Walk through the firm’s portfolio and you’ll quickly notice that no two projects look alike. A contemporary waterfront estate, a colorful family retreat, a quiet minimalist residence, each feels entirely different because each begins with the same question: Who are the people who will live here?
That question has shaped Shanna Gatanis Design Studio from the beginning.
Founded in Winter Park and now operating from studios in Winter Park and New York City, the firm has built a national reputation by creating homes that feel deeply personal rather than instantly recognizable. There isn’t a formula or a house style. Instead, every project becomes a reflection of its owners, their routines, their travels, their collections, their families, and the life they want to build inside their walls.
In an industry where trends move faster than ever, that approach feels almost refreshing.
“We’re not chasing what’s next,” says Gatanis. “We’re trying to understand what matters to the people sitting across from us.”
That conversation often has very little to do with design. Clients talk about music, travel, childhood memories, favorite cities, artists they admire, and how they want family and friends to gather in their home. Long before finishes or furniture are discussed, the team is learning how someone lives. Those conversations become the blueprint, informing everything from the architecture and floor plan to the smallest custom detail. It’s a process that produces homes with personality instead of predictability.
Perhaps that perspective comes from Gatanis’ own unconventional path. Before founding the studio, she worked in the music industry alongside artists including John Mellencamp. It was an experience that taught her something she still carries into every project today. The most memorable experiences are emotional. Great music makes people feel something. Great design should do the same.
That influence can be seen throughout the firm’s work. Architecture, interiors, furniture, lighting, art, and landscape are never treated as separate disciplines. They work together, creating homes that feel layered, lived in, and collected over time rather than decorated all at once.
The studio has become known for custom furniture, thoughtful architectural detailing, and an ability to blend contemporary design with warmth and soul. Every project is tailored to its client, whether that means quiet restraint or bold color, vintage finds or collectible design, understated luxury or playful moments that make people smile.
After twenty years, the firm’s greatest achievement isn’t a recognizable aesthetic. It’s that clients never feel like they’re moving into someone else’s vision.
This year marks another meaningful milestone with the opening of Shanna Gatanis Design Studio’s new flagship in Winter Park, just miles from where the company first began. More than a new office, the space represents a return to the firm’s roots and a place where clients can experience the creative process in a more personal way. Designed less like a workplace and more like a home, it reflects everything the studio believes about design being approachable, collaborative, and deeply human.
After two decades, that belief hasn’t changed.
Beautiful rooms are easy to create. Homes that feel unmistakably like the people who live in them are much harder.
That’s the work Shanna Gatanis Design Studio continues to pursue.
For more information visit shannagatanis.com
