'Selling New York' agents revamp home with Frank Sinatra, Old Hollywood inspiration
Summerwind: A 10,000-square-foot estate with Mediterranean flair, boasting themed rooms inspired by Frank Sinatra, Peter Allen and Noël Coward. Six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces. Tunes from an antique Steinway player piano fill the halls, as Smithtown Bay ripples down below.
Eleven years ago, this house in Nissequogue was far from the grand vision it is today — shortly after Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon purchased the home for $870,000, it fell apart.
"There was an existing structure here that was stylistically similar, but much smaller," said Conlon. "It was in need of a lot of renovation, so we started to figure out what that renovation was going to look like."
Then they discovered an enormous crack in the foundation. "As we peeled back the layers of the onion, we found we had a rotten onion," Conlon said.
Agents Conlon, left, and Postilio have appeared in the HGTV series "Selling New York." Credit: Adam Kane Macchia
One rainstorm later, the house collapsed on itself — and the project went from a renovation to a total rebuild.
Postilio and Conlon are celebrity real estate brokers for Compass with backgrounds in entertainment: They appeared in the HGTV series "Selling New York" and have a client roster that includes Barry Manilow and Joan Collins. The couple started to envision their dream house while staying at their Manhattan apartment.
The dining room. Credit: Adam Kane Macchia
"It took three years to get through the planning phase," Postilio said, "because it's a waterfront property. These villages on the water have a lot of sensitivity, and rules and regulations with what you can do and cannot do."
After the approval process, it took three more years to complete the construction. The sea-side of the house had to conform to its original footprint, which informed the rest of their design, Conlon said. They also reinstated some of the original features that made them fall in love with the house in the first place, like the white stucco siding.
The estate was "built as an escape from our lives in the city," Conlon said. Credit: Adam Kane Macchia
"We thought, 'OK let's think Old Hollywood glamour,' " Conlon said. "It was built as an escape from our lives in the city."
The homeowners wanted each room to have its own personality. The Sinatra room was Postilio's idea — he saw the singer in concert 17 times, between 1984 and 1993. It features memorabilia honoring the crooner and splashes of orange, Sinatra's favorite color.
Then there's the library, where Postilio and Conlon retreat during the colder months to play board games and sit by the fire. And they can entertain guests in the vinyl listening lounge, which doubles as a wine storage space.
The home sports six bedrooms. Credit: Adam Kane Macchia
A soundproof theater and expansive subterranean level complete the two stories of luxury, with tributes to art and culture around every corner.
"We had no idea how much work it would be when we first bought it," said Postilio.
But in the end, they took away even more from the process than just a beautiful home: Firsthand knowledge of what it takes to complete a major rebuild.
"We practically earned a master's degree in new home construction," Conlon said. "And for us and what we do for a living, it's a very valuable education."
"That's true," Postilio said. "In spite of the difficulties in this arduous process, we really learned a lot, and now we can inform clients in a way that really has value."
Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.
