Michelle Gerson And Joe Farell Team Up To Create Sagaponack Summer Home

By Elisabeth Brigham By Elisabeth Brigham | June 21, 2023 | Home & Real Estate, Feature, HBNY Home, HBNY Home Tours,

When longtime locals set out to build a Sagaponack summer home from scratch, they tapped heavy hitters Michelle Gerson and Joe Farell to bring their vision to life. Together, the pair brilliantly blended lavish design details with masterfully executed architecture to build a warm, inviting space ideal for entertaining.

When it comes to first impressions, this home takes the cake—think abstract detailing, luxe light fixtures and much more.

The Team

Sagaponack sets the scene for this family of three’s Hamptons hideaway. After residing as longtime locals since the ’90s, leading real estate development executive Alicia Goldstein and her husband were itching for something new: Cue their freshly built, eight-bedroom, 10-bath abode on the cusp of the East End’s shoreline. But before we dive into the nicely built nooks and oh, so charming crannies of the family’s second home, let’s go back to the beginning, when they called upon powerhouse developer Joe Farrell and renowned interior designer Michelle Gerson to help tackle the project. “We were always planning to work with Farrell,” shares Goldstein, “but after seeing another project Gerson spearheaded, we decided it would be best to collaborate with them both.” She continues, “When I went to call Gerson, I realized her number was already in my phone from many years ago when I was a film executive, and she was a clothing designer. … It turns out we were friends in another life.”

From the DaVinci fireplace and slab marble bar with floating glass shelves to the standout de Sede sofa, the great room is rife with mesmerizing midcentury moments. PHOTO BY MARCO RICCA
From the DaVinci fireplace and slab marble bar with floating glass shelves to the standout de Sede sofa, the great room is rife with mesmerizing midcentury moments.

The Priority

Surrounded by enviable landscape and architectural design, the home marries the family’s midcentury modern aesthetic with Sagaponack’s rich farmland heritage. A top priority: curating an inviting space that lends itself to entertaining. Gerson explains, “We wanted to maintain a clean but warm and livable aesthetic with a touch of edge. All three of us (myself, Goldstein and Farrell) truly saw eye to eye with one another and collaborated on the house in a very symbiotic fashion.” From the exterior’s unique wood-meets-concrete finish to the kitchen’s Calacatta Macchia Vecchia slab marble, a calming, natural palette runs throughout the house— thanks to a harmonious blend of finishes, textures, woods and marbles. With ample room for gathering, the retreat effortlessly flows from one room to the next, beckoning guests to lounge about the pristine finishes and custom furnishings that tie each space together.

In the kitchen, gorgeous Calacatta Macchia Vecchia slab marble adorns the entertaining island, counters and backsplash.

state-of-the-art appliances from Wolf, Dacor and Sub-Zero complete the space

The Pieces

“To give the home a unique, luxurious look and feel, we centered our design around a few standout, collectible pieces mixed with custom items that we dreamed up with our clients,” explains Gerson. With an emphasis on entertaining, the home is adorned in masterfully executed conversation spots fit for the whole family. Take, for example, the de Sede serpentine sofa by Minotti DDC—an iconic piece from the ’70s that’s better described as a work of art than a piece of furniture—sitting in the great room. “We planned for the home’s great room to be flanked by a modern DaVinci fireplace on one side and slab marble bar with floating glass shelves on the other. The space in between needed to be filled sensibly to create two distinct seating areas, and we decided that designing the sofa in the shape of an ‘S’ would be an iconic way to connect both spaces while still distinguishing them as separate areas.”

The kitchen seating area showcases natural light and neutral tones.

Playful pops of color and stone textures mesh in the most cohesive of ways to create a dream family room, perfect for entertaining

The Details

When asked about her favorite moment in the house, Gerson’s answer is quick: “I love the family room,” she gushes. “The room has extremely high ceilings, and since we wanted this particular space to feel cozy, we had to get creative with how to bring the ceiling down a bit. We covered the walls and ceiling in a charcoal-colored Venetian plaster, creating a cavelike effect. Then, we added an incredible light fixture from Bright Bound, cozy chairs and a shearling rug to accent the space. The whole room feels like a warm blanket!”

The Process

When talking about standout spaces, the primary bathroom raises the bar—picture an all-marble room finished with gold accents, custom light fixtures and an ultraluxe free-standing tub. “The main bathroom is completely covered in marble slabs,” she says. “When creating a marble room such as this one, we’ll take a picture of every slab, print them out, lay them on the floor and start placing them to scale in the room to see where we want them to go. We must work very closely with the fabricator to get this right.” She continues, “I can see where this could be considered a challenge, but for us, it’s fun. It’s like putting together a giant puzzle to ensure that the individual slabs flow into each other in an organic, natural way.”

the basement powder room comes to life with a Polaroid wallpaper by Ryan Saghian.

To sleep or not to sleep? With a showstopping rug designed by Gerson and The Rug Company, Gaspare Asaro light fixtures and stunning artwork by Alex Katz, we feel like we’re already in a dream.

The Outcome

With endless creativity and some breakthrough solutions for each room, the trio built the ultimate Hamptons home from the ground up. Inside—framing the lavish design details and thoughtfully curated layouts—vast windows illuminate each space, welcoming in the outdoors. And when we say outdoors, we really mean picturesque views of the estate’s backyard amenities— imagine a pool and spa, secluded tennis court, outdoor kitchen, covered seating area and much, much more. Traces of the family, alongside Goldstein’s and Farrell’s signature styles, add layers of personality to the home, creating nothing short of a stunning new space that stays true to its Sagaponack roots.

The primary bathroom’s Artistic Tile slabs are complemented with luxe Lee Broom light fixtures.