Good-by Vermont; Hello Again Nantucket

Had a wonderful few days in Vermont, but being away always throws me off my routine.  Caught up with the wash and tidying household tasks, so now I can relax a bit and return to Nantucket before a wonderful new family visit begins Saturday.

There's been a touch of autumn in the evening air this week, but I'm just not ready to bid summer farewell.  Come, think beach and warm summer days with me.

The warm Nantucket home below appeared in House Beautiful's May 2004 issue.  The owners worked with Keith Irvine and explained to him that, "they wanted something that looked as if it had been passed down by one of their grandmothers."

Hence the title - New Traditions.

Now I am not a fan of blue, but the blue in this family room is so tempered with beiges and neutrals ...

...and whites that I like it.

The living room is a bit more formal and a bit more red.

The dining room is more subtle and reminds me slightly of the dining room in Something's Gotta Give.  Do all homes on islands have a slightly common style?  I think this may be true.

Lots of blues in the master bedroom.

And lastly, the guest room.  Always loved the coziness of wallpapered dormers.

Now come back with me to August of 1990 and to this home in Architectural Digest - a seemingly more contemporary house even though from a much earlier time.

The house was designed by Edward Knowles and is situated on a sandy road among cranberry bogs on the way to Sconset.

The owners, world travelers, have peppered their home with part of their collections.

Flooring and cabinets in kitchen are pumpkin pine, and skylight affords interesting views of the sky.  I love the range even though it is from 1990.  How ahead of the time were the owners with the glass-doored refrigerator!

Part of the master bedroom which includes a jacuzzi and pieces collected in China.

Other half of master bedroom.  Cranberry bogs can be seen through the arched doors.  Well, we can't see them, but the owners could.

The deck outside the living/dining room is "a fine place to feed the fish and take in the sun," says Knowles.  Recently, I saw that this home is for sale.  Sadly, it seemed to have lost much of the charm the original owners instilled.

Next a 2011 Nantucket home with very contemporary style found on Elle Decor's website.

A much more spare and cleaner look. - a bit Jacobsen-esque.

Especially in the bath with all its white and glass.

With just a touch of orange in master bedroom.

The last Nantucket home today is taken from Traditional Home's website, and it is definitely more traditional.  The exterior is typical Nantucket shingle gray.

However, the living room lacks any of the typical Nantucket blues...

... and even the dining room opts for more neutral colors.

So too does the foyer.

Kitchen's share of neutral.

And topiaries.

The den.  Love the table here.

And the last room I leave with you today is a Nantucket kitchen.  You could probably guess it is Nantucket from the accent pieces - ships and lightship baskets.

So, today we've seen four very different houses but each of them have a very Nantucket feel to them.  If I had to, I think I'd choose the third very spare house, but make it less spare with a basket and antique of two.  And I'd lose the "touch of orange."  Which would you choose?

Before I leave you for today, I'd like to show you one of the places I visited while in Vermont last week-end - Simon Pearce in Quechee Falls.  We visit this lovely mill each time we are near, have lunch there, admire the beautiful glass ware, and try to be frugal.  Quechee Falls, like much of this part of Vermont, was hit hard by hurricane Irene - the glass-making facility in the basement was completely flooded, the first floor had two inches of water, and the covered bridge which accesses the mill was washed out completely.  Today, the Simon Pearce Mill looks better than ever, and the covered bridge should be complete by next year.  Take a peek.

To the left, you can see the mill with the rushing water that runs through the bottom.  To the left you can see what happened to the bridge when this rushing water reached road level.

New York Times Magazine

Today the mill is fully functioning again, but restoration of the bridge will not be completed until next summer.

Awe inspiring what nature can do.

A sample of how awe inspiring the chef at Simon Pearce can be.  Lunch was delish.

Next time, I will finish my Nantucket visits (for now.)  I dallied here much longer than I did in Pennsylvania, and much longer than I thought I would.  Is this dalliance becoming a habit??

