book review – “Patina Farm”

Hello friends! It’s time for the next book review and today I am sharing a beyond inspirational home & garden book called “Patina Farm” by Brooke & Steve Giannetti. This is part of a new monthly series, which shares books centered around our home.

Last month I shared feels like Home by Marian Parsons and next month I will be sharing Paris Flea Market Style by Claudia Strasser.

*Affiliate links included for your convenience.

about Brooke & Steve Giannetti

I had the good fortune to meet Brooke & Steve. Patina Farm is located in Ojai, CA and the Giannetti’s use to open their home up for tours frequently. Brooke is a designer and Steve is an architect and together the two created the beautiful oasis known as Patina Farm.

Brooke and Steve are incredibly gracious, unbelievably talented and refreshingly approachable. Both of them are present during the tours, engaging with all the guests and providing great insights and details about their home.

Patina Farm was built and designed with the intent to provide a space where family, friends and a menagerie of animals could coexist surrounded by peace, relaxation and beauty. Patina Farm always blurs the lines between the outside and interior of the home, which is something I strive for in my own home.

The Giannetti’s have relocated to Tennesse where they are currently creating Patina Meadow. You can keep up with the Giannetti’s and their endeavors @ Patina Home & Garden, which I highly recommend following along.

about Patina Farm the book

From their forward “The vision that Brooke and Steve have executed celebrates the good life and the art of living well.” The message really hit home for me since that’s the intent behind my blog, striving to master the art of joie de vivre, the good life, la buena vida, la dolce vita.

Patina Farm melds all the things they love together, family, art, nature and animals. They created a place for things to happen, emotions to be felt and memories to be made.

The book is divided into eight chapters, which I have listed below. I will share some insights from each chapter, but keep in mind the book has so much more incredible information and inspiration, which is impossible to condense into this post. Plus the photography is amaZing!

Patina Farms chapters

• Arriving
• Connecting
• Nourishing
• Creating
• Restoring
• Rejuvenating
• Sharing
• Farming

Patina Home chapter reviews

Arriving

Much thought and deliberation went into every detail, giving attention to all the senses. Brooke and Steve built Patina Farm on a 5-acre lot allowing the sun, vegatation and land dictate how to lay out the home, other structures and gardens.

Sights of beautiful blooms and patina inspired colors plus the intentional materials selected greet you as you approach. Plus sounds from the fountain, the antique school bell and the happy animals let you know you are in the right place. All the details are meant to create experiences. The property is meant to allow a feeling that it had been built over time.

Connecting

The open floor plans at Patina Farm are to obtain the primary goal of connecting all the people and animals within the dwelling. The architecture combines both modern and classic elements, which is influenced and inspired by European designs. Ultimately the line between indoor and outdoor living is constantly blurred.

The combination of rustic and refined is found throughout, achieving the relaxed yet well-appointed environment. Across the interior and exterior spaces you will find so many interesting interesting pieces and unique installments.

Nourishing

The kitchen was inspired by those found in European farmhouses. It’s open to the dining room, sharing the two-sided stone fireplace. The kitchen provides enough space and seating for friends and family to enjoy wine and bites while the hosts cook.

The focal point and star of the show in this space is the Lacanche range, where copper, aged brass and stainless steel mix and mingle in perfect unison. I love how the Giannetti’s use old bread boards and aged copper pots displayed as art work in the kitchen space. They have modern amenities complimented with beautiful antiques.

Creating

Brooke and Steve’s offices provide both an organized space to do their work plus inspirational freedom, surrounded by the things they love. Their creative spaces are serene, while providing an optimal productive setting.

Steve is surrounded by the beautiful Patina Farm landscapes and his artwork. Brooke has her beloved. animals and gardens close at hand. Both spaces are enviable and appointed with the same attention to detail as the rest of the house.

Restoring

The private area of Patina home where the bedrooms are located is designed as a sanctuary for the family. The clean lines of the architecture is balanced with the rustic textures of the antiques.

All the design details are extremely intentional, keeping with an uncomplicated aesthetic, but using beautifully interesting pieces. The greenhouse bathroom in the master suite spared no detail and is beyond imagination.

Rejuvenating

The gardens surrounding the house are treated as outdoor rooms (I love that!), connecting to the inside visually and aesthetically. The materials used outdoors are the same or compliment those used inside, allowing it all to flow together.

The property sports a pond, greenhouse, barn, chicken coop, rose garden, beautiful limestone French water fountain, fire pit seating area and so much more. It truly is an oasis for family, friends and animals to happily coexist. Each outdoor space was thoughtfully designed with purpose in mind.

Sharing

Patina Farm also contains a guest house, which include tranquil views of the pond. With its own private driveway and entrance it allows for the freedom to come and go at one’s pleasing.

Brooke & Steve appointed the guest quarters beautifully. They wanted too share the world they created with family and friends.

Farming

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate inspired the garden and farm spaces. When touring the estate, the Giannetti’s found George Washington was the epitome of the gentlemen farmer, perfectly combing form and function.

They accomplished their dream of creating a self sustaining farm environment with charm. They own the luckiest mini donkeys, goats, chickens, doves, dogs and more. Their animal menagerie relocated to Tennesse with them and seems to have adapted nicely.

final thoughts on Patina Farm

If Patina Farm is anything, it is beyond inspirational. The Giannetti’s not only inspire on how to design your home, but also how to use it and live in it well.

The photography in the book is amazing. Each photo shares so many details of which I can stare at forever

I am sharing some of the photographs I took when I toured Patina Farm throughout this post. My pictures only focus on the exterior of the home. It was requested we did not photograph the interior for privacy reasons. Well, the pictures in this book lets you into those interior spaces and spares no details.

more Patina Farm inspiration

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of the crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”

Masanobu Fukuoka

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sharing @ between naps on the porch