The Domestic Nest Blog

photo courtesy of Sharisse Coulter Photography

Have you ever walked into someone’s house and immediately felt at home? Did you sense that everyone who entered suddenly let their guard down, put their feet up and became family with the strangers around them? Did you find their house by following the distinct aroma of smoked ribs? Then maybe you’ve been to Chad & Gina Howlett’s house. They’re known for hosting laid-back parties complete with the best food and entertainment in town. Chad’s a member of the hot band, Brodeeva and their living room is home to a stellar array of local musical talent. If you were to stake out Chad & Gina’s house on any given weekend (not that I have), you’d witness hippies, rockers, artists and regular folk of all ages and cultures flocking to sit a spell, drink a beer and indulge in mouth-watering soul food. I recently interviewed them on what nesting is like as they balance day jobs, rocking out, and raising two teen boys. Here’s how the Howletts roll…

1. What makes your house a home?

Gina: The feeling of security and comfort in that you can be you and let your guard down. It’s a happy place that is used to recharge your battery to be able to deal with everything else the real world has to offer.

Chad: Gina!

2. What musical family are you most like?

a. the Von Trapp family
b. the Partridge family
c. the Osbourne family

Gina: The Osbournes. Far from perfect but very happy being so.

Chad: The Partridge family.

3. Give three words that define your style.

Gina: Comfortable, Simple, Basic.

Chad: Country, City, Simple.

4. Describe your ideal “nest.”

Gina: Somewhere that has everything you need. It has space to be creative, or think, or rock out or just veg when you need it. Its not a place where you are more worried about spilling a drink than having a good time.

Chad: A place to let your hair down, tune the world out.. peace!

5. What domestic activity do you like best?

Gina: My favorite domestic activity is cooking, for sure. I find it to be a wonderful way to relax and express creativity and at the same time get good food into the bellies of my family.

Chad: Watching movies with my wife and kids and then talking about the movie when it is over.

6. What domestic activity do you loathe?

Gina: Do not like cleaning. Not my favorite.

Chad: Leaving the house!

7. What fires up your creativity?

Gina: Random things throughout my day spur creativity for me. But I do best with my creative juices when I have time. Once I get into a project, I like to be able to complete the thought without too much interruption.

Chad: Having nowhere to be on a long slow day, the phone not ringing, my wife wearing very little with a shot of tequila in hand.

8. What helps keep you organized?

Gina: I like lists for organization. But I am not the best at it so I am constantly trying new ways to organize.

Chad: My wife.

9. What is the best investment you’ve made in your home?

Gina: The best investment we’ve made in our home is time in our home. We like being in it and spending time in it with friends and family.

Chad: My wife.

Tags: Chad Howlett, Gina Howlett, Modern Nesters

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Interviews, Nesting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.