Boat International US Edition – June 2019

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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