Family Bonds

Photograph by Michael Piazza

Juliana Pastick sits with one of her two dogs in the great room.

Photograph by Michael Piazza

Left: Brookline’s Faithful Flowers transformed the overgrown yard into a peaceful escape. Right: The kitchen features recycled-stone countertops and handblown pendant lights from Niche Modern Designs.

“There was a dumbwaiter, which is so cool, but it’s like, we either have a dumbwaiter or we have a half bath on the first floor,” says Juliana, who, working with Dietz & Associates on the redesign, acted as project manager. The half bath won, and in went a handpainted sink and antique mirrored wall panels, both of which were inspired by her family’s home in Rio de Janeiro, where she grew up.

Juliana, a science teacher at Fenway High School, says that she never would have crossed paths with Shayleen, the owner of Vitality Personal Fitness in Newton, if they hadn’t met online. “We can hardly find each other at Whole Foods,” she jokes. When the two finally did meet in person, “the coffee date turned into lunch, which turned into a house in J.P., and now, a house in Brookline.” They were married in 2009 at Harrington Farm in Princeton.

For their second home rehab, Juliana and Shayleen, with help from Ken Dietz and Misty Gray of Dietz & Associates, went about creating an elegant yet comfortable space that keeps their passion for the environment front and center. They invested in a geothermal heating system and recycled-plastic and bamboo-composite decking, and also installed raised farm beds for growing herbs and vegetables out back.