The good thing about rain is gardens...

Here in Greenwich we are definitely fed up with our endless rain. However, with the bad rep that rain has been receiving, I thought we should take this opportunity to appreciate the lush greenery that it helps to flourish.

Cindy Rinfret is an avid gardener and florist and her own gardens are absolutely gorgeous this time of year. Here are some of our favorite photos that show this wonderful outdoor space.


Visitors to Cindy's home, Laurel Hill, are greeted by a wonderfully long driveway surrounded by trees that circles up a hill to reach the house.

Garden ornaments add to the interest of this lush garden.


Laurel Hill has many interesting views in which to see the garden. This shot is taken from the hallway connecting the main house to the intimate indoor dining room. From this hall, one can view the beautiful garden and outdoor room on one side with the outdoor dining room and pizza oven on the other.


As you can see from these photos, a lot of these outdoor spaces are integrated into areas of the house. Obviously, interiors are important to Cindy but the exterior of the house is also critical to the overall design.

In this outdoor room Cindy blurs the line between indoor and outdoor.

After this beautiful fourth of July weekend hopefully the rain is behind us and we can enjoy the greenery without umbrellas and galoshes!

New Summer Accessories at Rinfret Home & Garden -- and a sale!!

Summer is finally here (we are just waiting for the weather to catch up with the calendar). At Rinfret Home & Garden we have some new, fabulous summer accessories. To make these items even sweeter they are now on sale! Isn't summer great?

Here are some of Cindy's favorites:Cindy fell in love with this pillow as soon as she saw it. You really have to feel it to get the full effect -- the lovely bamboo design is raised and just feels magnificent. So plush and luxurious! Of course we all have expensive taste here so it's no surprise that this is one of the shop's pricier pillows but with the sale, the price drops from $525 to $420 -- more than $100 off aint bad!

This pillow looks great with another summer fave, a pillow with tiny shells along the edge. I think I smell an ocean breeze...
You would be hard pressed to find anyone at Rinfret, Ltd. who is not a fan of seashells or cocktails, especially in summer, and together!


If you bring this cocktail set to a friend's weekend beach house we can pretty much guarantee that you will be invited back again!

After seeing these pillows, we can't imagine that any beach house would be complete without them:



We love garden stools anytime of year but they are especially fitting in the summer. It's always fun to have these traditional pieces in unusual colors for a bit of added interest. Gold and blue are our current favorites.

The price can't be beat at $200 (down from $295).
As if all this great stuff were not enough, we also got a wonderful selection of candles in. The Voluspa candles are especially popular with the Rinfret designers. The white candle is very possibly the most delicious scent we have ever smelled. Another perfect gift...or indulgence!


This is just a taste of all the good stuff we have now. Come visit us and shop -- after all, this sale, like summer, will be gone before you know it!

Behind the Scenes of a Photo Shoot

Last week we brought in the incredible photographer, Michael Partenio and his assistant David, along with stylist extraordinaire, Stacy Kunstel of Traditional Home, to photograph a gorgeous house in Greenwich. Cindy Rinfret recently completed this project so it had yet to be finished off with accessories.

Check out these behind the scenes pics to see how we transformed these rooms into sumptuous spaces brimming with interest and color.

Every photo shoot needs lots and lots of flowers. (Think about it, how many photos of beautiful rooms in magazines have you seen that do not have flowers?)
It took five fully packed SUVs to bring over accessories from Rinfret Home & Garden. We took over the kitchen and used it as our staging ground. Whole Foods also turned out to be a great resource for food to brighten up the breakfast room (and also fuel us through the day).
As you can see from the above scouting shot, the entry needed some serious accessories to focus the space.Look at the difference that some accessories and flowers will make!When we saw the living room we knew it would pose a challenge for us as it was especially in need of accessories. The high ceiling left a huge bare space over the mantel.
Cindy uses her green thumb to arrange blooming dogwoods that we found in the yard. They are arranged so that they gracefully frame a mirror that Cindy hand-picked from Rinfret Home & Garden.
The mirror from Rinfret Home & Garden above the mantel looks so fantastic that we left it at the client's house for her to keep!
The dining room was another space that desperately needed some TLC!We decorate the table with flowers and place settings. The lights are turned off to avoid any bright spots. What you see with your eye is always different than what the camera sees so we position the "center" arrangement off-center so that it looks better in the shot. Everyone checks out the various shots in Michael's laptop.After a lot of fussing we get the perfect shot!

Party Pics!

Here at Rinfret, Ltd. we love to have fun so when the weather warms up we think of excuses to throw parties. Cindy Rinfret has the perfect spot for outdoor events. Here are photos of some past summer parties at Cindy's home that were especially gorgeous:

This photo was taken at a dinner party with a "Tuscan" theme. The pizza oven definitely helped to create the European ambiance.
Cindy loves to mix the "high" and "low" -- a muslin table cloth adds some character to high end linen napkins and stemware.
Here's another great closeup. When the weather is warm, there is nothing better than having a great feast outdoors with friends!

Last year one of our designers had an adorable baby girl so of course we had to throw her a pretty pink shower. Again, the summer weather lent itself to an outdoor celebration at Cindy's house. Here are some of our favorite photos from that beautiful day:
This pink and green color scheme evokes thoughts of baby girls without being overly cutesy.

We all ooohed at the beautiful place settings that Cindy put together.These cupcakes from Sweet Lisa in Cos Cob are not only delicious to eat but delicious to look at as well. They are decorated with cute little baby bottles and baby booties. Adorable!

Another perfect day which made for a perfect party!

Welcome to Rinfret Ltd.'s blog

Welcome to the new blog for Rinfret, Ltd!

Here you will find Cindy Rinfret's best finds from her antique shopping, as well as fun pics from parties and beautiful photos of our latest projects, and of course, decorating tips from Cindy herself.

We'll also keep you up to date on upcoming sales and events at our shop, Rinfret Home & Garden (our recent Annual Warehouse Sale was a huge success) and much more!

To get the blog started we thought it would be fitting to start with Cindy's own home, Laurel Hill, which really expresses her design sense. Enjoy!

The above photo is from Cindy's living room which was decked out for the Greenwich Historical Society's 2007 Antiquarius Holiday House Tour. Cindy's house was the highlight of the show, which brought a record number of visitors to the tour. Freshly baked cookies helped to keep the crowds happy!For her master bedroom, Cindy found a stunning piece while shopping in the markets in Thailand that she had shipped back to Greenwich to make into the headboard for her bed. The piece fit perfectly and adds a unique flair to this calming space.

Here is the library at Laurel Hill. The map is of London, which is one of Cindy's favorite cities and a favorite place for shopping. This map is also available to purchase at Rinfret Home & Garden.

Above is Cindy's bath which is her favorite retreat in the house. It offers her a quiet place to end the day and unwind. The hand-painted paper surrounding the bath is from Gracie and adds to the serenity of the space.

Well that's it for now. We hope you enjoyed this little "tour" of Cindy's house. Stay tuned for more to come!