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Two wine lovers breathe new life into a timeworn East Greenwich home

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Like many couples, Jessica and Nino Granatiero looked at their growing family one day and realized they had simply outgrown their space. With their thriving wine shop, The Savory Grape, in the heart of downtown East Greenwich, the couple was hoping to find a new home nearby. What they found wasn’t exactly their dream home, but together they saw immense potential. “We stumbled upon it,” explains Jessica. “It was a foreclosure and had good bones, but needed some TLC.”

Over the course of the past three years, the couple functionally gutted the entire house. “We had our own vision of how we wanted it,” Jessica says. She describes Nino as very handy, crediting him with doing much of the work himself, but the two busy business owners turned to local professionals to execute their vision. As they often host winemakers from around the country and entertain regularly, the two wanted a home that flowed well, had open spaces and could accommodate multiple seating vignettes.

Arguably, the phase that received the most attention was the kitchen and dining room remodel. The two spaces flow interchangeably and it’s where the family spends much of their time. The Granatieros turned to Audrey Anderson of Apex Kitchens & Baths in Middletown to create a space that was not only warm and inviting, but smart and efficient. “She is awesome!” gushes Jessica. “I’m not kidding you. We met with her, we told her what we wanted and she came up with the design. She is so meticulous.” Jessica adds that while she and Nino came to Apex armed with a good idea of what they were looking for, Audrey considered elements they hadn’t considered, including amenities to streamline the cooking process and keep the space well-organized. Jessica says Nino is an excellent at-home chef and enjoys dishing up amazing cuisine when time allows, so the two chose Wolf cooking appliances featuring advanced technology and sleek design from Wickford Appliance & Lighting in North Kingstown. “When we were designing the kitchen and trying to decide on the range, we spoke to a customer who was a chef,” says Jessica, adding that the chef gave the couple some fantastic brand and style recommendations.


Kitchen features include a double oven and a warming drawer that has proved much more useful than Jessica ever thought. “You can just throw French toast in there for the kids,” she says with a laugh, adding that working a lot of nights, the drawer comes in handy as the couple doesn’t always finish the day at the same time.

Naturally, as wine shop owners, the Granatieros included one more important piece of equipment the kitchen would have been incomplete without. “We have a wine cooler in the kitchen,” says Jessica. “It’s a smaller size and we use that mainly for wines we use every day. We have an area downstairs we’re going to be building out for a wine cellar,” she adds, saying they’ll be working with the same builder who created The Savory Grape structures.

The tile backsplash in the kitchen (as well as the tile in the bath) from Hill & Harbour Tile in East Greenwich was chosen for its warm hue. As small business owners themselves, Jessica and Nino said it only made sense to support local businesses throughout the project. “We’re local; that is what makes our economy run,” she points out.

The centerpiece of the dining room is an oversized rustic farm table from Pottery Barn that the couple adores and uses frequently. A dark wood hutch complements the style and was found in the most unlikely of places. “We acquired it three years ago at a little shop in Portland, Maine; it looks like it belongs in a farmhouse,” she says. In fact, most of the furniture in the house is a harmonious blend of store-bought, antique and sentimental pieces. In their four and-a-half year old daughter’s room is a wood rocking chair, an old gem among pink and brown accents and pastel yellow walls. “She’s your typical kid – very into princesses... princess outfits everywhere, photographs of all of us. It’s definitely playful but also in some regards, very traditional.” Another daughter’s room features a bed that once belonged to Jessica’s mother. “We’re not cookie cutter,” is how Jessica describes their furnishings approach.

“We were very involved. We knew what we wanted and have that design capability,” Jessica says about the entire process. “Nino and I are very casual people in our style. Our house is not formal… I guess you could say ‘sophisticated casual.’”

Now that the interior is done, the couple is putting the finishing touches on their landscape design. They have also started a new venture born from their experience at The Savory Grape: The Savory Affair Event Planning and Design. “We do a lot of different events and things started to morph naturally with menu planning and organizing, advice on venues and more,” she says. “We’re really excited.” Not only will The Savory Affair manage corporate events and weddings, but they will be organizing wine trips and related events as well. Later this month, Jessica will be leading group of 10 to Napa Valley, an experience built on the relationships the Granatieros have developed through the years as successful wine shop owners. The group will experience VIP wine tours, meet wellknown wine makers and experience Napa with an experienced wine connoisseur. Closer to home, wine aficionados can join local winery outings, including a trip at the end of the onth to Jonathan Edwards Winery n in North Stonington, Connecticut. We plan the whole trip from the ood to a catered lunch in the vineyard ith the winemaker himself,” says Jessica, “It’s been busy but fun.”

home, style, tlc, remodel

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