{"id":253240,"date":"2025-04-25T09:51:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T13:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=canvasflow&p=253240"},"modified":"2025-04-25T12:53:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T16:53:53","slug":"1980s-new-york-home-designed-by-ghislaine-vinas","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/1980s-new-york-home-designed-by-ghislaine-vinas\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as Transforms A 1980s Home Into A Joyful Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Vi\u00f1as\u2019s ShweShwe wallpaper in the main bedroom, where \nan Isamu Noguchi lamp joins the custom headboard upholstered in a cotton blend, derives from traditional South African prints. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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April 25, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Edie\u00a0Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Garrett Rowland<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as Transforms A 1980s Home Into A Joyful Retreat<\/h1>\n\n\n

Who doesn\u2019t appreciate a healthy dose of happiness? Design-wise, nobody brings it on like Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as<\/a>. That special talent is what\u2019s kept one repeat client coming back for more, first hiring her to design their Manhattan loft, then their Palm Beach, Florida, condominium, and now a five-bedroom residence in Pound Ridge, an hour\u2019s drive north of New York City. Third time\u2019s a charm\u2014and, to riff on the proverb, charming, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property certainly didn\u2019t start out that way. The 1980\u2019s-built home, set on a wooded 5\u2009\u00bd-acre site, was generously sized, at 6,000 square feet spread across three levels, one below grade. But it was nondescript to the point of drab, with pervasive dark-wood flooring. \u201cIt did not exude joy,\u201d Vi\u00f1as summarizes. So she devised a dynamic overhaul that would marry her signature pop with the family\u2019s love of mid-century design\u2014particularly the wife, whose taste was honed by growing up amid vaunted masterworks. \u201cMy methodology is to extract what I can from myself and combine it with what the client wants,\u201d Vi\u00f1as explains. Here, the shared vision entailed establishing a crisp envelope, with whitewashed walls and Scandinavian-style pale-oak flooring, to offset the jolts of blue, green, and orange the homeowners favored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as’s Bold Design Brings Joy To This 1980s Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Flanked by Atelier Van Lieshout\u2019s Statistocrat lamp and Joseph D\u2019Urso swivel chairs in similar hues, the living room\u2019s Deborah Kass OY\/YO rests on a custom table, backed by Workstead\u2019s Hieroglyph sconces and a Robert Rauschenberg artwork. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although Vi\u00f1as preserved the existing floor plan and eschewed structural work\u2014\u201cno need for wasteful changes\u201d\u2014she did tweak some details. Out went traditional molding and baseboards, in came strong vertical banding via wall paneling and hand-painted stripes. She also introduced the clients to her pal Alan Barlis, principal of BarlisWedlick Architects<\/a>, who executed additional interventions with firm associate Jessie Goldvarg. \u201cOur work was at the edges and the outdoors,\u201d Barlis says, describing a scope that included extensive landscaping and hardscaping, some 2,500 square feet of decks and patios, and new interior\/exterior connections. The BWA team also transformed a 550-square-foot erstwhile garage into a bright, Scandi-inspired guest barn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vi\u00f1as studiously avoided mid-century-mod clich\u00e9s by comingling recherch\u00e9 vintage items with custom creations from her own drawing board. In the living room, for instance, a bespoke white-oak coffee table\u2014with the delightful surprise of colorful inset boxes\u2014sits comfortably alongside Joseph D\u2019Urso chairs, a Warren Platner ottoman, and a lamp by Dutch outfit Atelier Van Lieshout (Vi\u00f1as is Dutch and grew up in South Africa). Fellow Netherlander Piet Hein Eek\u2019s 11-foot chandelier, composed of mismatched glass shades, anchors the main stairway, now graced with a more fluid railing. On the landing, an Eero Saarinen settee faces off with a Richard Woods art credenza. Meanwhile, Vi\u00f1as tamed the large scale of the main bedroom with a double headboard\u2014the front layer upholstered, the back one wood-paneled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fusing Color With Timeless Style<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Vi\u00f1as\u2019s ShweShwe wallpaper in the main bedroom, where \nan Isamu Noguchi lamp joins the custom headboard upholstered in a cotton blend, derives from traditional South African prints. