Interior designer Vicente Wolf reveals how he designs for the winter season and how the beauty of Montauk inspires his work.
Vicente Wolf’s tranquil Montauk home is informed by natural elements.
The holiday season is officially here—and with it comes the perfect opportunity to update your home. We caught up with Vicente Wolf, a world-renowned interior designer who splits his time between New York City and Montauk, for his best advice on designing for the holidays and creating a cozy winter bedroom. He also shares how Montauk’s natural elements influence his work, how he designed his own Montauk property and the exciting design projects he has in the pipeline.
Much of the furniture and decor in the designer’s home was accumulated through his travels.
What are the best ways to incorporate seasonal decor into your home but still keep things sophisticated? I like when you’re doing decorations for any holiday—whether it be for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter—that you don’t deviate from the aesthetic of what’s going on in the room. Incorporate elements that maintain the personality of the spaces while adding a festive touch—without overpowering the design.
Wolf
For instance, it’s no secret that I love white. You can mix different tonalities with white like silver, which is always sophisticated. I also love candle lighting. Additionally, you can try to incorporate live elements like paperwhite flowers that also have a beautiful smell.
“I’m getting ready to winterize my garden so that it’s ready for planting in the spring,” he shares.
What do you suggest adding to a bedroom to make it extra cozy? A wonderful fluffy comforter. A fireplace is always nice. A flannel sheet set, which gives you that cozy feeling. A warm scent, like cinnamon. Wonderful slippers to slip into by the side of the bed over a plush faux fur rug. And having a nice warm body lying next to you.
Wolf’s bedroom oasis.
Your work is very inspired by nature. What elements present in Montauk during the winter inform your designs? Bare branches. I love their sculptural quality that you only see when the leaves have fallen off. I love the contrast of evergreens with the color of deciduous trees. Berries that still stay on the branches. The color of snow. The graphic quality of rabbit footprints on the snow. Walking on the beach in the winter [and seeing] the contrast of snow and the color of sand.
His Montauk property boasts views of the ocean from the pool.
What was the design approach you took for your own Montauk property? My home has a lot of things I’ve gathered through travel—furniture, accessories and other items I’ve had before. It’s really a conglomerate of past and present. It’s also very much tied to the views and colors of the outdoors.
The Saatva Viewing Room in NYC, which Wolf designed.
Which of your upcoming design projects are you most excited about right now? I’m working on Saatva Viewing Rooms in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. I think what is wonderful is that we’re creating an environment that shows the product but in a very different way than it’s usually shown. We have a sense of style and a very clear image of the company. That’s a lot of fun to do, especially tailoring it to the different cities we’re working on.
I’m also designing a great lounge in Wynn’s Encore Boston Harbor hotel. It’s attached to a restaurant we’ve already done. It’s a throwback to the old-fashioned, glamorous lounges of the 1960s. And I’m working on a beautiful home in Florida. It’s something close to my heart, me being Cuban. My client wanted me to re-create a sense of Havana. What we’re doing is visiting memories I have of Cuba, and we’re designing a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces based on that.
What are you looking forward to out East this holiday season? Lighting the fire and having close friends over for a hearty meal like duck or goose. Bringing out those holiday-scented candles. Going out to the garden and cutting branches that can be decorated rather than buying a Christmas tree. I’m obviously not a traditionalist.
Photography by: Photo Courtesy of Vicente Wolf;
Photo Courtesy of Saatva
