Brooke and Steve Giannetti had a dream. The pair, who helm Giannetti Home, a full-service design firm and a store in Los Angeles, fantasized about a property where they could fulfill the family passions: Brooke’s gardening, Steve’s landscape painting, and daughter Leila’s love of horses. “Steve and I have always dreamed of living on a farm,” says Brooke. “It would have gardens and animals and room for an art studio. Then we discovered Ojai.”

Indeed, it was a 2009 design project in the idyllic town at the foot of the Topatopa Mountains (just 80 miles north of L.A.) that made their dream a reality. After discovering a lush five-acre parcel of land, they planted the seed that would grow into their current home, Patina Farm.

After six months of planning (Steve is the architect, Brooke the designer) and 18 months of construction, the couple moved to the property that they call their “future empty-nester” home, though they are hardly alone. In addition to their three children, the couple share the farm with a menagerie of animals including three goats, four donkeys, a dozen chickens, four dogs, and counting. “We’re looking at sheep perhaps,” says Brooke.