In the dining room of Ghislaine and Jaime Viñas's country home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, red Tom Dixon chairs add a zip of color to a largely black-and-white scheme. The artworks include Joe Doucet's resin water bottle sculptures and a pair of paintings by Karen Jo Combs. For details, see Resources.
When people talk about the work of Ghislaine Viñas, words like exuberant and fun tend to roll off the tongue. The New York-based designer has the dexterity to create interiors that feel modern and grand, while filling them with lighthearted gestures. Dress up a banquette with a lobster print? Why not? For Viñas, design and play go hand in hand.
It might not come as a surprise, then, that when the weekend rolls around, the designer can be found at the controls of an 850-pound commercial lawn mower, enthusiastically giving her three-acre property in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a buzz cut, one stripe at a time. “There is something so satisfying about it," she insists.
This story is from the April 2022 edition of Elle Decor.
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This story is from the April 2022 edition of Elle Decor.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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The Empire Strikes Back - A 19th-century gem in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gets a tour-de-force restoration thanks to Frances Merrill of Reath Design.
Is it possible to simultaneously go back in time and leap forward? This was the challenge a couple set for themselves upon purchasing a salmon-pink 1869 house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from Longfellow House, the National Historic Site that served as George Washington's headquarters during the revolution. We loved all the beautiful old details of this house, the homeowner says.
Just Like That, But Cheaper. -One writer tried to replicate a classic ELLE DECOR interior in his apartment. Could he do it for $500?
It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.
You Stay Here
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WHAT'S IN THE MIX?
Rayman Boozer brings his mastery of color and pattern to the renovation of a Harlem duplex for a young family.
Now You See It
A modernist beach house's discreet profile hides killer views and knockout interiors by Rafael de Cárdenas.
CIRCLE D'AMOUR
For an object lesson on how to design a Paris love nest, look to Pierre Yovanovitch.
PARK AND RECREATIONS
With the rise of electric vehicles and a fresh focus on design, the once overlooked garage is becoming a future-forward source of joy and energy at home.
But This is My Home - One writer discovers that living in an architectural icon can be a blessing and a curse.
One writer discovers that living in an architectural icon can be a blessing and a curse. My husband and I moved into the Kallis House in Los Angeles six years ago. It was designed in 1946 by the modernist architect Rudolph Schindler, and it's believed by many, including Frank Gehry, to be among Schindler's best. The house is eccentric, perched on the lip of a hill, with a butterfly roof and a shaggy exterior made of grape stakes. The interior is an unfolding series of surprising angles, with a wonderful wide view of the San Fernando Valley.
A SISTER STORY
Jewelry designer Brent Neale Winston and her decorator sibling, Ramsey Lyons, recast a historic Long Island home.
