back

combination of wood, mosaics, terra cotta and brick and glass. It’s fully refrigerated and temperature controlled."
    In that same room, Mazzei continues, there is now a custom pool table and a full bar with a stained cherry woodwork surround as well as custom leather-top stools.
    "I love this part of our house," says the husband referring to the lower level. "In addition to the wine cellar and billiard room we have a batting cage and gym."
    "And the gym not only has a sauna," adds Mazzei, "but also wide screen televisions to watch while they work out."
    However, the husband’s favorite room is the main floor’s new library. Here Mazzei designed all the mahogany custom millwork including the bookcases and coffered ceiling with added cherry panel inlays. In addition, two suede-covered French provincial settees were chosen to flank the room’s handsome crotch mahogany desk.
    "It’s a wonderful space where I can get caught up with work that I can’t focus on during the day," says the husband.
    "We had a large home before," the homeowner continues, "but it had many rooms. These super-sized rooms are much airier. Yet because of Keith’s interior design, it’s still soft and warm even though it’s majestic. Plus the trades people diSalvo introduced us to are the best in the business."
    Both homeowners, for example, were particularly grateful for the architectural woodwork of Mieczyslaw Bzdun of Woodmake Construction who did the trim work and moldings for the entry hall and library.
    "Keith Mazzei provided the designs," says Bzdun. "The detail was very intense in order to give the traditional high end look that was achieved. Everyone really loved the result."
    Decorative artist, Alan Klockler, owner of Design Exclusives of Massapequa, did all the surface design work throughout the house. And his work in the kitchen has made that room a favorite of both the husband and wife. In it, one can almost feel crumbling plaster in the Taste of Tuscany finish that Klockler applied to the walls, which suggests that a painting or fresco is seeping through from underneath.
    "In addition, the kitchen’s custom door and ceiling moldings were enhanced with antique glaze," says Klockler. "In the adjacent breakfast room, we used a chocolate cracked leather finish on the lower walls, which also contributes to this two-year old home’s historic feel."
    "And his chocolate leather finish picks up nicely the handsome kitchen cabinetry done by Showcase Kitchens in Manhasset," adds diSalvo.
    The wife’s very favorite room, however, is the upstairs master bedroom.
    "It was done much like the hotel we loved in Italy. And it has a separate sitting room where I can watch television without disturbing my husband."
    Mazzei explains that the bedroom’s custom bedding is done in a soft steel blue contrasted by hues of golden taupe; a regal silk canopy with silk tassels crowns overhead.
    "Crystal beaded sconces with crystal teardrops adorn the walls, as do half-shell crystal sconces," he adds. "And a wool taupe and blue carpet in a trellis design blends with the bedding and the custom clover ottoman covered in gold silk and velvet."
"Yet, despite all its beauty and character, this home wasn’t designed to be a showcase," continues Mazzei. "They have a growing family, and the kitchen, for example, is a working kitchen. The homeowners really use it."
    "A house can be just a house," agrees the wife. "But after diSalvo finished with ours, it feels like a home. Despite its size, it’s warm and cozy. My husband and I love it."
    Annemarie diSalvo adds, "We seem to attract a lot of growing families. We wouldn’t be any good at our job if a client had four children and we gave them silk on the sofa. Of course we want it beautiful, but we want them to truly enjoy living there."
    "And that we do," agrees the husband. "My wife and I are both of Italian descent, and diSalvo turned this house into a place that touches who we are and what we love."
    So, although people in Italy today, as in ancient Rome, love escaping to the natural beauty of the Tuscan hills, this growing Manhasset family - thanks to Keith Mazzei of diSalvo Interiors - can stay right at home. They never again have to leave behind what their hearts call paradise.