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, Vi\u00f1as\u2019s favorite moments fall in the house\u2019s lower level, starting with the moody green-and-blue board-and-batten staircase that leads down to the bottom floor. \u201cIt\u2019s like a tunnel to happiness,\u201d Vi\u00f1as comments. This level, now with 16-foot sliding doors that connect to a new pool terrace by way of a garden, contains game and media rooms as well as the husband\u2019s office. For a work break, nothing beats gazing at Robert Rauschenberg\u2019s Platter <\/em>from the incomparable comfort of a Charles and Ray Eames lounge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tour This New York Home by Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as + BarlisWedlick Architects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence\u2019s second-floor landing features a Jonathan Adler zebra rug and an Eero Saarinen Womb settee upholstered in Ghislaine Vi\u00f1as\u2019s Mr. Dimple acrylic-blend fabric.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Board-and-batten lines another staircase\u2014illuminated with custom-colored Pastille sconces by RBW\u2014which leads down to the basement level. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The office\u2019s E60 stool by Alvar Aalto and Eames lounge stand on a wool rug, overlooked by another Rauschenberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The kitchen was updated with engineered-stone counters, ceramic backsplash tiles, a stainless-steel hood, and Jason Miller\u2019s Endless pendant fixture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In the mudroom, Vi\u00f1as\u2019s custom console joins her Mock Rock wall\u00adpaper and a collage by her daughter, Saskia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beyond Piet Hein Eek\u2019s Old Lampshade chandelier, the second-floor landing showcases a trio of hand-painted wallpaper sheets above a Wrongwoods credenza by Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Explore The Home’s Lower Level Inviting Moments Of Joy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The basement-level media room sports another oak coffee table and a wool rug, both custom\u2014as is the ottoman, dressed in Paul Smith\u2019s Velvet Stripe. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In the game room, with sliders leading out to the pool, hand-painted stripes by Paulina Trojnar backdrop Pierre Paulin\u2019s linen-covered Pumpkin swivel chairs and a Ping-Pong table by Antoni Palleja Office. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A prefab garage was transformed into a guesthouse via new windows, a hip ceiling, and such furnishings as Charles and Ray Eames chairs and an Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby sofa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FROM FRONT KNOLL:<\/strong> SETTEE (LANDING), SWIVEL CHAIRS, LOUNGE CHAIR, OTTOMAN (LIVING ROOM), SOFA (BARN). HBF TEXTILES:<\/strong> SOFA FABRIC (LANDING, MEDIA ROOM, BARN). EMISSARY:<\/strong> CURVED TABLE (LANDING). CHRISTIAN HAAS:<\/strong> TALL TABLE. JONATHAN ADLER:<\/strong> RUG. ARONSON\u2019S FLOOR COVERING:<\/strong> RUGS (LIVING ROOM, BEDROOM). HOLLAND & SHERRY:<\/strong> SWIVEL CHAIR FABRIC (LIVING ROOM). MOOOI:<\/strong> FLOOR LAMP. WORKSTEAD:<\/strong> SCONCES. THE RUG COMPANY:<\/strong> CUSTOM RUG (MEDIA ROOM). NAULA DESIGN:<\/strong> CUSTOM OTTOMAN (MEDIA ROOM), CUSTOM BED (BEDROOM), CUSTOM OTTOMAN (BARN). MAHARAM:<\/strong> OTTOMAN FABRIC (MEDIA ROOM). SUITE NY:<\/strong> SOFA. PASTOE:<\/strong> CABINETS (MEDIA ROOM, BARN). RICHARD WOODS:<\/strong> CREDENZA (LANDING). THE FUTURE PERFECT:<\/strong> PENDANT FIXTURES (LANDING, KITCHEN). RBW:<\/strong> SCONCES (BASEMENT STAIRCASE, MUDROOM). FLAVOR PAPER:<\/strong> WALLPAPER (MUDROOM, BEDROOM). COLLECTOR NYC:<\/strong> CUSTOM CABINET FABRICATION (MUDROOM). INDUSTRY WEST:<\/strong> STOOLS (KITCHEN). 57 ST. DESIGN:<\/strong> NIGHTSTAND (BEDROOM). ISAMU NOGUCHI:<\/strong> TABLE LAMP. DESIGNTEX:<\/strong> BED FRAME FABRIC. CONTARDI USA:<\/strong> READING LIGHT. ANOTHER COUNTRY:<\/strong> TABLE (BARN). DESIGN WITHIN REACH:<\/strong> CHAIRS. ZERO LIGHTING:<\/strong> PENDANT FIXTURES. ARTISTIC TILE:<\/strong> BACKSPLASH TILE. LUCY TUPU:<\/strong> CUSTOM RUG. SVENSKT TENN:<\/strong> OTTOMAN FABRIC. HERMAN MILLER:<\/strong> LOUNGE CHAIR (OFFICE). ARTEK:<\/strong> STOOL. KASTHALL:<\/strong> RUG. PIERRE PAULIN:<\/strong> ARMCHAIRS. ROMO:<\/strong> ARMCHAIR FABRIC.  LA CHANCE X NOTE DESIGN STUDIO:<\/strong> STOOL. RS BARCELONA:<\/strong> PING-PONG TABLE. THROUGHOUT SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY:<\/strong> PAINT. ACARA CONSTRUCTION:<\/strong> GENERAL CONTRACTOR.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n