A Designer’s Montauk Home With 180-Degree Views of Block Island Sound

Designer Esha Soni, whose sculptural purses and accessories are sold at stores like New York’s Bergdorf Goodman, bought and renovated this four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Montauk, New York, 10 years ago.

The hilltop home enjoys “breathtaking views and spectacular sunsets,” according to Zachary Tunick of Douglas Elliman, one of the listing agents.

Its location overlooking Block Island Sound “also means you get 180-degree views,” he said. “And you hardly need air conditioning because the ocean breezes are so spectacular.”

The home’s location “on a quiet cul-de-sac ensures there is absolutely no road noise or drive-by traffic,” Tunick said. “But there are trendy restaurants and terrific seasonal shops within walking distance.”

With a designer’s touch from Soni, the home is “beautifully renovated,” Tunick said. “It can be taken to the next level, but it’s already very livable.”

Open-plan living, dining and kitchen spaces anchor the home’s main level, with water views from walls of windows. There is a wood-burning brick fireplace in the living room.

The kitchen, with a granite-topped island at its center, features Wolf appliances. The primary suite includes two closets, a foyer, a large bathroom and walkouts to the home’s broad wooden terrace. The main floor includes a second bedroom, office, pantry and mudroom.

The lower level—“which is not subterranean, because of the topography,” Tunick said—includes two more bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and storage space.

“I love my house because the view of the water and the sunset, the wide-open space, and the lush, old trees create a deep sense of calm,” Soni told Mansion Global in an e-mail. “In the evenings, the white walls and floors reflect the colors of the sunset in a simple, beautiful way.”

Before launching her eponymous handbag line in 2022, Mumbai-born Soni designed accessories for labels including Ghurka, Michael Kors Collection, Ralph Lauren and Proenza Schouler. “

The bags feel like they could easily double as home decor,” enthused fashion blog WhoWhatWear in August.

Furniture is available by separate negotiation.

Stats

With four bedrooms and four bathrooms, this 3,400-square-foot house occupies a 0.88-acre lot.

Amenities

The large wooden deck, about 15 feet deep by 80 feet wide, features a mechanical canopy.

Talking Points

The 3,400-square-foot house “could easily get expanded to 6,000 square feet,” Tunick said. While there is no pool, the property is permitted for one; because of the home’s large legal setback, a new owner could also add a garage, Tunick said.

Neighborhood Notes

Montauk is on the eastern tip of Long Island’s South Shore, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Block Island Sound.

While Montauk has a reputation for nightlife—the village is home to more than 50 bars—“there is a community within the community of very successful, sophisticated parents with kids in the incredible schools here,” Tunick said. “These are people at the top of their fields, but down-to-earth. Montauk is about a laid-back lifestyle.”

Celebrity residents have included Julianne Moore, Robert De Niro and Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke. A-listers like Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio have also reportedly hung out at local hotspots like The Surf Lodge.

Private airports nearby include East Hampton Airport, about 20 miles west, and Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, about 40 miles west. Midtown Manhattan is about 117 miles west.

Agents: Zachary Tunick, Nicole Tunick, Douglas Elliman

It wasn’t too long ago that Noosa was seen as a relaxed holiday town, more famous for its surf breaks and weekenders than record-breaking prestige property.

But much like much of Queensland, COVID lit a torch under the market, and in Noosa it was the prestige sector that surged the hardest.

Records tumbled, including one-bedroom apartments on Hastings Street, the suburb’s only true beachfront strip, changing hands for nearly $6 million. That’s a price point not seen anywhere else in Australia, not even Bondi Beach.

While some regional markets have since cooled as workers trudged back to the office, Australia’s wealthy have continued to pour into Noosa.

Their growing fortunes, from corporate payouts to generational wealth, have fuelled the demand. Think former Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, who just received a $50 million payout from her former employer.

Just before Christmas last year she spent $17 million on a 1970s Noosa home, which she plans to knockdown and replace with a three-level luxury residence by Shaun Lockyer Architects.

The regional price record was set in 2021 when Peter Tighe, non-executive chairman of AuKing Mining and part-owner of champion mare Winx, paid $34 million for Webb House in Sunshine Beach.

Initially, speculation swirled that billionaire Gina Rinehart was the mystery buyer. Sunshine Beach still holds the crown for Noosa’s priciest sale, but the bulk of big-ticket transactions are now spread between absolute beachfront in Noosa Heads and the suburb’s sought-after waterways.

So far in 2025, there have been 42 sales above $5 million across the region. That’s broadly in line with the last three years, with the exception of 2021, when more than 90 properties over $5 million changed hands between January and September alone.

Higher interest rates aren’t applicable to this cohort of buyers.

This year Mark Fraser, the Queensland architect who founded beach shade giant CoolCabanas, paid $18 million on an empty X sqm block of land with approved plans for a new luxury home.

Brendan Pickering, the managing director of Pickerings Auto Group, spent $16.5 million to add to his collection of Noosa waterfront trophy homes, while the lesser known, Melbourne-based millionaires Robert and Abigail Polites, emerged as buyers of a $17.6 million home on Witta Circle, widely regarded as Noosa’s premier riverfront street.

The prestige market has been further energised with the listing of one of Noosa’s most striking waterfront homes, and it could set a new benchmark.

Reed & Co. agents Adrian Reed and Donna Taylor have just launched Casa Luca to market, a newly built Wyuna Drive home that recently won the 2025 Master Builders Regional Award.

Translating to “House of Light,” the home has been crafted by renowned designer Paul Clout, whose name is synonymous with Noosa’s most celebrated residences. Interiors are by Hong Henwood, incorporating Italian marble, Portuguese stone, Egyptian limestone, and hand-blown Soktas glass pendants.

Every detail has been carefully curated, and all the custom furnishings are included in the sale.

The residence offers a 20-metre river frontage with expansive glass panes framing uninterrupted water views. Inside, curved walls and soaring ceilings deliver dramatic impact, while a marble-clad galley kitchen with a 3.5-metre island bench forms the heart of the home.

It features a Gaggenau cooktop and ovens, dual integrated Fisher & Paykel fridges, and Miele dishwashers, a space designed to entertain as much as cook.

Spread across more than 500 sqm of internal living, the four king-sized bedrooms include a master retreat with a private riverfront terrace, walk-in robe, and ensuite clad in limestone and Italian marble.

Multiple lounge areas are anchored by Jetmaster and gas fireplaces, with terraces flowing to the pool, spa, and private jetty. A custom wine cellar and bar sit alongside the dining space, while an alfresco pavilion with an automated roof, BeefEater barbecue, plumbed gas fire pit, floating daybed, and magnesium pool complete the resort-style setting.

Competing for best trophy home listing this summer is another Paul Clout special, this one on Gympie Terrace in Noosaville. The home, dubbed One W, is listed with Century 21 Conolly Hay Group Noosa Heads agent Rachel Sellman, who is entertaining offers around the $20 million mark.

The highlight of the four-bedroom, three-level home is the rooftop terrace, channeling a chic Mediterranean beach club with a private heated pool and spa, floating daybeds, custom dining and lounging areas with a gas fireplace, a built-in barbecue, a bar with beer taps, and an adjustable pergola. Sharing this level is a fitness studio with a full gym, infrared sauna, and a steam shower.

A Designer’s Montauk Home With 180-Degree Views of Block Island Sound

Esha Soni, who designs luxury handbags and jewelry, bought and renovated the four-bedroom hilltop house a decade ago.

Once a sleepy surf town, Noosa has become Australia’s prestige property hotspot, where multi-million dollar knockdowns, architectural showpieces and record-setting sales are the new normal.