PAUSA / STARE: A Contemporary Take on the Italian Caffè
For the 51st Kips Bay Decorator Show House, Regina Bilotta and her daughter Sarah Witkin, founder of Bilotta Architcture, reimagined the kitchen through the lens of one of Italy’s most enduring cultural institutions: the neighborhood caffè.
Titled PAUSA / STARE—“pause / stay / stare”—the space brought together two generations of the Bilotta family, pairing Regina’s decades of experience with Sarah’s architectural perspective and design sensibility. Their collaboration reflects both Bilotta’s history and its continued evolution, with heritage, craftsmanship, and innovation woven throughout the room.
More Than a Kitchen
In Italy, the caffè has never been simply about coffee. It is a place to gather, exchange stories, observe, linger, and participate in the rhythm of everyday life.
PAUSA / STARE brings that same spirit into the home, transforming the kitchen from a purely functional space into a social destination. Here, a pausa is more than a coffee break—it is an invitation to stop, connect, and enjoy the theater of daily life.
Drawing inspiration from the cinematic coffee bars of 1970s and ’80s Italy, the design recalls an era of glossy lacquer, polished metal, mirror, bold color, and expressive forms. Those references are interpreted through a contemporary lens, celebrating the distinctly Italian relationship between technological innovation, craftsmanship, hospitality, and style.
The Banco: A Sculptural Quartzite Island at the Heart of the Room
At the center of the long, narrow space is a sculptural banco, inspired by the iconic bar counter that anchors Italian café culture.
Two contrasting quartzites from Artistic Tile, meticulously fabricated by Vista Stone, give the island its dramatic form. Expressive Patagonia quartzite intersects with a quieter expanse of honed Naica, creating a natural gathering point for cooking, conversation, casual dining, and unwinding.
More than a work surface, the banco creates a natural place to cook, gather, and share conversation, much like the counter of a bustling Italian bar.
Custom Kitchen Cabinetry Designed Down to the Details
Bilotta’s custom cabinetry is conceived as a series of architectural volumes in contrasting blue-green stained flat-cut oak and lacquer matched to Benjamin Moore’s White Blush.
Integrated bullnose edge pulls reference the streamlined forms of 1970s and ’80s Italian design while preserving the cabinetry’s clean geometry. Polished nickel hardware and switch plates from Corston add subtle shine.
The attention to detail continues inside. Pale blue cabinetry interiors echo the crystalline tones of the Patagonia stone, while custom natural-oak dovetail inserts, cutlery dividers, and plate-storage pegs turn even the most functional elements into beautifully crafted objects. Alessi kitchenware adds another unmistakably Italian note.
A Mirrored Backsplash: Seeing and Being Seen
Behind the work counter, an expansive mirrored backsplash visually dissolves the boundaries of the narrow room, multiplying the stone, cabinetry, and activity around it.
But the mirror is more than a design device. It recalls the mirrors found in traditional Italian bars, where they contribute to the social theater of the caffè: seeing and being seen, catching your own reflection—or someone else’s glance—from across the room.
Integrated Appliances, Timeless Rituals
Appliances and fixtures are integrated into the cabinetry and architecture, keeping the focus on the room’s materials and gathering spaces.
A curved polished-nickel Kohler faucet and workstation sink anchor the work zone, while Viking appliances, provided by Royal Green, support cooking and entertaining. A Miele coffee system disappears into a wall of Bilotta millwork beneath an illuminated niche featuring Artistic Tile’s custom-cut Da Vinci stone pattern.
The reference is deliberate. Where the gleaming espresso machine once stood as the technological heart of the modern Italian coffee bar, today’s technology is quieter and more seamlessly incorporated into the architecture.
The machine has changed. The ritual remains.
A Kitchen as a Curated Interior
Art, lighting, furniture, textiles, flowers, and decorative objects give PAUSA / STARE another layer of personality. Curated and sourced by Shawn Tang of Tang Thousand, works by Dirk van der Kooij, Kawabi, Jake Coan, Lucie Claudia, Aeri Go, Kiki Goti, and Mike Serra introduce moments of experimentation, color, and wit.
Casamance velvet, Calico wallcovering, floral artistry by Berry Home, and furnishings by Prestige Furniture further blur the boundaries between architecture, furniture, art, and everyday objects.
The result is a kitchen designed not simply to be admired, but to be inhabited.
For Regina, creating the room alongside her daughter made the project particularly meaningful.
“Bilotta has always been a family business, so having the opportunity to design this space with Sarah felt incredibly special,” says Regina. “There’s something very meaningful about seeing the next generation build upon our history while taking it somewhere entirely new.”
Sarah sees the caffè itself as the perfect metaphor for that idea.
“To us, the Italian caffè represents something much larger than coffee,” she says. “It is a place where daily life unfolds—a destination for conversation, connection, and ritual.”
Ultimately, PAUSA / STARE challenges the idea of the kitchen as simply a room for preparation. Instead, it becomes an anchor for everyday life—a place for ritual and spontaneity, efficiency and indulgence, intimacy and spectacle.
A place to pass through, but also to stop, stay—and perhaps, stare.
Inspired by the possibilities for your own kitchen? Explore Bilotta’s custom kitchen designs or connect with our team to discuss your space.
Project Sources & Specifications:
-Cabinetry: Bilotta – “Pausa / Stare” Collection
-Countertops & Backsplash: Artistic Tile – Patagonia Extra Polished Quartzite, Naica Honed Quartzite Slabs & Custom Davinci Mosaic (Jerusalem Pearl Limestone, Breccia Pernice Marble)
-Stone Fabrication & Installation – Vista Stone, Inc
-Hardware & Dimmer Switches – Corston Architectural Detail
-Plumbing Fixtures/Sink, Faucet, Disposal – Kohler Company
-Appliances – Supplied by Royal Green Appliance Companies – Viking + Miele
-Custom Wall Covering – Calico Wallpaper – Abalone-Shoreline
-Paint – Benjamin Moore & Co – White Blush, OC-86
-Mirror Work – Glassolutions
-Fabric for Stools – Casamance – OCEMA Velvet Eucalyptus
-Architectural Lighting – Juniper
-Architectural Lighting – Christopher William – Lifestyle Technology
-Art Curation – Shawn Tang, Tang Thousand
-Artwork & Objects: Vase – “Crevice Vase” – Aeri Go; Pendant Light – “Legume Triple Pendant” – Kawabi; Table Lamp – “Mannequin Lamp” – Mike Serra; Flower Box – “Glass Flowers” – Lucie Claudia; Floor Lamp – “Single Red Floor Lamp” – Jake Coan; Counter Stools – “Chubby Counter Stool” – Dirk van der Kooij; Wall Mirror – “Thallo Mirror” – Kiki Goti on loan from Todd Merrill Studio
-Glassware – Baccarat – Harmonie Tumblers of Joy Intense, Harmonie Whiskey Decanter
-Accessories – Alessi
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