Untitled (2020), 72″H x 90″W, mixed media on canvas and found door
Untitled (2020), 24″H x 24″W, mixed media on paper
Untitled (2020), 20″H x 30″W, mixed media on panel
Untitled (2020), 40″H x 26″W, mixed media on paper
Untitled (2020), 40″H x 30″W, mixed media on panel
Untitled (2020), 72″H x 48″W, mixed media on canvas.
The house is designed so that all main living spaces, including the master bedroom with its private French doors, look back through the narrow lot to nearby Cotuit Bay.
Varied rooflines and dormers help scale down what is essentially a tall, skinny house; the three-season porch and master balcony are stacked above an inground pool with water views.
The custom O. Henry House sofa fits the undersized living room while still providing comfortable seating for watching TV or relaxing in front of the fireplace; likewise, the lacquered coffee table has leaves that fold in when guests depart.
A coffered ceiling helps define the dining room, and a narrow candelabra provides additional lighting without impeding views.
Views through the house to Cotuit Bay greet visitors thanks to the open floor plan on the main level of the home.
Nickel-gap paneling helps “bring the outdoors in,” according to the owners’ wishes, while stained walnut hardwoods provide contrast with the otherwise light-and-bright interior.
This informal dining area just off the kitchen also serves as a comfortable reading nook thanks to a built-in couch.
A giant pegboard, fabricated by Premier Builders, allows flexibility in the small mudroom as the homeowners can move the pegs to accommodate life vests, towels, and jackets.
Crestin painted the lower kitchen cabinets Benjamin Moore’s Polo Blue, a favorite hue she also used on the pegboard in the mudroom. “Repetition is your friend in a small space,” she says.
The designer smartly positioned the Serena & Lily hanging chair so that the shortest legs in the family could still rest on the windowsill.
A deck off the main entrance is a popular spot to take in the water view. Designer Kristina Crestin chose a thirty-inch glass sconce to provide soft evening light.
Crestin designed the custom table, built by Grace Woodworking, to seat a crowd; outdoor chairs from West Elm keep the vibe casual and give the dining nook a hit of color.
“I love bunkrooms,” admits Crestin. “I go a little bit nuts about them.” For this one, she placed two queen mattresses toe to toe on the bottom bunk and two extra-long twins, accessible via a rope ladder, above.
A contrasting black-tile accent wall lends the bathroom a modern feel; clever design concept: an exterior door in the shower leads to an outdoor shower.
Strategically placed glass-fronted cabinets spotlight these higher priced cabinet components.
The layout of this kitchen minimized the use of upper cabinets bringing the cost down while giving the kitchen a light and airy look.
Wrapping the island in hardwood gave the design an upscale look and feel.
These cabinets have melamine boxes instead of solid wood. This is a construction element that you can’t see so it doesn’t effect the aesthetics of the kitchen.
Full overlay doors have the look of inset doors but at a much lower price point.
A mix of drawers and door fronted cabinets help to keep costs down since doors are less expensive than drawers.
Simple cabinets look expensive thanks to a well-considered cabinet layout that focuses on simple lines. Adjustable shelving inside makes the most of the storage.
Glamorous lighting adds to the luxurious look of white laquered cabinets.
The cabinets in this luxurious kitchen have a melamine box and metal drawers to keep the price down.
“This is the one room where we went with the more typical blue-and-white nautical feel, although with a more youthful, contemporary touch,” says Boothby of the three-season screened porch.
The husband’s office reflects his passion for midcentury furniture. Another painting by Janis H. Sanders hangs above the fireplace.
Horizontal flush board on the ceiling adds a cozy feel to the master bedroom, while fabrics in the palest seafoam hue give the space its serene feel.
A walk-through shower with a marble anchor wall and glass on three sides sits between matching vanities in the master bath.
Designer Chauncey Boothby uses New England-based products, like this wool rug from Boston designer Meredith Thayer, whenever she can. Likewise, artwork is by regional artists through Maine Art Hill gallery. The living room paintings are by Craig Mooney, while the piece near the stairs is by Janis H. Sanders.
The islands’ Stratton Blue paint from Benjamin Moore is a bold yet soothing counterpoint to the otherwise white kitchen. “We used a lot of natural materials,” Boothby says, noting the caned counter stools and the baskets in the glass-front cubbyholes.
The front door is purposely understated, says architect Vincent Falotico.
Tiered porches make the most of water views; the second-floor porch belongs to a casual family room.
A Merida rug anchors the dining room, whose trim is painted Benjamin Moore’s Yarmouth Blue cut by 50 percent.
Built-ins, such as the breakfast area’s banquette, give the home a ship-like quality.
The bright Clé cement floor tiles were the starting point for the bold palette of a boy’s bathroom.
