The owners envisioned something “colorful and collected, rooms that convey happiness,” says Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey, the interior designer who turned up the volume on this 1918 brick Georgian in the heart of Greenwich, Connecticut. Together with architect William Hellow, Cavin-Winfrey set out to restore a sense of welcome for the young couple, who entertains frequently. The result is imaginative, elegant, and anything but understated, from its intimate mohair conversation area to an emerald jewel-box bar. Read on for nine of its liveliest spaces designed with parties in mind.
A High-Octane Dining Room
From deep, layered color to magical light, these five dining room must-haves cut right through the small talk.
1. Silver-Leaf Ceiling: The luminous papered ceiling augments the room’s drama “with a gorgeous reflective quality,” allowing light from the chandelier and sconces, repurposed from the owners’ previous home, to dance off the ceiling.
2. High-Gloss Trim: The paint was custom- matched to the velvet, but because it absorbs light differently, it serves as a brilliant frame for the rest of the room.
3. Velvet Walls: Baltic blue velvet upholstery gives the room a regal air. “I think other colors could have felt contrived, but this one draws you in, and it feels luxurious. Plus, the velvet makes for great acoustics during dinner parties.”
4. Abstract art: “I like how this piece [from the owners’ collection] feels a bit out of character for the house and even the room. It pumps the brakes on the formality and helps personalize the space.”
5. Mahogany sideboard: A late-18th-century sideboard with gold details “fits with a Georgian-style home. And the marble top withstands heat from serving dishes better than wood.”
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The Black-Tie Powder Room
An elegant leaded-glass window, peskily off-center, made the powder room “the perfect geometric challenge.” Ralph Lauren silk wallpaper in buttoned-up pinstripes sets it straight and harmonizes with an equally dapper marble chevron floor. Antique parrot sconces and a Lucite-and-gold sink base bring additional hints of fun “without going over-the-top.”
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A Kitchen That Works The Crowd
Prime seating, intriguing collections, and an easy flow for mixing and mingling: Careful, these seven striking details will have guest staying well past midnight.
1. Mohair Banquette: “This corner is so comfortable, everyone gravitates here,” says Cavin-Winfrey, who framed the benches in walnut and covered them in mohair, which is “virtually indestructible.”
2. Globe Lighting: The custom fixture was re-created from one the designer spotted in Los Angeles and blends playful spheres with the room’s rectilinear configuration. “It’s like something from a different era.”
3. Marble walls: A white stone perimeter feels “new and clean” and creates a character-building contrast with the reclaimed walnut islands, “which feel like they’ve been there a hundred years.”
4. Double islands: “Older homes love symmetry,” and given the sheer volume of the space, double islands honor that sense of balance. One is outfitted with an ice machine, sink, and beverage drawer to double as an informal bar.
5. Coffered Ceiling: “The grid complements the room’s symmetry.” The paint is custom-matched to the cabinetry for harmony within the space.
6. Corner cabinet: “We needed vertical storage but wanted it light and period- appropriate. Metal mesh from Britain makes it feel less solid and heavy and accents the gold elements elsewhere in the room.”
7. Lacanche Range: The kitchen’s crown jewel, a French range trimmed in brass and nickel inspired the custom hood. “We massaged and massaged the design to get the proportions right. The rivets alone are stunning, with so much beautiful detail.
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A Bombshell Bar
The owners had planned to take the sunroom off the house, but Cavin-Winfrey prevailed with an alternate vision. “I thought it was important to have a formal bar off the living room. In larger homes like this, people want to retreat to intimate settings to talk and visit,” the designer notes. She added a copper cupola, then repeated its octagonal shape in a laser-cut marble floor pattern. Penlights inside the shelving cast a festive sheen on the green lacquer walls, ceiling, and cabinetry. “It’s like a solarium-slash-bar, serving up so many delights, from the bold play of light to the 360-degree view of the garden.”
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Guest Rooms With Gusto
Cavin-Winfrey layers on the pattern for cozier bedrooms, giving them “a sense of order that’s timeless but pleasing.” Mixing trusty classics—for instance, a handsome blue plaid with vertical stripes in cream and gold—gives fresh perspective to familiar patterns.
In a more feminine bedroom, a bold bargello rug lends gutsy contrast to a traditional pink pagoda print on walls, windows, and bed upholstery. Bedcoverings in both are luxurious but tidy. “I like to keep the linens easy and manageable,” she says.
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Interior Design by Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey; Architect by William Hollow; Photography by Lesley Unruh; Produced by Frances Bailey.
Featured in our November/December 2019 issue.