Till next time with just one more visit, I promise.

b

My Diverse Pinterest Boards (Brief Nantucket Detour)

Family just left this morning after a very fun visit, and I am leaving for another family visit Friday, so am rushing this post a bit.  Instead of continuing my love affair with Nantucket, today I'm revisiting my Pinterest boards - thought it might be quicker and easier in my short span of time.  While deciding which pins to use, I rediscovered how very different they are, but still how much I very much like each one of them.  How can such diverse taste exist in one person?  Let's look at a small sampling.

This kitchen for example - so many things are just "not me" here.  First of all, it doesn't really look like anyone cooks in it.  Secondly, I really do not like any "messages" on walls.  Why do people feel that their philosophical or witty sayings look good on a wall?  And can't they remember them without displaying them?  Just my opinion, of course.  But with that said, why then do I like this kitchen because it does have a sign?  Let me count the ways: the brick walls, the clean lines of the island and table.  I think I like the pendants over the island - they are growing on me, and I love the black accents.

Again the room below is so not me.  Too white, too spare.  But something speaks to me here - maybe its serenity, or the envy-factor that I could never keep a room quite this perfect.

More of the room from above.  Really like the black accents here, and would love the window with white shutters.  Very Jacobsen, but it's not his design.  Do you like it?  Could you live with this room?

There's things I really love about the next room - the colors, those bowls, the wall treatment, and the reclaimed wood floors.  But could I live in it?  Not sure.  Still, I pinned it.

The dining space below is a Vervoordt design and I love it, but, of course, my dining room and breakfast room look nothing like this.  Could they ever?  Maybe.  Did I pin it?  Of course, it's beautiful.

Then there's the New-England-American-antique look I love as seen in my next group of pins.  How very different from the earlier images, right?  I know, I know.  Therein lies my problem.

Below we do not see spare, not all white, not serene, but we do see welcoming.

Love the molding, the paneled shutters, and the paned window here.  So different from first images, but so lovely.

Can you imagine this great corner cupboard in any of the first pins from above?  Of course not, but I love it and pinned it anyway.

A built-in corner cupboard this time.  So different from Vervoordt's design, but so period, so American antique.

A white room as in first group of pins, but filled this time with only antiques

More paneling, more antiques, less white.

Now not American antiques, but English ones.  So not-spare, so not-serene, but so comfortable.

Now, not even all antiques, but beauty and coziness.

More white than above, and antiques are at home here.

Now, I'm showing you my funky and industrial pins.  A far cry from the New England style or the spare style above, but I really like it - industrial shelving, exposed brick, lots of plain white china.  So cool!

Everything is to like in kitchen below - white china, black boards with recipes (not philosophies I hope), wood floors surrounded by white walls and ceilings.  And someone surely cooks in this kitchen.

So then, why did I pin the next image?  Looks pretty sterile, but the concrete island is great, and I love the hanging lights above it.  How could two so diverse kitchens be pinned by the same person?

Getting more industrial and spare.

I absolutely love the antique chair below paired with the table of reclaimed wood and metal - a great look.

Herein, with the images below, I thought may lie my compromise.  Darryl Carter beautifully blends antiques with white walls and no clutter at all.

Can't wait for his new book in October.

But then, here is Walda Pairon and her beautiful Belgian style and a bit more clutter and I love, love, love it too.

More billowy fabric on a table than I ever thought I would like, but look how elegant and beautiful it is.

No shutters on her windows, but again the room below is so beautiful.  I could live in this one.

You see, my pins are all over the place.  Are yours?  Any suggestions?  I so envy the people out there who stick to one design aesthetic.  I just like too many and too varied.  If it's done well, I pin it.  What to do?  What to do?

I'm taking a break while on vacation - no computer.  I will take my ipad, but reception could be terrible.
I'll just let the dust settle and see you next time, dear reader and friends, back in Nantucket.
b