Where the interiors meet the landscape

From the outside, this villa could easily be mistaken for the set of a luxury film, a kind of Great Gatsby 2.0. White, solid and geometric, it extends for forty metres over two levels, set against the tranquil greenery of Kings Point, a quiet seaside village with views across Little Neck Bay to the unmistakeable Manhattan skyline. At each end of the façade, two projecting cubic volumes suggest the outline of an open courtyard, while at the centre a smoke-grey steel tower marks the entrance with austere monumentality. The 3.65-metre-high glass portal, flanked by two floor-to-ceiling windows, floods the interior with light and offers striking views through the house to the rear garden with its pool, and beyond that to the lush landscape of Kings Point.

The house was the project of a wealthy, cultured New York businessman in the carpet industry, who enlisted an architectural practice only for technical advice and the necessary paperwork. Spanning an extraordinary 1,400 square metres, the interiors are organised around a vast open space reached from the entrance via a short corridor lined with two antique tapestries. The living and dining areas flow together in a continuous layout. Distinct yet complementary, one in light tones, the other in deeper shades, they create an almost theatrical setting for both family life and formal entertaining. Here, as in the rest of the villa, the furnishings are minimalist: white, essential and visually restful. The large windows draw the surrounding landscape indoors, flooding the space with light, which itself becomes a decorative and emotional presence. A custom cashmere and silk rug designed by the owner in natural, delicate hues adds a further touch of elegance. To reinforce the stylistic and sensory unity, large-format porcelain tiles from Caesar’s Prima collection were chosen in the colour Chalk, a 100% sustainable material that offers a modern reinterpretation of the simplicity of clay, together with Stave Birch, a distinctive textured decoration from Caesar’s US-made Nature line. Another highlight is the high-tech staircase connecting the villa’s two levels: made of steel with carpet inlays between the steps, it creates a pleasant alternation of cool and warm sensations. The high-tech kitchen is another focal point of the interior design, its identity expressed through the contemporary marble look of Caesar’s Anima Statuario collection, whose exquisite, irregular veining transforms a functional space into a visual highlight.

The ceramic tiles from Caesar serve as an understated yet essential leitmotif running through the entire project. They extend over some 3,000 square metres of floor space both inside and out, partly covering a radiant air-conditioning system. Along with the main living spaces described above, the Prima, Stave Birch and Nature Birch collections were chosen for the villa’s eight spacious bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, corridors and circulation areas, where they evoke the natural warmth of wood. Outdoors, Italian ceramics again take centre stage with Caesar’s Prima Ecru Aextra 2 slabs, a clay-effect porcelain stoneware with exceptional durability and weather resistance used to pave avenues, paths and open spaces. The elegant Stripe drainage grid was custom-designed for the pool area, while for the most heavily used driveways the 30 mm-thick Extra C Base and Quartz Essence solutions provide both solidity and the timeless appeal of natural stone. Every detail confirms the villa’s guiding vision: to create a vital, restorative dialogue between the interior and the landscape, a fluid continuum of architecture and nature.