Rather than erase the past, Albert and Elissa Benchimol decided to rewrite it. Determined to preserve the framework of their new Port Royal home, they commissioned architect Rob Herscoe to transform a tired 2004 Mediterranean into a work of clean-lined modernism.
The couple, who were ready to settle in Naples after years of splitting time between New York and Bermuda, had hoped for a straightforward renovation. “We couldn’t have been more wrong about what we were getting into,” Albert says, laughing.
Over the course of two years, the couple worked with Herscoe, co-lead of Herscoe Hajjar Architects, and Naples builder BCB Homes to create a new home within the existing 12,300-square-foot shell. “We kept maybe 60% of the footprint,” Albert estimates. “But there wasn’t an outside wall that wasn’t touched, broken down or torn apart.” The Mediterranean detailing made the conversion complex, but the site’s prime waterfront and solid structure justified the effort.
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Photography by Tristan Heeb
modern living room interior HOME 2026
Naples architect Rob Herscoe transformed a 2004 Mediterranean into a clean-lined modernist enclave over two years, working with BCB Homes. The two-story fireplace remains as a centerpiece, but its Old World flourish gave way to a linear gas unit set within Arctic white marble and stacked stone. Large-format, 40-inch, square white glass tiles brighten spaces throughout, creating gallery-like conditions for the couple’s art collection.
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modern entryway greenery HOME 2026
The payoff is evident upon entry. A spiraling staircase rises through the two-story foyer like a bronze ribbon, replacing a Victorian-style circular form, ringed with columns. The curved stringer, finished in faux bronze plaster over wood framing, supports treads that appear to float upward, enclosed by curved glass railings. Above, a round opening frames the view to the second floor, its gray Venetian plaster backdrop adding textural depth to the soaring space. The effect is minimalist yet striking, characterized by sweeping curves with nothing extraneous.
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luxury spiral staircase HOME 2026
The spiraling staircase replaced Victorian-style stairs ringed with columns. The curved stringer, finished in faux bronze over wood framing, supports treads that float upward, enclosed by curved glass railings. A concave wall in gray Venetian plaster by Palm Beach faux finisher German Ayestas adds textural depth to the soaring space.
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modern living room with pops of color HOME 2026
Color became another defining gesture. Yves Klein blue appears not as an accent but as an architectural element, threading through the game room, dining room, den and outdoor spaces. The couple started with one surface—their usual approach, where they like to offset crisp white interiors with a single accent wall. They commissioned German Ayestas, a Palm Beach faux finisher, for the curved, double-height stretch of pewter-gray Venetian plaster behind the stairwell. Then, they kept going. “[We] so enjoyed working with [Ayestas] that we engaged him for other parts of the house,” Albert says. Ayestas gave each cobalt surface a distinct treatment, from a cloud-like finish on the gym’s sliding door to grooved patterns in the patio.
The color strategy plays off of the Benchimols’ art collection, which includes post-Cubist and contemporary works that stand out against intentionally neutral walls. Large-format, 40-inch square white glass tiles form the luminous floors that brighten spaces with limited natural light, allowing the artwork to take center stage. “[The floors are a] Hollywood dance floor type of white,” Herscoe says.
Manhattan interior designer Erica Millar tempered the architecture’s strong lines with soft textures. White surfaces are layered with pale oak and gray stone, then animated with shocks of color. The game room retains the home’s polished feel by keeping with the palette (a bright blue ping pong table, lacquered surfaces). But form follows mood here, with each space fine-tuned to its purpose. In the library, pale oak and rose velvet introduce a gentler, more contemplative energy.
Photography by Tristan Heeb
Photography by Tristan Heeb
Photography by Tristan Heeb
Photography by Tristan Heeb
The team continued the approach of edited drama in the living room. The two-story fireplace remains as a centerpiece, but its Old World flourish has given way to a linear gas unit set within Arctic white marble, rising 20 feet. With the structure’s monolithic form nodding to Brutalist design, the fireplace could have read as austere and imposing in other circumstances. Instead, the floating bronze hearth and mantel introduce warmth while echoing the metallic accents found throughout the home.
Slabs of soft-gray quartzite ground the kitchen where it needs weight. One island receives the veined treatment across its entire waterfall surface, while the work island wears it only on top, its white base keeping the space light. The stone rises behind the range as a frame for the walls of green visible through the pair of broad picture windows. White glossy cabinetry wraps the room with no visible hardware, while bubble glass pendants cascade from the ceiling as a counterpoint to the room’s strict geometry.
Nature also plays a starring role in the primary suite, with its private, enclosed garden. Designed around a Buddha statue acquired during the couple’s travels to India, the courtyard features Ipe wood decking that has weathered to a natural gray and a soothing fountain. “It’s almost like a cocoon,” Albert says of the space, which is private from the pool and the rest of the home. Another glass door in the bedroom opens to a lanai, where a blue accent wall creates continuity with the interiors. The lanai also connects to the living room.
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lanai with blue and white accents HOME 2026
Yves Klein blue threads through indoor and outdoor spaces, including the lanai that links the primary bedroom and living room.
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hedged garden nook blue couch HOME 2026
A hedged garden nook offers a serene escape.
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outdoor living area blue accents water view HOME 2026
Vein-cut marble wraps the outdoor living area’s linear fireplace, topped by a cypress ceiling. The space extends to an alfresco kitchen and dining area.
Indoor elements are repeated strategically throughout the alfresco spaces, where New York-based landscape architect Rivi Oren framed the architecture with structured plantings and layered greenery. Manicured hedges and clipped spheres define the paths, while crepe myrtles and palms break the formality with movement and softness. The landscaping creates a sense of progression from the interior to the water’s edge.
On the lanai, another blue Venetian plaster wall contrasts the stained cypress ceiling, limestone flooring and vein-cut marble fireplace surround. The counters and backsplash in the outdoor kitchen recall the rhythm of the interior quartzite. Just beyond, a 40-foot pool, deepened to 8.5 feet for diving, was designed with the couple’s kids and grandchildren in mind.
Taken together, the home captures the couple’s evolution from Manhattan professionals to relaxed Naples residents. Their New York apartment, Albert says, was built like a Fabergé egg, precise and jewel-like. Their new compound achieves the same refinement on a lighter scale: similar materials, more space; same impact, more ease. The result is elegance with room to exhale—proof that even the most traditional frameworks can hold new light.
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Photography by Tristan Heeb
modern home exterior HOME 2026
The renovation kept roughly 60% of the footprint, but nearly every exterior wall was rebuilt. Manicured hedges and clipped spheres shape the walkways, while crepe myrtles and palms loosen the formality with their soft, swaying canopies.
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luxury pool area with water views HOME 2026
Out back, the 40-foot pool was deepened to 8.5 feet for diving, designed with the couple’s kids and grandchildren in mind.