The upper floor of The Farmhouse is decked out with whites, greys, and pinks, with hints of earth tones and soft wooden accents.
Photos by Claire Esparros
When the founder of Gala Magriñá Design was building a new family home in Tuckahoe, a warm and functional minimalist living space was key.
A certain classic red farmhouse in Tuckahoe might look unassuming from the outside, but when Gala Magriñá, founder of Gala Magriñá Design, and her wife Martha made the move to Westchester, the pair decided to craft an immaculately minimalist interior space that combined their holistic approach to living with warmth and functionality for a truly livable entertaining space.
“We leaned into a modern, minimalist aesthetic at The Farmhouse for a couple of reasons,” says Magriñá. “The first is because of the home’s exterior red siding. As an interior designer, I like to ensure that the exterior is going ‘to the same party’ as the interior, and with The Farmhouse I felt that if we had a very bright and busy interior, it would look like a circus.”
“Secondly and equally important,” she says, “is that through the lens of our holistic interior design approach, we try to bring nature into the space as much as possible.” The home itself is “inverted” — built into the side of a ridge with grand, sweeping views — and features a living room, kitchen, and master bedroom on the second floor. While the first floor is decked out in more traditional farmhouse style, contrasting black-and-white with embellishments of bright color, the upper floor takes a more minimalist approach mixing cool tones with light woods for a very modern, almost hygge atmosphere.
“We wanted nature to be the star and really stand out. By doing a more modernist, minimalist design with touches of texture and warm colors, it really allows the surrounding natural environment to shine.”
Throughout, there’s an emphasis on natural materials and objects of personal significance, like the bright pops of personality in both of the home offices or the vintage travel prints adorning the wall of the lower-level living room — one from Maine, where Martha is from and one matching from Magriñá’s native Spain.
“Through the lens of Feng Shui, we were intentional about balancing the Yin and Yang energy of our home,” says Magriñá. “We created a calming, soothing design in the living room, which is our place to go to relax and unwind (Yin energy), while really playing with lively and bright colors, objects, and art in other rooms like the offices where we want to be alert, creative, and productive (Yang energy).”
“Shapes and colors have a huge effect on us, and we really wanted to utilize these very intentionally in our home to potentialize the space,” she adds.
