Five Under Forty: Gina D’Amore Bauerle

Portrait by Jennifer Olson

To the manner born—that’s the best way to describe Gina D’Amore Bauerle. “I was literally a baby on a blanket on the floor of my parents’ design showroom from day one,” she says. “I was never not involved. My parents started their business selling painted pillows and bedspreads in 1980 in a flea market. I was born four years later.”

Bauerle had her own first client at age 17 and has since become known for her daring, edgy designs. (Her husband, Eric, is a partner in the business, too, doing sales, marketing and events, and acting as an uber-handyman—“he’s the one handyman who can’t say no to me,” she says.)

Bauerle, who has a bachelor’s from Johnson & Wales University, does every kind of interior design, from new construction (her favorite kind of project) to remodels to furnishing finished spaces. “I love it all. Creating makes me happy, especially when I can create something for another person that makes them feel happy and proud of their space.”

Photo by Timothy Gormley

A SHRINKING VIOLET? NO.
“I’m a people person, deeply intuitive and hypersensitive to others’ emotions. I’m also outspoken and opinionated, and I’m not shy. But I’m designing spaces for the person who hires me, not for myself. I’ve never met a design I couldn’t accomplish, so I worry most about earning a client’s trust. My designs are 100 percent inspired by the people who live there, so that whole getting-to-know-them process is what tells me about who they are as people.”

GOING OUT ON A LIMB—AND UP IN THE AIR
“I had a client who was obsessed with airplanes. I’d already done the main level of their house, so in the basement, I did a vintage pilot space. I found a chair that had an airplane blueprint printed on the leather, an end table that was a giant arrow—like something you’d see on a landing strip. It was really cool stuff specific to him.”

SIX THINGS YOU’D NEVER SEE IN ONE OF HER SPACES
“Pillows that match the sofa material; matching sets of furniture; gaudy, cheap lighting (if you’re on a budget, keep it simple); fussy window treatments; poorly made area rugs; and round light fixtures over rectangular tables. Of course, I love it when my
clients are into anything that sparkles, because I am a sparkle princess.”

“WORKING WITH MY FAMILY IS AWESOME. We go through all the great successes together, and we go through the bad times together. It just makes everything so much more meaningful.” — Gina D’Amore Bauerle

JUST CHECKING IN
“People will call me and say, ‘Are you OK if I put this certain color towel in my bathroom? Is it OK if I get a little bit bigger TV?’ My very first new-build client, from seven years ago, still texts me when he’s buying a new dog bed, to make sure he’s getting the right color!”

Photo by Timothy Gormley

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON
“Even my 5-year-old son, Knox, knows I love fuchsia and teal. He knew colors before he knew numbers and letters. I refer to him as my junior designer, because if I’m scrolling through a site looking for a piece of art or a lamp, he’ll help me pick out stuff for people. He notices everything—even when I change my toenail polish.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY
“Working with my parents [Marilyn and Frank] and my husband is awesome. Of course, nobody argues more than my father and me, but it’s because we’re the most alike. But you can’t trust anybody like you can your family. We go through all the great successes together, and we go through the bad times together. It just makes everything so much more meaningful.”

See the rest of the 2020 Five Under Forty Design Award winners.