The Work We Do: Amanda Giuliano, Nicolette’s for the Home

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My name is Amanda Giuliano and I am the head designer here for Nicolette’s for the Home. We are located in Southold.

I also manage the shop, so that includes all retail, design elements, everything you can think of. Even merchandising the store with our amazing crew.

My father is a contractor. He never shied me away as a female, as his daughter from being next to him doing projects. Since I was little, I was always tinkering and building things. Legos was my jam.

I was always redoing my room, faux-finishing this, moving things around. I was very big into aviation and actually pursued that for a career. As much as I loved it, it just wasn’t where my heart truly was.

When I was 23, I went back to school at Suffolk County Community College. I took their interior design program.

My first job out of that was merchandising for Restoration Hardware. After that, I got a job with a big box store doing full-on kitchen and bath remodels and then worked for a high-end millwork company to specialize in cabinetry.

I was able to step up my skill set and really learn a lot during those few years.

Every day is different. I’m constantly running to job sites, where we do rough inspections, which include electrical, plumbing, framing.

In the store, we’re typically reviewing palettes with the client, selections, finish materials. So there’s a lot of moving parts.

You can plan and you can pull selections and then you can incorporate some finish materials and give the clients a really nice 3D rendering. But when you see it in real life and it comes together, it’s so satisfying as a designer because you do have hiccups along the way.

You might fall in love with a tile and then the client vetoes it. Then, you have to go back to square one. But that’s the push and pull of design.

You’re figuring out ways to make your client’s needs and wants and aesthetic desire match with their budget and with what the contractor or what the home is capable of doing.

So because it’s that fine ballet, when it is done, it’s very rewarding.

“The Work We Do” is a Suffolk Times multimedia project profiling workers on the North Fork. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See photos on Instagram @thesuffolktimes.