Ghislaine Viñas Brings Signature Flair to Hamptons Summer House
By Jen Renzi
Ghislaine Viñas would like to set the record straight. “People always say to me, ‘Oh, you love color,’” the Dutch-born designer explains in a cadence that betrays her South African upbringing. “But the truth is, I can only use color against white; it’s white that enables me to play.” So much for the blazing peacock-blue and titanium-yellow tones for which the New York interiors maven is renowned: turns out her real obsession is a pristine, snowy backdrop. “It’s my mom’s fault! I inherited her fixation with clean,” Viñas says, laughing.
Bright-on-white is certainly the thesis of a 10-bedroom summer home Ghislaine Viñas Interior Design completed in Montauk, the tony surf mecca on the tip of New York’s Long Island. The quarter-sawn oak slats cladding interior walls and cathedral ceilings are painted Benjamin Moore White. Beachy vintage-shop kitsch and 1970’s wicker furnishings have also been whitewashed into abstraction, lending them a thoroughly modern air. Against this blank canvas Viñas splashed fresh-squeezed strokes of zingy turquoise, neon orange, and tangy citron. Keep your sunglasses on!
The project is her “umpteenth” (ninth, actually) collaboration with close friend Paige West, a contemporary art collector, curator, and erstwhile gallerist. Project number four was the former incarnation of this very property. When West purchased the developer’s spec house about 10 years ago, she and Viñas rushed to get it shipshape for the impending summer season. “We had five months to complete it,” Viñas recalls—a speedy timeline that precluded architectural interventions. Eventually, though, certain flaws began to grate. “The house was Paige’s happy place, but she had gripes about it,” Viñas reports. The main floor living spaces had low ceilings and a much-too-small deck. Acoustics were problematic. Plus, “I’d always wanted at least one more guestroom to accommodate our revolving door of visitors,” West explains. And the windowless basement had moisture issues (which didn’t stop her family from using it as a tiki bar and play room).
