THE STUDIO
The Mannelli is a Washington, DC–based interior design studio serving clients in DC, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and throughout the country. Our work begins with listening - to the client, the architecture, and the way a space needs to live. Each project is shaped through close collaboration, careful attention, and a belief that utility and atmosphere should be treated with equal weight.
THE SOURCE
Jennifer Mannelli
Jennifer Mannelli’s work is shaped by a lifelong attention to how rooms feel, function, and hold the lives within them. Her point of view was formed through years of looking closely: at the way objects are kept, used, and passed down; how music and art change the atmosphere of a room; how travel and history shape perspective; and how rituals leave an imprint on the way people live.
With an MFA in Interior Design from the Corcoran College of Art + Design, years spent guiding clients through the design process, and a deep familiarity with furniture, proportion, materials, and the practical realities of daily life, Jennifer brings both rigor and warmth to her work.
She believes interiors should be both useful and atmospheric. Jennifer looks closely at how a space is used, what is needed, and what is often overlooked. From there, each project is shaped thoughtfully and intentionally, refining the plan, the materials, the details, and the feeling of the room until everything belongs.
COLLABORATORS
The Mannelli is intentionally small, but collaborative by nature. Depending on the needs of each project, we work alongside trusted designers, architects, artisans, workrooms, contractors, installers, and specialty vendors to bring the right expertise to the room.
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Independent designers and creative partners brought in when a project benefits from additional perspective, drafting support, styling, or project coordination.
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Custom upholstery, drapery, millwork, refinishing, framing, and specialty fabrication.
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Contractors, painters, electricians, wallpaper installers, tile setters, receiving warehouses, and installation teams.
From Jennifer
I have always been interested in what people reveal before they realize it: the way they move through a room, what they keep close, what they avoid, and what they say they want before they know what they need.
My name means “beautiful little hands,” which has always felt quietly fitting. So much of design comes down to small gestures: what is adjusted, held, softened, repaired, repeated, or made easier to reach.
I think of interiors this way - not only as compositions, but as places shaped by use, memory, and attention. The details matter because they are where a space becomes personal.
For writing on space, restraint, utility, and the overlooked, read the journal.