Creating an Atmosphere Through Design

Dr. Ellen Morrif Farber of Great Neck admitted she's made her interior designer's job a bit harder than it should be.

"I am a very anxious person," Farber said. "But she has the patience of a saint. We've been working together for the last two years."

Farber is talking about Jane Grucci, a Rockville Centre resident who's been an interior designer for the last 25 years. Her design career began nearly three decades ago at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, and has since blossomed into a lucrative business.

Grucci's first job out of college was as a manager for the Scandinavian Gallery Furniture Chain and after that, worked for Classic Galleries in Huntington. "At that job is when I really started doing my design work," she said. "After nine years there, I went out on my own."

Grucci admitted to using one design style more than others, but explained that too much of one thing is not a good idea.

"I lean more to traditional, but all types of one design is boring," she noted. "I mix things, like maybe use traditional as a base, but then use contemporary fabrics. A lot of it has to do with the house I am decorating."

One of her latest clients were Michael and Kelly Stanley of Rockville Centre. The couple said Grucci worked with them to help bring their home renovation concept to fruition.

"She took the time to understand our vision for our living room and then used her talent and expertise to make it a beautiful reality," Stanley said.

One of her latest designs, a bedroom at the Design Show House in the Winter Cottage at Caumsett State Park in Huntington, was open to the public for viewing as of this weekend.  "My intention was to create a serene and relaxed atmosphere the moment you step in," Grucci said. "I believe a bedroom should always give you that feeling, since at the end of the day, it is where you want to feel calm, and ready to relax and rest."