The family’s two sons sleep in the full-size bottom bunks, while the twin-size upper bunks are for sleepovers with a couple of cousins or neighborhood
This picnic table, which is set upon the foundation of an old outbuilding at the edge of the owner’s apple orchard, seats eight comfortably and offers drop-dead views of the Taconic Mountains. It is decorated with fresh-cut dahlias from the home’s vibrant gardens. The ANICHINI cashmere blanket on the bench keeps picnickers warm during cool evenings.
New Jersey-based Interior designer Michael Maher on the border of the wildflower meadow that he planted using seeds from the Vermont Wildflower Farm.
Antique prints and paintings dot the walls of the master bedroom.
In the living room, a custom sofa upholstered in Cowtan & Tout fabric, an antique chair from John Rosselli & Associates covered in Vaughan fabric, and a custom coffee table featuring Holland & Sherry embossed leather mix with engravings from German artist Basilius Besler.
The antiques continue in the guest bedroom, juxtaposed with hand-blocked Swedish paper from Sandberg Wallpaper.
The light-filled “mini-great room” boasts a rug Maher purchased on a trip through Morocco’s Atlas Mountains; the hand-hewn beams, circa 1850, were exposed during the renovation.
Taking advantage of the site’s vistas was paramount.
Maher sought to expand his small Vermont weekend/ski-vacation home while keeping true to the classic Vermont vernacular.
The home’s modestly sized dining room doubles as a study/office with a nineteenth-century French refectory table, which is offset by a patchwork wool and silk carpet, Farrow & Ball wallpaper, and an antique Swedish Mora clock.
Dubbed the birdbath, the master bathroom showcases a mix of Italian and American engravings, which Maher has spent years collecting from auctions and galleries such as Arader Galleries.
A raised terrace and infinity pool extend into the backyard, which abuts a saltwater pond with views of the bay beyond. Connecting landscaping and hardscaping with the architecture was an important element of the design for Polhemus Savery DaSilva, the firm responsible for the architecture, landscape architecture, and construction of the house.
A vaulted ceiling and walls in the second-floor master suite are covered in Schumacher linen upholstery, delivering a delightful canopy effect. Tharp’s signature sail-pulley shades dress the windows. The daybed is vintage; Holland & Sherry pillows button up the look.
In the same space, Tharp specified a daybed, ottoman, and sectional from her own custom line, the Lisa Tharp Collection; the cozy-yet-streamlined pieces don’t monopolize visual space. Swivel chairs offer flexible seating; Scofield sconces hang above the fireplace.
In the kitchen, astragal molding was carried from the upper cabinets onto the ceiling, drawing the focal point up. The same style molding was used to frame ceiling beams. The Urban Electric Co. lanterns and a pendant light hang above the island and table.
To draw the eye upward in the long, open-plan living area, interior designer Lisa Tharp added beams and rafters to ceilings, hung drapes as high as possible, and replaced the existing fireplace surround with floor-to-ceiling paneling.
The street view of a house designed and built by Polhemus Savery DaSilva Architects Builders features a welcoming front porch and large-scale windows and columns that give it a cottage-like feel. The one-and-a-half-story facade belies the house’s three stories, which include a walk-out lower level on the waterfront.
: Tharp chose a custom-built dining table in the shape of a surfboard. It sits near the entrance to the terrace, which is delineated by hydrangea-blue wooden doors, a backbone of the decor’s palette.
A built-in daybed in a child’s bedroom was outfitted in pale pink; curtains reveal a play space below.
A bunk room with toe-to-toe twin beds on each side is used for lounging or guests. Striped wallpaper, Schoolhouse sconces, and vintage art lend a nautical vibe.
Texture rules in a playful guest bedroom, where hand-blocked fabric by Design No. Five covers walls and a pillow. A vintage campaign chest was painted inky grey, while the model sailboat comes from Thoreauly Antiques in Concord.
Skok at home wearing one of her favorite Figue caftans.
The covered porch features a collection of wicker and a Crate & Barrel sofa that Skok reupholsters every five or six years. “Snoozing there in the afternoon is the most luxurious thing,” she says.
When Skok has a house full of summer guests, she’ll take a break to “rest her eyes” on the master bedroom’s daybed. Her favorite yellow toile curtains frame the window.
Skok uses mismatched serving ware and plenty of Zulu baskets from her homeland.
The living room’s stone fireplace was inspired by the one in the original house; that’s Skok’s Nichola fabric on the French footstool.
Skok splurged on handmade red-and-blue Portuguese tiles for the backsplash. She discovered the tin schoolroom pendants in London, where she began her design career.
Skok loves the double-sided glass cabinets filled with vintage treasures: “When the cabinets are lit during a dinner party, everything twinkles,” she says.
This guestroom was frequented by Skok’s mom when she was still able to visit from South Africa; that’s the designer’s own fabrics on the headboard, curtains, and bench.
