the coast. At school, I had a lot of friends. I was a funny girl, played volleyball, and was great in arts, languages, history, and math.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jgvittidesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jgvittidesign/?hc_ref=ARSLu64mEUpUUTV032cH2StvcZj_27Lqliqu2BQ2nLmgOHwLM6AsKMQxIfeBnNpaVJ8&__xts__[0]=68.ARCRfBxtShVsHkkrDS_w3jC6fu6J9Eu71aHpwcTDToj8ZbWTSSJZUyQst6farUFFTMkYMttRnFl83tnIKuXV300HHIncQSsFlZnbzSaLTZ_VTybfLBH7jlSsLQsUonbZq-KMzB2-AQ2hbIrL56kLqa79Nf1cAhrRhnh7yef6ArfysL4ZflnsI1qhau6Bp9lBgkWYdhg_IKrXxaL8xFKi8sghioKCfv1btBD8gOmHci8diKuR12L6Bn6JXFFlKIf1Tj9KUFWSOvShCTUhuW_ltaKnl72E-Zbkn5KHY1uNe0mUD0_go-tHDrUh1l48CYA58DVBbTSxxo5XxO43j9qocDVHvR0MxDNgIIFKVqW2oBgYDJWsswBh3_nZ6d4wDiEc1k9GADOe1A&__tn__=kC-R

Image Credits
Tausha Dickinson