A Look Back at Summer Fun with Phillip Watson

Summer is officially coming to a close so before the season is but a distant memory we invite you take a look back with us.

A highlight of the summer was a visit with our friend (and garden designer to the stars), Phillip Watson.



Phillip and Cindy had a blast on a photo shoot at Mead Point in Long Island. For more photos, see our facebook page.

We are lucky to share some fabulous clients with Phillip Watson and are a huge fan of his stellar gardens.

Above, Phillip Watson in one of his incredible gardens (image from http://www.phillipwatsondesigns.net).

And if you are not lucky enough to have hundreds of acres to devote to peonies, you can still enjoy Phillip's green thumb. Watch out for him on QVC. We think you'll agree that he is one talented (and charming ) guy!

As with any good summer, there were lots of fabulous parties. We already showed you photos from lots of them on our earlier blog post on  Cindy Rinfret's second book with Rizzoli, Greenwich Style: Inspired Family Homes. The last party of the summer was fittingly at the Ocean  House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. A more perfect summer escape is hard to come by.

It's always sad to say good bye to summer (especially when you look at dreamy photos like this one of Cindy below, taken on a fun day trip with Phillip) but we are already excited for a fantastic fall. Stay tuned for some very exciting news from us!

 

Celebrating Greenwich Style!

This spring may have been full of showers but the sun always came out to shine at our book events for Greenwich Style: Inspired Family Homes (Rizzoli). Take a look back with us at this party-studded month...

The party month kicked off on May 1st with a book signing at Rinfret Home and Garden, co-hosted with Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine and Christopher Noland Salon and Beauty Spa.  

 

 

Next stop on the book tour was the Wakefield Design Center in Stamford where Cindy headlined New England Home's Connecticut To the Trade Day with  a special talk  on the making of her book and what "Greenwich Style" means to her. 

 

We took the party into Manhattan on May 16th for another book signing, this time at the new Christopher Peacock Showroom. Cindy and Christopher go way back (when they were both starting off they shared a space in Greenwich) so it was a homecoming of sorts to do a party together. In true city style, the food and drinks (and waiters) were all delicious. Thanks to NYC&G and CTC&G for a fab night!

 

 

For close friends and clients (many of whose homes were featured in the book) Cindy Rinfret hosted a party with Serendipity Magazine at her favorite restaurant, Polpo. As with all the previous events, the sun was out and made for a perfectly balmy evening. 

  

 

Last stop on the book tour (for now!) was the Westchester Showhouse in Scarsdale, where Cindy signed books for visitors on June 1st.

We're taking a break from book events (after all, Cindy needs to rest her hand from all those signatures). In August we'll be back with another party - this one at the gorgeous Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI - which is featured in a chapter in the Greenwich Style. After all, Greenwich Style is a state of mind, not a place. Stay tuned for more details!

Rinfret wins the A-List Award!

 

The A-List Awards has become the BIG event for the Connecticut interior design community. The awards were held on September 13th at the Stamford Palace (as last year's venue, The Wesport Playhouse, could not accommodate the 600 attendees this year) and it felt like the biggest party of the season. Our fabulous emcee, the esteemed interior designer Eric Cohler, said it was like the Oscars of interior design. We think that Billy Crystal better watch his back as Mr. Cohler knew how to keep this awards show super entertaining!

The awards were especially exciting for Team Rinfret as we were nominated for the Best Living Space category, which is kind of like the Best Picture category - it's a big one. So we were beyond belief THRILLED to hear celebrity designer, Thom Filicia announce our win and call Cindy Rinfret up to the stage. (By the way, Thom Filicia was absolutely hysterical! In fact, I want to be BFF's with Thom Filicia, Eric Cohler and Alexa Hampton, they just exuded fun up there.)

 Here is Cindy talking about her award-winning project. This living space is a show-stopper down to the smallest details, like hand-stiched felt paneling from Holland & Sherry along the window treatments. This project was also featured on the cover of the April 2012 issue of Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine and you can see more photos of that spread here. Below is one of our favorite images of the space:

We love what Alexa Hampton had to say about this room, she says the space "has a mix of functions and a calming color scheme that would appeal to any age or gender." Thank you Alexa, we can't help but agree!

Eric Cohler and Thom Filicia should seriously star in a comedy show together. The two were a riot and had the audience on their toes when they announced that they were the winners of the Living Spaces category. But once the joking was done, Thom revealed that Rinfret won - what a rush to see the company name up on the big screen!

In addition to our win, we were thrilled that Hilton-Vanderhorn Architects won the category for Traditional Architecture greater than 7,000 square feet. Rinfret, Ltd. worked with Hilton-Vanderhorn on this incredible Greenwich, CT home and it was wonderful to see the hard work paid off. To check out this project as featured in New England Home Magazine, click here.

The A-Lists definitely felt like a star-studded event (and with judges like Thom Filicia, Alexa Hampton and Victoria Hagan, they were). Above are Rinfret's own stars: Taylor Lagerloef, Jim Farthing and Beatriz Beatriz Santiz posing in front of the photo screen.

We exited the awards high off our win and got to keep that exhiliration going with a sugar high thanks to this tower of cupcakes. Here I am, Elizabeth Ethirdge McGann, enjoying the bounty of icing.