Isabella, a miniature long-haired dachshund, poses next to beloved Stephen Huneck dog sculptures repurposed for the family room’s coffee table.
The landscaping features such classics as hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and pink roses, all of which wind up on Mally Skok’s dinner table throughout the summer.
The chairs flanking the front door came from the now-defunct Antiques on Cambridge Street; Lee Jofa sconces grace the walls.
The designer sets her table with an eclectic mix of accessories from all over the globe, like this tablecloth from South Africa, her own line of ceramics, bowls filled with seashells, and a mix of glassware. “You should see the suitcases I bring back when I travel,” she says with a laugh.
A guest bathroom’s Lee Jofa wallpaper was a favorite of the designer’s two daughters when they were children.
Freemover contemporary candlesticks bring romance to a classic Nantucket nautical blue-and-white tablescape
Designers Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems say that Nantucket’s alluring spirit is not unlike that of Sweden’s island communities. Situated downtown, the new shop is stocked with items to further living well indoors and out.
To update the kitchen, Caan painted the cherry cabinets white and chose a fun serpent-patterned wallpaper backsplash by Katie Leede & Company; careful to retain some of The Barn’s history, the designer kept certain structural beams and trim the original wood.
Caan credits the “power of paint, pattern, and fabric” for the living room’s transformation. “I accessorized with things they already had and added here and there.”
A few years back, the owners installed a deck with a spiral staircase that leads down to the lawn. “I love the yin and yang of mixing the old with the new,” the owner notes of the juxtaposed architectural styles.
Designer Liz Caan painted the original barn door in the dining area the same color as the kitchen island base (Benjamin Moore’s Mount Saint Anne) to tie together the two spaces. A heavy black trestle table contrasts nicely with lighter, more modern teak dining chairs with rattan seats.
A bath house and changing area are nestled under the deck, which, thanks to its height, has unrivaled views of Falmouth Harbor.
McAleer added beachy coral accents to the living room.
The family, which includes two young children, enjoyed their newly refurbished house for a summer, then decided to install the swimming pool. The building pictured contains the garage and guest quarters.
White walls and window shades of a natural material help keep the den, in the original, low-ceilinged part of the house, bright and airy.
The new quartzite-topped island increased the kitchen’s efficiency and storage.
Designer Annsley McAleer used natural materials, like the dining room’s beaded wood chandelier and a sisal rug, for a fresh, youthful look.
A pale palette gives the master bedroom its serene feel.
Trestle (2019), 10″H x 8″W, oil and spray paint on panel.
Sluiceway (2016), 48″H x 48″W, oil and mixed media on canvas
Sidewalk VI (2019), 10″H x 8″W, oil and spray paint on panel
The artist in her studio.
Concoction (Scarlet) (2014), 40″H x 30″W, oil and mixed media on linen.
Confetti (2018), 40″H x 30″W, oil on linen
Billow (2014), 30″H x 24″W, oil and mixed media on linen.
Brinjal (2018), 14″H x 11″W, oil and spray paint on panel
Photography by Michael J. Lee
The study’s griffin-base table lamps once adorned Venetian gondolas; the homeowner found them via Instagram at the Valley Attic in New York’s Locust Valley.
The living area’s custom tiered coffee table with brass edges makes way for cocktails and storage.
Left to right are architect Lisa Botticelli, designer Amy Thebault, and local garden designer Julie Jordin of The Garden Design Company, who helps the owners cultivate their pretty and appropriate garden.
The powder room’s Margate wallpaper from Thibaut calls up the color of the sea and sky. A rope sconce and lacquered-brass fixtures add a maritime touch.
A tulip-shaped coco-bead chandelier illuminates a well-appointed guest room; the round Moroccan table was a Brimfield Antique Show score.
Comfy Minton Spidell stools surround the marble-topped island. Rather than tiles, the owners opted for a light-reflecting mirrored backsplash for the range.
: “An all-white kitchen didn’t suit this house,” says interior designer Amy Thebault. “The green cabinets look like they’ve always been here.”
The upstairs hall wears a Christopher Farr grasscloth; the console table was created from a repurposed antique chest.
Twin sofas further fireside relaxation in the welcoming great room. The eagle from Nantucket’s John Rugge Antiques, an eclectic plate collection, and two shadow boxes featuring exquisite handmade vegetables on gilded backgrounds boost visual interest. So does the tabletop’s large scrimshawed whalebone by Jon Laubin from Nantucket’s Sylvia Antiques.
: A classic moon gate enhances the entry from the street. Billowy hydrangeas of all kinds are a Nantucket staple.
Window shades of Quadrille’s Clementine pattern keep the morning sun at bay in the master bedroom. The elephant sconce, one of a pair, is another Brimfield triumph.
