The building has an architectural white base, but is injected with colour using strong art pieces, Mediterranean elements and Mexican touches. Here, INEX speaks to the mastermind behind the villa’s stunning concept, Sabrina Monte-Carlo.
INEX: What were your wishes regarding the new interior?
Sabrina: I wanted there to be flow between indoor and outdoor spaces, no clear separation with clean and contemporary lines. I envisaged a lot of natural materials plus a cloud of white with pops of bright colours and strong art pieces.
Could you please describe the property regarding architecture and surroundings?
It is two steps away from a very traditional village. It was an old property where only the structure was kept to build something completely new. It has a typical Mediterranean garden that was designed by Jean Mus with breathtaking view on the Riviera.
Who lives in this apartment with you?
My husband, my daughters in the summer and my beautiful cat!
What did you change in this apartment (rebuilding, renovation, decoration)?
Everything, we only kept the four walls. The project entailed very heavy work on the garden and the outdoor too.
Where did you get the furniture? Did you use existing pieces, too? Is there a story about a ‘special’ piece of furniture – if so, which piece and what’s the story?
A lot of my furniture comes from my stores, I ordered all of it to be customised by brands such as B&B, Paola Lenti, Flexform etc. I also buy a lot of travelling – some pieces from Mykonos, Capri, Indonesia. My favourite piece is my Baccarat Zenith chandelier – I sent them a sample of my Tai Ping green carpet and they did crystal “pampilles” to match it! I can look at it the whole day. Concerning the art, I have bought from galleries around the world but I guess my new favourite one is the Arik Levy structure in our garden.
How would you describe the interior style?
Fresh, contemporary but comfortable.
Where do you take your inspiration from?
The surrounding Mediterranean landscape, my travels, magazines, galleries.
Regarding the decoration, is there any concept? Maybe seasonal aspects?
I am always changing everything – I have just finished building our outside gym surrounded by roses. I love having fun and switching up during seasons and holidays (Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s day, spring). The best way to do that without permanent changes is buying new flowers, changing placemats, napkin rings etc. I can even decorate my tables with surrounding things such as lemons or roses.
What is your favourite area in this home and why?
The pool area. We can spend entire days there. There is the bar area which is always fun, an in-built sitting area with Dolce leopard fabric, my own beach with sand and Paola Lenti furniture reminding me of Mexico and my husband’s space that looks like a tent from the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s very eclectic and fun with many things brought back from travels.