Cristina Peffer is the founder and principal designer of Ram Design, an interior design studio based on Shelter Island, New York. With nearly three decades of experience in art and design, Peffer is widely recognized in the design community as “the designer’s designer.”

Ram Design handles full-service, high-end residential and commercial projects, custom architectural interiors, millwork, furniture design, material sourcing, art installation, and project management across the East End and New York City.

Peffer’s client base is a broad spectrum: she works regularly with architects, developers, art collectors, leaders in business, and leaders in the creative world, who bring their own points of view and expect execution at the highest level in both artistry and precision. Cristina’s intuitive process and sense of humor are key strengths - and those traits lead the process on residential projects with couples and families to discover a shared language of design. She creates environments that reflect multiple sensibilities with grace — honoring each person’s individuality while achieving a unified vision.

Cristina has a unique approach in her design work. She believes that interiors are not merely aesthetic statements, but immersive environments that must respond to the nuanced desires, rhythms, and identities of their inhabitants. She views design as a gateway to emotional attunement. As a project manager, the core of her philosophies are based on achieving a harmonic experience for all involved in the process - clients, contractors, artisans, movers and clean up crews. Peffer drives the crews with respect and gratitude, and has long term relationships with many contractors and artisans all over the world.

Her studio’s name, Ram Design, is symbolic: it reflects her astrological sign (Aries), her spiritual affinity for Ram Island on Shelter Island, and the courage required in every creative endeavor. The two rams symbolize minds working together - the path of collaboration.

Personal: Cristina was born in Spain and moved to Huntington Bay, NY when she was 6 years old. She spent most summers traveling back there to spend time with family, a cadence that still shapes how she lives. Now based on Shelter Island with her dog and four grown children nearby, she works almost constantly — driven more by curiosity than routine. Outside the studio, she keeps close to the things that have always mattered most: friends, music, and the natural world.

Press & Editorial Features: Ram Design has been profiled by Architectural Digest, Northforker, The Purist, Southforker, Hamptons Magazine, and The New York Times.

Design Collaboration & Events: She has hosted immersive programs on art, environment, and regional history at her studio as well as her storefront. She has joined partnerships with high-end designers like Alfredo Paredes, whose work she integrated into her Shelter Island shop.

Leadership & Community Engagement: Peffer serves as Vice President of the Shelter Island Chamber of Commerce, contributing to local economic and cultural planning. She also helped establish the Shelter Island Design Walk—a community initiative that spotlights island-based design talent.

Retail & Curatorial Ventures: In 2001, after working in the high end art world with Peter Marcelle, Peffer launched Hatchlings, her first retail shop in Southampton, NY. 10 years later, she closed that store, and became buyer, merchandiser, and in-house interior designer at Homenature for 5 years. In 2019, she opened a home store in her home town of Shelter Island, familiarly called Ram Design Home, with her brother Henry Hontoria. The shop is a carefully curated retail extension of her practice, showcasing bespoke furniture, artisan goods, and art. In 2024, she needed her interior design office in the back of the shop for inventory, so in 2024 she opened a full Design Studio across from the school that shows a lot of her custom millwork designs. In 2025, Ram Design Home will be joining the The Gathering Marketplace in East Hampton which is a group of retailers in a co-op based shop. Peffer is slated to take over all merchandising there.