As they renovated and updated their home, which hadn't been touched for half a century, the couple embraced experimentation. Rios was thrilled to be able to push himself further than his traditional clients. Look at the plump, lacquered fiberglass bar in what was once the bridge room. “We don't play bridge, but we do drink, so that's why it's a bar!” laughs Rios. The shapely space is where the couple frequently dine, and also the first stop when entertaining. The bar is the centerpiece of the living room, which they transformed into a spacious cocktail lounge, which also features a baby grand piano, a fireplace, and swivel chairs. Rios acknowledges that his use of swivel chairs is “crazy and wacky,” but that it “leads to better lives and better communities.”
“We walked in, and Guy is very design-conscious, but he immediately said, 'We have to do this,'” architect Mark Rios (right) says of first visiting the circa 1949 Jack Elgin Wolf-designed home with his husband, reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Guy Ringler. Still, they did a lot of renovating to make it livable for their lifestyle, including adding a sleek fiberglass bar in what they call the cocktail lounge (in place of a formal living room) and restoring some of the original parquet flooring.
Portrait: Michael Wells. Art: © Annabel Gault/The Redfern Gallery Ltd, London.
The couple were excited to display their collection in a fun, daring way that contrasts with the museum's approach: blue-and-green Blenko glassware hangs in the red study, a palette inspired entirely by a beloved Mary Fenen painting that hangs above the mantelpiece. A 1960s Roche Bobois sofa covered in a Missoni fabric that Rios had his eye on for some time inspired them to transform the octagonal pavilion into a Moroccan-inspired lounge that they jokingly call “the drug room.”
“I think we wanted each room in this house to be a different experience,” Rios says. “It's a lot more emotional than the last.” And each space offers a unique perspective. Aside from the sherbet-colored palate cleanser in the main suite, they worked themselves into the whole thing. The two octagonal powder rooms are completely contrasting, one with Shirley Wagner hardware set with tiger's-eye gemstones. And the glass-walled formal dining room retains its original Wolf-designed mirrored table, which, along with the mirrored ceiling, candlelight, and lush outdoor plants, exudes a dreamy festive atmosphere. The walls are painted Farrow & Ball's Studio Green, Rios' favorite, to complement the light-colored paintings and create the feeling of dining in a garden.
With Rios's eye for beauty and Ringler's for comfort, the couple dreamed up a home that would be bold and easy to live in, thanks to a design that followed “the flow of how we wanted to live,” the architect says, reflecting on the project. He adds, “Jack Wolf would love to have dinner here.”
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