Inside a Stunning Rye New York Home Designed by Rinfret, Ltd.

Interior designers Cindy Rinfret and Taylor Mattos placed the antique painting above the living room’s fireplace for styling purposes, but the homeowners recognized the Manhattan location it depicts as the site of their wedding. Needless to say, the artwork has taken up permanent residence.

A Missoni for Stark runner softens the foyer’s new staircase, and layered custom Charles Edwards lanterns bring down the ceiling height.

Denim-colored grasscloth on the coffered ceiling adds airiness to the husband’s office.

The French chateau-inspired exterior was at odds with the home’s original Italy-meets-Bel-Air interior decor.

Millwork frames a panel of Gracie wallpaper in the foyer outside the primary suite; the green-lacquered cabinetry down the hall is part of an upstairs family room.

Rinfret and Mattos worked with Gracie creative director (and personal friend) Jennifer Gracie on the first-ever install of the heritage brand’s hand-painted Poppies wallpaper in the formal dining room.

The existing Christopher Peacock kitchen flows into the breakfast area and family room for a gathering space that runs the expanse of the house.

The existing Christopher Peacock kitchen flows into the breakfast area and family room for a gathering space that runs the expanse of the house. The designers painted and mirrored the range hood to make it feel more connected to the rest of the redesign.

A blue-and-tan grasscloth wallpaper ties the space together, while a bay window morphed into a cozy reading nook.

A room near the kitchen became a play space for the couple’s young children.

Rinfret and Mattos custom designed the primary suite’s bed to ensure the posts weren’t too tall.

The sitting area in the guest suite opens to the verdant garden.

From Manhattan to the Suburbs, Finding a Family Home

Buying your first home is always an adventure, but when a couple from Manhattan walked into their future Rye, New York, abode, they had to dig deep to imagine it as a welcoming space where they could start a family.

A steep double staircase with curlicue black-iron balustrades and zebra-print carpeting greeted them in the foyer, and the exuberance continued in the dining room with its velvety purple wallpaper and glossy navy built-ins.

“Let’s just say the lily was overgilded,” says interior designer Cindy Rinfret, who, along with her daughter and business partner Taylor Mattos, was brought in to connect the home’s French-inspired exterior and their new clients’ thoughtful personalities with the decor. Fortunately, the home, built in 2007, had good bones, which allowed the owners to see past its out-of-sync interiors.

“There was so much attention to detail,” says the homeowner. “And the first-floor ceilings are eleven feet tall, which is uncommon in this area. We also appreciated the layout. It’s a large home, but it’s not cavernous.”

Transforming the House for Flow and Functionality

Quinndico Estate Management Division reworked the foyer, replacing the double staircase with a single version that gently curves upward and doesn’t give the parents heart palpitations now that their little ones have become more mobile.

The living, family, and dining rooms are all accessed—and visible—from the foyer, so ground-floor cohesion was paramount. And despite the home’s grandness, the owners envisioned their family using every room: “We didn’t grow up in homes where the rooms were off-limits, and we didn’t want our kids to, either,” says the homeowner. Rinfret and Mattos set about creating what they call “livable formality” with pops of personality.

Take the former purple-and-navy dining room, for example. The designers worked with Gracie on the first-ever install of the heritage brand’s Poppies wallpaper, which features blue flowers on a pewter background. They lacquered the ceiling in a sky-blue color so that when the lights are on and the candles are lit, the entire room sparkles.

A Timeless Design Built to Last

The pewter reappears on the living room’s papered ceiling, while an inky-blue silk wallpaper from Phillip Jeffries wraps the walls. Sage green in an upstairs family room and in the lower-level guest suite reflect the home’s lush landscape. A serene playroom next to the kitchen allows the parents to keep an eye on the little ones even while cooking dinner, and the husband’s cozy office incorporates rich dark wood. “We wanted it to be tailored and masculine but not too heavy,” says Mattos.

The homeowners wound up committing to the house in large part because they could imagine their life story unfolding within its walls. Though they are busy chasing two kids—with a third on the way—right now, the husband says they were drawn to the home and a more traditional aesthetic because both will stand the test of time. “It works today, and I think it’ll work in ten or fifteen years so that we can use the house in a different way and still be proud of it without feeling like we need to redo it,” he explains. “We have everything we want.”

Project Team
Interior design: Rinfret, Ltd.
Builder:  Quinndico Estate Management Division

Styled by Veronica Olson