How Corinne Mathern Preserved a Historic Vineyard Estate’s Iconic Charm

Rip & Tan: This home comes with so much history. Can you give us a bit of its background?

Corinne Mathern: The original owners who built La Tarantella were avid travelers and collectors of Spanish, French and Italian architectural elements and inspiration.  They built La Tarantella out of this passion and sourced historic building materials throughout their travels.  The walnut columns at the living room entrance are 19th-century French and the fireplaces are early 18th-century French limestone with original interior bricks.  The exterior plaster was to emulate an 18th-century Tuscan terra cotta villa.  

Grassini Family Vineyards purchased La Tarantella in 2022 in response to the demand for a beautiful, curated property to host special events in the Santa Ynez Valley.  The original owner’s embrace of architectural history felt right for the Grassini family, who emigrated from Pisa, Italy in the early 1900s.  The property felt like an appropriate space to welcome clients to experience the Grassini Family Vineyards world. 

Rip & Tan: We’d love to know more about your approach to color in the space. From wall finishes to furniture, what inspired the palette?

Corinne Mathern: The colors of the exterior landscape always inform our interiors. La Tarantella is surrounded by incredible olive trees and acres of vineyards. We pulled sage greens, deep blues, and earthy rust and red tones to compliment nature.

Rip & Tan: What features of the property—current or historical—do you find most inspiring?

Corinne Mathern: The exterior pink plaster is stunning and the 100-year-old architectural elements that were embedded into the property made it feel like we were working on a historic estate in Europe…not two hours from Los Angeles.  It truly is a property that transports you to another time and place.  

Rip & Tan: Which elements remain from the original design and architecture? 

Corinne Mathern: For this project, 95% of the original architecture is intact. We completed an interior construction renovation that included updating all of the millwork, paint colors, tile, countertops, and lighting as well as a full furniture and accessories installation.

Rip & Tan: In terms of style and aesthetic, how would you define the essence of this home? 

Corinne Mathern: There is a whimsy to the property because of the color of the exterior—this helped guide the interiors into an elegant, inviting, collected palette but always reminded us not to let the design get too serious or fussy.  

Rip & Tan: In what ways has the property been updated for its new era as an event and hospitality space? 

Corinne Mathern: The brief focused on creating an inviting, calming feel the moment a guest enters the property.  We wanted to evoke the feeling of being at home because the Grassinis have always approached guests as family.  Because the house was previously a residence, this came naturally to the property.  I think the biggest achievement we accomplished, along with Arcadia Studio, was creating a symmetry between the interior and exterior so that the spaces could be seamlessly integrated as an event space.

Rip & Tan: As you were renovating and redesigning, were there any specific choices you felt were in homage to the surrounding landscape of Santa Ynez?

Corinne Mathern: Yes, so many.  I believe nature is the best inspiration for color, texture and materiality, and bringing those elements inside creates a natural flow from the exterior to the interior.  There is also a wide open sky at La Tarantella that makes it feel secluded and serene.  We brought that serenity into the interiors by layering them with a minimal, calm approach.

Rip & Tan: Each room is artfully infused with some form or another of vintage inspiration. Can you share some of your inspiration or sourcing insights?

Corinne Mathern: Thank you. I believe that bringing vintage into projects grounds the interior and makes it feel familiar and welcoming. I’ve always said that if I see something in multiples, I don’t feel attracted to it anymore.  That’s why we work with so much vintage in our projects—each of our clients and projects is unique and special, so the pieces we bring to them need to feel that way as well. 

Rip & Tan: Indoor and out, do you have a favorite space or a corner you’re most often drawn to? 

Corinne Mathern: The setting is breathtaking. La Tarantella is set on over 100 acres in Santa Ynez, California, and is adjacent to Grassini Family Vineyards which is equally as gorgeous. In regards to the interiors, I love the primary shower. It’s clad in beautiful slabs of Italian stone that make you feel as though you’re in a Gustav Klimt painting.  When the shower was being constructed, I would marvel at how many intricacies the stone has—it’s the ultimate inspiring space.  I find that a lot of people say “I had this thought in the shower the other day”, so I love designing showers so that people can get lost in their thoughts and be inspired.