Cindy Rinfret
photo by Neil Landino
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? I am lucky enough to have places in CT, Palm Beach and Vouliagmeni Greece but my favorite spot is the island of Hydra in Greece. The reason I love it is it has no cars and only water taxis and donkeys.
What are three words to describe your style?
Timeless
Beautifully detailed and layered
Livable
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My mother painted my room charcoal gray (before the gray movement) with white laquer trimand decoupaged and hung butterflies on the walls and ceiling. The bed was white iron with white whispy curtains and canopy. It was so dreamy and I did not realize how sophisticated and ahead of the time she was.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I was in Chang Mai, Thailand and saw an antique temple screen and I fell in love with it and had it shipped back to the Us. I turned it into a king size bed by upholstering the back of it and used it in the first home I built for myself. It was featured in House Beautiful’s “Love My Bed” article! I since have cut it down to a queen size and it has followed me to my Palm Beach guest bedroom. It will forever be in my home and life.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be?
Palladio, I suppose he is an architect but I love the proportions and every lasting beauty of his symmetry and designs. Also the locations of all his masterpeices.
No room is complete without: “a bar” lol
People think of me as young, but I am really old.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Carnations….
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Garlic!
A bar cabinet: Anything plastic, must have real napkins!
A song for:
Dinner at home: Bossanova cover
Working at your desk: Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran
Going for a run: Harry Styles
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Airline tickets!
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Yes, tailored and classic. My favorite jeans and a silk shirt with a cashmere sweater and an Hermes handbag.
Who is your star crush? Harry Styles or the late Sean Connery… depending on the number of tequilas.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
Too much pattern on pattern… I like breathing space in a room but love bold use of pattern when others use it.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Billy Baldwin as my Mother gave that to me as my first design book.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Always appropriate and everlasting. My clients often say my rooms are the only one they never want to change. Also livable for friends, family and the must have…pets.
photo y Michael Partenio
A Few Favorites
Movie: Love Actually, it’s light and uplifting
Book: 100 Places You Must See Before You Die!
Scent: The original “Tiffany” fragrance
The fabric you always come back to: Wool Sateen, it hangs so beautifully for curtains.
Dream project: A villa in Italy or a home for myself in Hydra
Meal: Filet of Sole, French beans and a fabulous glass of Sancerre
Drink: Tequila, tequila, & more tequila…
Hotel: San Pietro in Positano… or the Royal Mansard in Marrakech
Travel Destination: Africa is life changing
Artist: Picasso, I just installed my first in a favorite client’s home in Palm Beach
A cause near and dear to me: Breast Cancer Alliance
Thing to collect obsessively: Stamps in my passport
Era in the history of design: Italian during the Medici eras
Museum: The Pitti Palace & Boboli Gardens
Paint Color that always looks great: Seapearl by Benjamin Moore
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Alexa Hampton!
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Always Pets…. Currently I am down to one golden named Cupid who is my shadow
