A long time ago in publishing turnover years I helmed a magazine that celebrated grown women who hosted tea parties, collected antique dolls, and cherished pieces with fat cabbage roses and chippy patinas. While some of the styles look like the remnants of a dried flower explosion there were designs that showed a restrained elegance, hallmarking the perservaitionist feel in a modern way, which the Europeans do so well. The woman who owns this style is Joanne Coletti of Vintage Rose Collection, her lifestyle enterprise that offers an edited selection of original artwork, shabby chic wares, and tips on achieving the ultimate romantic home.
The decor maven is an author, artist, photographer and writer for decorating magazines. “I absolutely love what I do!” she gushes. Coletti is so feminine she addresses you as “doll” and makes you feel pretty even if you haven’t washed your hair and ate a garlicy lunch. A stunning woman in that Charlie’s Angels knockout kind of way (she’d play the Farah Fawcett role), I don’t think she ever has a bad hair day or eats garlic.
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- Joanne uses her dog as a styling prop.
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- Joanne Colettis has written several books, with a new title coming out this spring.
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- Even the stairs are given romantic flourishes.
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- Vanity has that feminine Coletti treatment.
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- Jessy assumes the romantic look.
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- No corner is spared a soft decorating touch.
She speaks of her husband, Mark, with the same passion reserved to a new relationship. They have been married for 26 years and are the parents of “two amazing boys and our little special yorkie, Jessy.”
You can never have too many roses in a romantic home, the main theme in Joanne’s art and vignettes.
Men Can Live in a Romantic Home
You would think a household where Coletti is outnumbered by men would tone down all the poof and puff, but Coletti attests that her husband finds that soft tones “calm the bull in me.” Mark operates a landscape company and is in charge of the outdoors, contributing to his wife’s design with outdoor cuttings.
Their boys grew up with white sofas and feminine things, it’s what they know. “But, their own rooms, that’s a whole different story. I always allowed them freedom of their own creativity, after all it’s their personal space,” she says.
Joanne Coletti pictured with Jessy.
Feminine Outlook
Perhaps breathing in all that rose infused air has given Coletti a sensitive outlook toward her environment. “My surroundings are very important to me,” she says, “it’s like fresh air. For me my home is not only my visual art board but it alludes a feeling of goodness. And the ‘good life’ is not about riches but rather living lavishly modest, in-the-moment, and in a caring way. To care about your surroundings and to take pride in wherever you may hang your hat–that is the ‘good life.’”
Blushing pinks compose this unabashedly ladylike vignette.
5 Steps to the Romantic Look:
Pillows from the Vintage Rose Collection.
Resources:
Vintage Rose Collection of hand-painted items, note cards, bedding, fabric and vintage finds handpicked by Joanne Coletti: www.vintagerosecollection.com
Joanne Coletti’s blog: https://vintagerosecollection.com/wp/
