Boca do Lobo, in partnership with Coveted Magazine, presents you with a selection of 7 Interior Designers’ interviews. Today, we’ll show you an interview with Ghislaine Viñas, recognized in multiple top design publications and renowned design awards. Keep reading this article, to learn more about this iconic interior designer!

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Meet The Interior Designer Ghislaine Viñas

Originally from the Netherlands and raised in South Africa, the New York-based interior designer brings her personal multicultural background to every project for the past 22 years.

THE RADICALIST DESIGN WORLD OF GHISLAINE VIÑAS

The interior designer has been recognized in multiple top design publications and renowned design awards. ”I’m just thrilled that my work is now in Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, but also in international publications, such as CovetED Magazine… It feels great, I’m very proud and very humbled by it.”, said the Interior Designer.

The premiered interior designer stands out as much for her sunny disposition as for her unabashedly bold style that is replete with strong colour options, modern shapes, art, and fun-loving statement details. She has always been a vibrant personality with a curiosity to go to the unknown and step out of her comfort zone, even before she discovered her love for design. We had the chance to speak with the Dutch-born designer and discover some exclusive details about her professional path and future aspirations, and today we welcome you to radicalize the world of Ghislaine Viñas.

The multicultural background of Ghislaine Viñas is what made her into the irreverent and talented interior designer that she is today. Although she was born in the Netherlands, Ghislaine passed most part of her childhood in South Africa until she was 18 years old. Nine months later, she decided to move to the United States to pursue her studies in Philadephia but had the chance to visit some of the country’s most iconic cities, such as New York, or the “City of Dreams” as it was remembered at that time. So when the opportunity emerged to move to a Tribeca apartment with one of her closest friends, there wasn’t too much to think about, and a new chapter began.

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After moving to the Big Apple, the design appeared as a surprise in Ghislaine’s life.“I sort of stumbled around for a bit and then ended up taking the wrong subway home, and coming out on the wrong subway stop, I saw a modular furniture store, and I went inside and it was like “here’s my resume, I wonder if you have any openings.” She ended up working in that company for 7 years and had the chance to learn more about the world of furniture before the biggest opportunity of her career appeared in front of her.

“A very good friend of mine,  who I met in college, introduced me to a woman who was my age and said she was looking to open an office. I was working on a lot of office furniture at the time, so I went to meet her and did an interview, even though I had a full-time job. She was like “great, I think this is going to be great,  I think we should work together.”

Ghislaine Viñas, Interior Designer

The project was a big 10 000 square feet office space on 26th street and a “boots on the ground” training experience for the interior designer. Twenty-two years later, Ghislaine continues to work for this client in multiple types of projects (residential, office spaces, yachts, galleries, and even hotels). “We have a very we’ve become very close friends as well as you do when u you spend so much time together.”

Later on, in 1999, Ghislaine Viñas decided that it was time to go on her own and create what is today one of the most famous award-winning studios in New York where design is the field of expertise, whether we speak of interior design, product, or even creative direction services. “It kind of made sense for me to start my own business, and that wasn’t scary. I think that I’m not scared of the unknown, and sometimes being naive it’s a good thing”, said the Interior Designer.

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The studio remained with the same essence since the first day and it still functions as the nucleus for the Ghislaine Viñas brand, and a laboratory for all of her creative endeavours. The hardest part of this process was (according to the Dutch-born designer) to be an entrepreneur, a designer, a wife, and a mom all at once. “Now I look back, and I think, “how the heck did I do that?”, she said laughing.

“I’m still just working from my gut and what I feel. I think the difference of what I was doing then in the beginning was I was looking at New York, what New York interior design was, and not finding that it had a place for me in it. Now it’s easier to just do what I want, and what I think is exciting. I want to stick out. I want to do my own thing, I want to be independent.”

Ghislaine Vínãs, Interior Designer

Regardless of setting or scale, mode or medium, the studio’s DNA captures Ghislaine’s instinctive intrigue for dramatic compositions and playful color contrasts, that are a lot different from the standard patterns of the design industry. This cheerful and irreverent vision, which some might even consider unusual, comes from her Dutch DNA since it is society is a happy and opinionated nation. Being an outsider and thinking out of the box to cross the boundaries of creativity is something that makes Ghislaine the talented professional that she is today. “I was always the Dutch girl in South Africa, you know? So I think that’s kind of like not fitting in thing is where I’m comfortable and I like being an outsider”, said the Interior Designer.

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Inspired by materials and mediums yet explored, the New York-based designer has produced her exuberant designs within the realms of residential, hospitality, and commercial interiors, as well as product design. Although they are different project types, all of them have one thing in common that is the soul of the design is achieved with the precious contribution of the client and the special relationship shared with the interior designer.

“The client gives me raw information and ingredients so that I can create something that I’ve never created before. Is like that show on TV where somebody gives you ten ingredients and everybody has to make a dish… I love that sort of reinterpretation of something that’s already there”, explained the Interior Designer.

When asked about what she considers to be the project of her career, Ghislaine revealed that she didn’t create that project yet. “They’ve been stepping stones and projects that have allowed people to see what I’m capable of or what we’re capable of, because it’s not just me, it’s an incredible team of unbelievable designers and many creative minds.”, explained the interior designer.

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She believes that each design contributes to her growth as a professional and enriches her creative ideas, even the ones with more mistakes or challenges. The residential Skyhouse project in the city was one of the many designs that help her step up her creativity since the outside looks like an old chateau while the inside resembles a carved-IP ice sculpture. The clients were opened-minded and she had the chance to work with a top architect called David Hodgson. 

Another design that helped Ghislaine to improve her skills and challenge her creativity was a twonhouse in Tribeca that had 16 000 square feet of interior space, where she needed to work from the begining with the developers of the projects. With this in mind, she realized that her best work “has not been done yet because I honestly feel like I keep on getting better and better.”

To be a professional that, instead of going with the flow and working on things that a lot of people like, challenges the creative vision of her clients with her different and revolutionary ideas is something that makes her extremely proud, especially when later her work is recognized with multiple awards and article on top design publications. “I’m just thrilled that my work is now in Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, but also in international publications, such as CovetED Magazine… It feels great, I’m very proud and very humbled by it.”, said the interior designer.

The New York-based interior designer, who was considered to be one of Elle Decor’s A-Lister 2021, is working on an exciting new project where the goal is to incorporate a comfortable home-like feeling into a commercial space.

“We’ve been working on a commercial project right now for a Google subsidiary, and we’re being pulled in to create that “Resimercial” (or whatever the newest term is) to loosen up, to break out commercial projects.”

Ghislaine Vínãs, Interior Designer

A new concept that is surely challenging but enhances the importance of residential design has gained, especially after the worldwide pandemic. As for the future, Ghislaine still has a lot of dream projects to do ahead that challenge her creativity and unique vision. “ I want to have a company come to us and use our way of thinking, our way of bringing joy, our aesthetics, our way of turning things upside down or seeing things inside out.  So I’m always excited about my next challenge.”

Stay with us to discover more Interior Designers!

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