The Greenwich Home of Designer Andrea Sinkin

For continuity, the dining room’s wallpaper, curtains, and chair seats all showcase Thibaut’s Imperial Dragon pattern.

The family, Harry Jaffe, six-year-old Aria, and Andrea Sinkin—looking fabulous at three months pregnant—on their home’s generous porch. New baby Amelia arrived in December to everyone’s delight, including Lola, a Shiba Inu, and Sparky, a hairless rescue who’s become a certified therapy dog.

“Rather than making a sexy evening entertainment vibe, we went for something plush, light, and inviting that beckons you to take a seat all hours of the day,” says Sinkin about the living room. Prism side tables inject an architectural element, while faux palm leaves are reminders of Florida, a favorite vacation destination. The coffered ceiling panels sport a cane-patterned wallpaper to heighten visual interest.

Above the kitchen sink, the cornice flaunts an embossed design drawn by Sinkin. The backsplash of gray glass subway tiles is in step with the rest of the home’s palette.

To boost the charm of the cool Sputnik light fixture over the breakfast nook even further, Sinkin added a ceiling medallion. The family-friendly banquette is dressed in a Sunbrella fabric.

Sinkin nabbed the stylish guestroom bed on Wayfair. Mirrored nightstands heighten the room’s appeal.

Each piece of stairway art has personal meaning. The photo in the upper right, for example, was shot in Montauk, where Harry’s family has a summer home. A Murano glass Jellyfish chandelier makes the journey up and down tenfold times more enjoyable.

The antique plates on Aria’s bedroom wall come from both sides of the family. Some—from Sinkin’s great, great grandmother—are late 1880s Haviland French porcelain. “It’s like her ancestors are watching over her,” Sinkin says.

In Aria’s dainty bath, a personalized footstool is the perfect accessory.

On any given afternoon in this Greenwich home, you might find six-year-old Aria roller skating through the kitchen, two dogs in cheery pursuit. It’s the kind of commotion her parents, Andrea Sinkin and Harry Jaffe, welcome. The couple like a home that feels lived in. “Nothing makes me happier than having the guest rooms filled,” says Sinkin, who hosts an annual sit-down Rosh Hashanah dinner for forty. Unwavering in that conviction (and knowing it means dings and spills are inevitable), Sinkin, an interior designer whose office is based in Greenwich, has created an irresistibly inviting nest for her family.

The house didn’t come by this feeling naturally. When the couple purchased the Dutch Colonial, it was hollering for an update. Nevertheless, Sinkin was smitten with the building’s sprawling silhouette, its nooks and crannies. Deciding on a top-to-bottom cosmetic transformation, she set herself an unforgiving seven-week deadline and went to work.

Today’s airy living room is a prime example of the designer’s skill at devising rooms that are polished and livable. There may be embroidered woven linen curtains at the windows and imposing sixty-six-inch-tall mirrors bouncing the light about, but should a pet hop on the crushed-velvet sofa it’s not the end of the world.

And that eye-catching assemblage of items on the living room coffee table? Sinkin had a successful career in fashion as a trend forecasting consultant before becoming an interior designer. Accessories matter, she believes, and personal ones are special. The table holds treasured paperweights along with sea glass and shells the family has gathered on summer outings. “Aria loves to show them to visitors,” Sinkin says.

The soothing gray and blue palette flows into the adjoining dining room for harmony. To signify more adult dining, though, this space includes a chic Thibaut chinoiserie wallpaper and a flush-mounted Murano glass chandelier.

When it came to the kitchen, yesterday’s dark cabinets were an easy fix, thanks to the wonders of paint. The eleven-plus-foot island, however, was a challenge. Determined not to have unsightly seams, Sinkin scoured New England to find a solid piece of quartzite for the job. A faux ostrich-leather cornice, easily wiped clean with a sponge, dresses the window above the sink, while the bay window hosts a custom table and an octagonal banquette.

A coat of Gray Huskie paint by Benjamin Moore sweeps up the stairway and into the bedrooms, threading the spaces together with the rest of the house. In one guest room, an accent wall signals spring with a smoky-hued paper strewn with yellow flowers. The green of the flowers’ stems is echoed in the upholstered headboard. “I wanted a modern headboard to offset the paper’s classic nature,” Sinkin explains.

Aria sleeps cocooned in a princess-like bed enhanced with a regal cornice that will also suit a larger bed someday. A collection of heirloom plates floating on her pale pink walls adds a sweet touch of family history. Her adjoining bath sports a dainty vanity and a chic light fixture for girly glamor.

In the end, everything seems right here, especially the warm ambience. Sinkin’s magic is not just her ability to put together a fabulous house but, more important, knowing how to create an overall sense of home.

Project Team
Interior design: Andrea Sinkin, Andrea Sinkin Design

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