Real New Yorkers don’t eat quiche. We also don’t mince words. I remember walking into a Palm Beach gallery opening on Via Mizner a decade ago. As grown men and women in kelly green slacks and magnolia dresses bantered, I said to my host, “These people cannot be serious.” It took me a few years to warm up to this place and get the Palm Beach two-step. Everyone here knows the rhythm: though it seems uptight, it’s actually pure laid-back fun. Once I understood that all the cool kids cannonball into this pink and green pond, I couldn’t buy a little pad here fast enough.
Luckily my neighbor at The Reef on South Ocean Boulevard is the delightful former ad man and current designer Tom Shaffer. Invited inside his rattan, chocolate and Hermès-orange lacquer extravaganza, it took one sip of a cold Grey Goose to ask if he and his boss and friend, Cindy Rinfret, would take me on. Only they could achieve the Palm Beach campy, insider-wink look I craved.
The tropical outdoor terrace is furnished with a dining table from Bernhardt and chairs from Sika Design.
A favorite reading spot for Holly is framed by a playful Nick Mele photograph and a Rinfret custom settee. The ottoman is from Worlds Away.
Above a console from Bamboo & Rattan in West Palm Beach is art by Keltie Ferris.
In the Peterson living room, a colorful Karen Knorr photograph is illuminated by Arteriors sconces. A Rinfret custom sofa is brought to life with pillow fabrics from Quadrille and Manuel Canovas.
Peterson’s guest bedroom features a fun palm wallcovering from Schumacher and custom raffia beds with Lee Jofa fabric.
Peterson pens many of her newspaper and magazine articles (including this one) at a vintage Chinoiserie desk from Paula Roemer Antiques and a Brighton chair from Circa Who. The playful travel postcard wallcovering is Côte D’Azur from Scalamandre.
Recently, I chatted to Rinfret to recall how the project took shape. “You’re a New Yorker and didn’t naturally gravitate to Palm Beach,” she said. “But to me, the town has a sophisticated, traveled look everywhere. We achieved the feel you wanted with color and textures that are casual with a twist. No overtly preppy touches, but elements relating to the fun and playfulness of the South. In Florida, a lot of our projects are second homes so you can afford to be more playful with color. For example, orange can be very sophisticated. I like rooms that can be ‘discovered’—the more you are in them, the more detail you find. I try to achieve that through art and accessories and unexpected found pieces.”
So which corner of my apartment do you like best? “I really love your living room because it’s both an oasis and a place to comfortably entertain. And I love your Karen Knorr tiger photo over the sofa.”
Rinfret designed my little gem of a beachside pad with her trademark elegance and delivered with a degree of efficiency to gladden a New Yorker’s heart. Thanks to her quirky brilliance, the place now makes me feel right at home.
