2007 HC&G IDEA HOUSE TOUR

Walking into Ghislaine Viñas' Young Adult Bedroom is like diving into the ocean. Turquoise walls and a ceiling covered with glossy silver and blue wallpaper—the water's surface, perhaps?—form the backdrop for spherical mirrored hanging lamps that look like rising bubbles, a mod Harry Bertoia chair reminiscent of white coral and a large, black and white photograph of swimming fish. "I originally thought this was going to be a completely white room," Viñas says, "but a client of mine"—Paige West, owner of New York gallery Mixed Greens, who lent the fish photograph—"said, 'Are you crazy? You need to do something with color!' So I did."

Viñas knew all of her furniture would be white and the colors solid, without pattern, so she introduced contrasting textures to add interest. The Bertoia chair, for example, is covered with hundreds of pieces of surprisingly soft rubber piping, and the headboard, which Viñas designed, has a smooth lacquer finish. Yellow curtains made with Pollack fabric add both color and texture, as does a funky yellow hanging light made of industrial electrical wire and plain light bulbs encased in plastic baskets that would look at home in a carpentry shop. The whole is grounded by a blue rug that complements the classic hardwood flooring. "The room is modern, hip and happy," Viñas says. "It's what summer is all about!"