Ghislaine Viñas
photo by Garrett Rowland
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? On the beach …. I mean RIGHT ON THE BEACH. So I can go to sleep at night hearing the ocean and wake up to the sunrise. A beautiful quiet island that has a great little town with good restaurants and a market.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Happy
2. Unexpected
3. Sophisticated
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? When I was 13 we moved into a new house in South Africa and I got to design my first room. It was meticulously organized and never ever messy. I remember it exactly - caramel low loop pile rug with a chocolate brown shag rug around the bed. Caramel colored curtains with brown silhouettes the print of trees. White laminate desk with chrome legs. Chocolate brown upholstered velvet low bed with matching bedside table and vanity. Vanity and bedside table had bright white laminate top. Corduroy fold up lounge chair in caramel. Bright white walls. Joe Colombo white lamp and white chair from Kartell.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I had my parents vintage Rietveld chairs shipped from the Netherlands and had them reupholstered.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Dorothy Draper.
No room is complete without art.
People think of me as loving color and maybe being loose with it, but I am really ridiculously calculated about the use of color.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Poinsettias
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Anchovy or duck tongue anything
A bar cabinet: Ice cubes
A song for:
Dinner at home: Roxy Music - Avalon
Working at your desk: Right now, Sophia Valdez
Going for a run: LOL I don’t run but I love to dance and bike - Masego
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
Cushions and shoes.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Mmmmm- loaded question. When I’m chunky I try to camouflage more than anything but when my scale is “my buddy" I do like to play with color and I love dressing with the same attitude as I design with. So for me it’s either all black or Sulphur yellow with tartan.
Who is your star crush? Sade
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Anything traditional in earnest.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? SCAD - The Architecture of a University. Because it’s brand new and I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but I am in FREAKING AWE of SCAD’s creative and kooky and imaginative interiors. I love that the school has put their money where their mouths are and that these students live around amazing design.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? For being unique and outspoken and for making people happy.
photo by Trevor Tondro
A Few Favorites
Movie: Elf
Book: Charlotte’s Web
Scent: Chloe
The fabric you always come back to: Sister Solid for HBF - because it’s ours and it’s super durable and has great colors
Dream project: Boutique hotel on a tropical island
Meal: Either the most delicious bowl with veggies and hummus or ….my sister's lasagne with a glass of wine and garlic bread
Drink: Manhattan
Hotel: Singhita in The Kruger National Park in South Africa
Travel Destination: South Africa or Netherlands
Artist: Mark Mulroney
A cause near and dear to me: Planned Parenthood
Thing to collect obsessively: Vintage oddities from flea markets around the world
Era in the history of design: 70’s
Museum: Zuider Zee Museum in the Netherlands
Paint Color that always looks great: Bright White
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Amy Sedaris
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs and Cats - I adore animals but wont give up my freedom - so none of my own
