Boat International US Edition – June 2019

(Frankie) #1
boatinternational.com• 062019

most famousvesselsincludeDilbar,REV
and OceanVictory,tookontheexterior,
while Sabrina,whofoundedtheinterior
designstudioSabrinaMonte-Carloin
1999, tookontheinterior.“Itwasahuge
challengeforus.Whenwedoayacht,we
do whattheclientasks,pluswestartfrom
scratch.Butwithahouse,wehadtowork
within limits,andalsowithinlaws.”
The startingpointwasthethreecypress
trees thatstandinfrontofthehouse.
Ratherthanbeirritatedbytheirblocking
of the view,Espencreatedtrilogiesof
floor-to-ceilingwindowsthroughoutthe
house, echoingtheirsilhouette,cleverly
creatinglinesoflightandvisionaround
them andevenworkingthemotifintothe
house’s“logo”–foundinvariouslocations,
such asonthefrontdoorhandles.
Theiryachtdesignexperiencehelped
enormouslywithahousethat,becauseit
was placedonasteephill,hadsmalland
complicatedspaces–asonaboat.The
lemon treeatthebottomofthegarden
that hadsoenrapturedSabrinaonher
first visitdoesindeednowhangovera
large table,whichislaideverydayand
easily sits40-plus forlongsummer
lunches.Atoneendisacovered,fully

equippedkitchen.“Itisjustlikeatop
deck,”saysSabrina.“Ithaseverythingin
situ,wedon’thavetomove.”
Asecondkitchenisbesidethepool,
whereSabrina’sexpertiseininterior
designmakesitselfapparent(while 60
percentofherbusinessrevolvesaround
supplyingsuperyachtswithinteriors,itis
theremaining 40 percentofresidential
workwheresheexertsherinteriordesign
savoir faire).Color andtexturesit
alongsideeachotherinaperfectlyformed
exampleofMediterraneanchic–herea
teaktabletop,salvagedandshippedfrom
aBalineseforestmanymoonsbefore
havinganywheretoputit,theresome
Dolce&Gabbanaleopardsilkcushions;
hereaturquoisePaolaLentipouffe,there
aMonsieurTricothanginglight.
OnSundays,shesays,when“themen
wanttowatchtheGrandPrix”onthe
television,Sabrinaandhergirlfriends
retiretoacornerofsandandsunbedsthat
shecallsherbeach:“Agirlplacewherewe
cansitandtalkandtakeintheview.
Iwantedtohaveacoolhouse,very
friendly,veryeasy-going,withlotsof
placestochatandrest.”Thissenseoffun
runsthroughouttheinteriors,wherethe

extensiveartcollection–Massimo Vitali,
ArikLevyandRanHwangtoname but a
few–boughtovermanydecades, sits
easilyalongsidecomfortablesofas, Tai
Pingcarpetsandsplashesofcolor.
Sabrinastartedwiththegardenso that
bythetimeshehadahousetolivein, she
hadanoutdoorspacetoo.“Everyone says
ittakessevenyearsforagardento look
old,anditdid.Sofromtheinsidewe have
thegreenfromthegardenandthe blue
fromtheocean,andthat’senough.”
Asweneartheendoftheafternoon,
IwonderwhetherSabrinafeelsthat her
dreamhouseiscomplete?“Ohlala!” she
exclaims,offendedatthethought.On her
currentto-dolist:anotherpieceof art for
thegarden;injectingmorefuninto one of
thebedrooms;replacingthefabrics of the
cushionsbesidethepool;andbuilding a
“gyminaglassbox”abovethehouse with
perhapsthebestviewofanygym in the
world.Butthisisdeemedpleasure rather
thanwork.“Thisismyfavoriteplace to be.
IwishIcouldstayhereallyearround,” she
says.“Thehousemakesmefeelgood.”
AndIhavenodoubtatallthat her
many weekendguests wouldagree.
sabrinamontecarlo.com B

“Everyone says it takes seven years


for a garden to look old, and it did.


So from the inside we have the


green from the garden, and the blue


from the ocean, and that’s enough”


“When I saw the lemon tree at the bottom of the garden,” Sabrina recalls of her first viewing of the house, “I knew that we would have
alongtableunderitandeattherethroughoutthesummer.”And(oppositepage)thatisexactlywhatshe,Espenandguestsdo

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