They used crazy special effects to create the Kell mansion

Sirens is the biggest thing on Netflix right now, a dark comedy about the insanely rich that’s being compared to The White Lotus, and everyone is wondering the same thing after watching the series – where is the Kell mansion in real life?

The show is set in a huge house owned by the very wealthy Michaela ‘Kiki’ Kell, which is located in Lloyd Harbour, New York. It’s part of the Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve in Long Island and was built in 1921 as a hunting preserve and country club. Now, it’s used as the headquarters for the New York State Park system.

Sirens’ production designer John Paino has revealed they used crazy special effects and building work to turn the plain, boring brick country club into the sprawling Kell estate we see in the Netflix show.

This is what the building looks like in real life:
 

And this is it in the show:

Credit: Netflix

Looks pretty different, right?!

“We found a house that was on a great location, and literally on a cliff, but it certainly wasn’t big enough,” he told Town & Country. “So, we built facades, we put pergolas outside, we extended it, and we built the bottom of a lighthouse. We did all these volume extensions on an existing house in a very postmodern way, in a very simplified classical architectural way.”

They also built that massive anchor that’s shown out the front of the house, to fit in with the backstory of how the Kell family got their wealth.

“One of the backstories for the Kell family’s wealth is that it comes from whaling days,” Paino added. “So, we also built a 40-foot-long anchor that we put on the property. When you walk on a property like this and you see a giant anchor, it could be from a whaling ship or could be so beautifully created that it could be a work of art.”

Here’s another part of the Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve:

And this is what it looks like in Sirens:

Credit: Netflix

As for the interior, that takes inspiration from ancient Greek temples like the Oracle of Delphi with its stone accents and huge columns, playing into the mythological symbolism of the show.

Nothing is there just for “decoration” – it all has a hidden meaning, and the home is supposed to feel a bit “off” and “uncanny”.

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