Not A Shiny Person

I am not a shiny person. I don't like shiny. My floors are not shiny, my countertops are not shiny, even my wood finishes on furniture are not shiny.
I do crave a bit of sparkle here or there in a lamp, a piece of mercury glass, or Murano, a silk drape or two. Shiny for me comes in small controlled doses.

Yesterday, my installer asked me if I was Italian. The last name Faranetta
might make you think so....but only by marriage. I have lived In Treviso outside of Venice and was a clothing designer for Benneton....that makes me Italian by assosciation perhaps?

Apparently, whenever he installs honed (matte) countertops the owners are Italian. I admit to having a love of all things Italian the architecture, the lifesyle,family culture.....Oh and I almost forgot the food  but I am half Puerto Rican and half English....not a drop of Italian blood.

In honor of all things not shiny, I present a fabulous renovation of a house in New South Wales designed by Patricia Stewart.