 Here's a closeup of the coveted A-List award that Cindy proudly held at the after-party. (Side note: How great does Cindy's hair look? Big shout out to the pro's at Christopher Noland Salon for her fab look.)

Our winning project will be featured (along with the winners of all sixteen categories) in the November issue of athome. We can't wait to see it! In the meantime though, you can pick up the current issue of athome for a fun interview with Cindy Rinfret on her favorite indulgences and first job. 

Thank you to athome, especially to Amy Vischio, editorial and creative director of athome and the brainchild of the A-List Awards, as well as everyone at Moffly Media for such a fabulous event. Last but not least, thank you to the incredibly talented panel of judges! We are honored!

Celebrating the 8th Anniversary of CTC&G at Cindy's home

Last night Cindy Rinfret was honored to host the CTC&G (that's Connecticut Cottages & Gardens magazine, for those of you who have been living in a cave the past eight years) anniversary party at her home. Cindy and CTC&G have a long history as she was profiled in their very first issue eight years ago. Since then Cindy has designed her dream  home, Laurel Hill, where this party (and many, many others) have taken place and published her first book, Classic Greenwich Style (Rizzoli) with a second book due in 2013. CTC&G has become one of the most well respected design magazines in the area.

The party was epic, just check out the photos to see for yourself...

 

Upon entering Cindy's house, guests were greeted by friendly faces and champagne. What's better than that?

 The clouds parted so that the party could enjoy the lush grounds at Laurel Hill.

The lovely ladies of Diane James (twin sisters with their mother, Diane James, and friend) are always a delight. If you haven't seen their amazing faux flower creations that look like the real thing you need to do that right now.

Speaking of flowers, this party had gorgeous (real) arrangements, thanks to the master designers at Winston Flowers.

 

The party was sponsored by Nicolas Feuillatte and a huge hit at the bar were these adorable mini champagne bottles. Our personal fave was the rose champagne. Perfect for extending that summer feeling.

 

In addition to the champagne selections, guests were treated to a gin & tonic station, and for the more adventurous, to blueberry vodka cocktails, which were enjoyed by Rinfret ladies, Chelsea Garber, Taylor Lagerloef and Margi Vorder Bruegge. It wasn't just the booze that had us smiling, the food was absolutely delicious, thanks to the pro's at Marcia Selden Catering.

 

 

Cindy along with Marianne Howatson (CEO of CTC&G, above left) and DJ Carey (Editor of CTC&G, above right) toasted to the success of CTC&G. And reflected that Cindy had told the magazine in their inaugural issue that her most creative time was cocktail hour. Cheers to that!

 

Notable guests at the party included Amy Macmillan-Tambini (top left) who has been with CTC&G since the very beginning eight years ago. The most loud-spoken guest was Cindy's pet parrott, who kept party-goers on their toes at the bar.

Here I am with two of my favorite Rinfret ladies, Taylor and Cindy. It was a great night and I can't wait to get together with the rest of the Rinfret team for the A-List Awards next week!

- Elizabeth Ethridge McGann

Holiday Decorating, Part II: Creative Christmas Trees

Last week we talked about "mantel mania" and this week it's time to go inside the holiday home and take a look at the Christmas tree. After all, it's the most important decorative element this time of year. If you know Cindy Rinfret, you know that she decorates with a "more is more" philosophy, so it's no surprise that she doesn't limit herself to one tree. Each of her children have their own trees, her dogs have their own doggie tree, and sparkling trees brighten up her halls and entry.

The mother of all trees in Cindy's home is without a doubt the monumental tree in her Great Room, below:

A tree like this one demands a lot of ornaments. Luckily for Cindy she has a great selection of ornaments at her own shop, Rinfret Home & Garden, that she can choose from. (If you're close to Greenwich Avenue then lucky you too!)

Here are some of our favorite ornaments right now (all available at Rinfret Home & Garden):

Doesn't this charming ornament remind you of those fantastic, super preppy Tommy Hilfiger ads?

We also love these lifelike red cardinals that you can affix to your tree, wreath, or anything else you can imagine for a festive pop of red that feels fresher than just a glitzy red ball.

If you're more into bling than birds, you'll want these luxe crystal ornaments that will make your chandelier jealous of your Christmas tree.

Cindy's Marketing Director, Elizabeth, loves this doggie ornamanet because it looks just like her Korean Jindo dog. If she could get a Korean Jindo ornament at Rinfret Home & Garden, then we're willing to bet they can get you whatever breed you can think of!

Speaking of dogs, how cute do Cindy's goldens look in her hallway, framed by these simply elegant trees?

Cindy not only has special dog ornaments for her goldens but a whole Christmas tree dedicated to the four legged family members. Check it out:

If you like the idea of a special little tree but aren't a dog person, you should check out the famous Rinfret Teddy Bear Tree:

This is sure to please family members young in age and young at heart.

We could go on and on about all the great ornaments and decorative accessories for Christmas trees but you'll have a lot more fun if you simply come down to Rinfret Home & Garden and check out what we have first hand! While you're at it, you can count how many trees we have (there are a lot).

We hope to see you soon!