There is beauty in the everyday, in the items we touch and use on a daily basis. How we live, better yet how we decide to live, with beauty and inspiration is tactile, sound, color and light. Once we decide we can live intentionally in life, there is no going back it continues on into friendships, design, cooking, the "living parts" of our lives. Garden roses freshly cut in the morning hours for the kitchen table, gathered eggs for an impromptu omelette, the crunch of gravel on a path to the potager for butter lettuce, lavender dried and made into sachets for the linen closet, is the essence of home. That is the journey and beauty of Patina Living. Brooke and Steve Giannetti invite us once more into their life at Patina Farm where everything was considered and designed for how they wanted to live daily, from the rose and lavender gardens, to the potager, chicken coop, and those darling animals; nothing was over looked, everything was meant to slow down and engage in a life well-spent and enjoyed on a daily basis. When their new book Patina Living arrived I spent the weekend reading, savoring, and taking the time to incorporate the beauty of "Patina Living" into our family's daily life.
I have to say we are the better for it.
"During blooming season, roses from the garden can always be found in my bathroom. There is nothing more luxurious than taking a bath in fresh rose petals."
"The garden is welcomed into my bathroom. I fill the bath with warm water, adding soothing lavender and rose petals. My muscles relax as I breath in the perfumed air and take a moment to appreciate the leftover roses in their vase as well as the verdant garden beyond our all-glass shower. Then I dab my skin with a towel, leaving the lavender oil covering my body."
"I am a bit addicted to baby birds and enjoy the experience of raising day old chicks inside our home. The experience of raising our babies fills my need to nurture, and I a know our little birds bond to us as much as we bond to them. We now have a place in Steve's office bathroom that is dedicated to the baby chick cage, and it seems to be filled with little peepers at least twice a year. After five years on the farm, Steve doesn't even bat an eye when he sees the red glow of the heat lamp emanating from his bathroom."
"Our free-ranging chickens produce the most vibrant-colored eggs. They are as delicious as they look! I don't believe it is a coincidence that our hens lay eggs in a color palette that is similar to the colors of our home. Were they inspired by my work, or was I inspired by theirs?"
"My favorite days include a couple of visits to the veggie garden. In the morning, when the cool mist still blankets the bottom land, I drift down to the garden and scoop out holes in the earth with my hands for new seedlings... After an hour working in the garden, my mind is clear and cobweb free."
"The design for our veggie garden includes spaces where we can spend time doing a variety of activities during the day. In front of the greenhouse, a round table is placed beneath the branches of a sycamore tree to provide a protected dining or reading space.... that opens to a gravel walkway covered by roses and lined with lavender... this shaded walkway is the perfect place to feed the donkeys some newly harvested carrots or snap peas."
"Like our animals, Steve and I are creatures of habit, enjoying our evening routine. It's always the same, with maybe a few minor changes with the addition of a new baby animal to cuddle and kiss. We spend a little less than an hour washing out water and feed bins and giving neck rubs before safely "tucking" everyone into their barn, coop or cage."
"Steve and I never imagined how much we would both enjoy taking care of the animals. After the evening feeding is complete, we walk back to the house with an increased feeling of peace and well-being"
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"Most evenings, Steve and I make an effort to thank each other for what we do."
"We find that saying it out loud is the best way to stay grateful."
My sincerest thanks to Jill Cohen Associates
for the opportunity. It has been my pleasure
My sincerest thanks to Austen George, Marketing and Publicity Specialist at Gibbs Smith Publishing
for the Patina Living book, photos and assistance. I apprecite you.
Photographs by Victoria Pearson
from Patina Living by Brooke and Steve Giannetti, reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith.
Many thanks to Brooke and Steve Giannetti
For all of the inspiration.
