17 North Beach Street
Nantucket, MA 02554
(508) 228-1515
The Art of Living
ABD Studio expertly balances contemporary and traditional sensibilities in an art-filled island home.
Written by Madeline Bilis
Photography by Matthew Kisiday
When designer Brittany Giannone sat down with her client to dream up the interiors for their recently purchased home, she knew she had to underscore the identity of the place—and its owners. Giannone, the founder and principal at San Francisco-based ABD STUDIO, has summered practically every year on Nantucket since she was born. Her client, meanwhile, was an art collector who hailed from the South and spent much of her time in San Francisco after years of working on the East Coast. The client had fostered a deep love for Nantucket during that time, and she and her husband realized one of their favorite places to vacation should be a part of their children’s lives.
"We want them to understand and love Nantucket," says the client. "This place has something no place else has."
So, they bought a masterpiece on the island by Workshop/APD architecture and tapped Giannone—who’s worked on several of the client’s homes—to not only reflect their eclectic style but to design in a setting that Giannone knew and loved well. As for the house’s identity: It would be a modern refuge that channeled Nantucket’s traditional sentiments while incorporating art and design nods from both West Coast living and Southern roots.
That began by injecting the place with color. When she and her husband bought it, the client noticed the home was devoid of brighter hues. "It was all taupes and white and gray," Giannone says.
So the client, who was trained as a painter, decided it’d be best to connect the outdoors with the indoors. She’d inherited a striking flower garden in the property’s central courtyard and resolved to repeat the colors from the flowers—alliums, hydrangeas, hostas, and others—in the living area and bedrooms. She infused the fabrics, artwork, and accents with greens, maroons, and mauves that felt harmonious with the garden.
The next major consideration was art. As a collector, it was imperative for the client to showcase pieces that created a sense of calm and comfort. "The challenge was to make the home feel like it was embracing you," says the client. "And that you didn’t feel like you were on display."
A modern home with stark white walls and blocky paintings wouldn’t do, so she opted for pieces from multiple artists like Tanya Ling, Per Kirkeby, and Allan McCollum. One focal point in the living room is a large-scale abstract work with deep golds, oranges, and browns, while another piece in the primary bedroom draws in the leafiness of the courtyard with broad green brushstrokes.
Like the home itself—which the client describes as having a very strong nod toward the classic architecture that makes up Nantucket, but with a contemporary reinterpretation—the art strikes a balance between classical and modern. It establishes an environment for both sculptural sofas and antique pieces to feel at home in the same room.
Several of the artworks on view subtly reference nautical themes and Nantucket’s history. One such piece is the woven wall hanging in the home’s front hallway. Created by Sheila Hicks, it’s meant to point to Nantucket’s history of weaving and basket-making. "The challenge was: How do we pay tribute to Nantucket without using overtly traditional symbols?" explains the client. Sparing rattan accents and basket-making objects achieve the same goal, as do coral-like light fixtures.
New Paragraph
Come nighttime, unwinding from a day well spent is a joyous comfort in each bedroom. The primary bedroom is wallpapered in seagrass, one of many textures exhibited throughout the room. More can be found in the jute rug blanketing the floor and in the dresser from New York’s Roman and Williams Guild. "It’s hand-carved and kind of looks like it’s something from under the ocean," Giannone says. She explains that the client wanted the space to feel like a ship captain’s bedroom, with a balance of stately accents and light, modern touches.
Every bed in the home features chambray blue linen sheets, or in other words, the textile equivalent of summer on Nantucket. In a bedroom for one of the client’s daughters, striking plaid textiles the client purchased in Morocco serve as a rug to ground the bed. A bright-blue painting by Tanya Ling on the wall is framed with chrome, matching the metallic shine of the chrome four-poster bed. The other bedroom features a range of textures and patterns, from a chunky throw blanket and woven baskets to plush leather seating at the foot of the bed.
In the same wing of the house beyond the clients’ daughters’ bedrooms, there’s also a media room for spending time away from the sunshine. A partition divides the mounted TV setup from a Ping-Pong table. "When you open the doors, the pool’s outside, and this is an entertaining space," Giannone says. "Or you know, everyone piles on this massive sofa after dinner and you watch a movie." The client reupholstered the home’s existing L-shaped sectional with a preppy yet modern green plaid, then finished off the room with hanging cloth lanterns.
The media room isn’t the only part of the home with expansive glass doors. Every room has a generous view of the property, with several sets of sliding doors offering stunning portals to sea breezes. With the doors completely open, it’s easy to appreciate the home’s seamless connection between indoors and out.
The entire home, including its guest house, is split into seven separate buildings, each with its own identity. Though from the outside, classic weathered shingles bring a touch of Nantucket’s heritage to the angular modern rooflines of each wing. A modern in-ground pool in the property’s courtyard serves as a central gathering place among the home’s separate wings.
Lush plants, flowers, and greenery create a sunny refuge that’s only steps from the kitchen and living room. Whiling away summer days in this art-filled abode is all too easy when the environment is light, airy, and approachable. "The design of our homes really inspires how we’re affected every single morning when we wake up—how we get to take our first step forward into a fresh new day," Giannone says. "If you wake up in a home where you love the colors, love the textures, and feel cozy in your vacation home, you’re able to relax and entertain."
Overall, the client wanted a place where anyone who entered would feel disarmed and relaxed, with spaces for private reflection and relaxation. "Sometimes with modern architecture it’s hard to feel that way because of the stark walls, big windows, and openness of the rooms," she says. "But with the goal of giving people the emotional satisfaction that a more enclosed space brings, we really tried to create warmth—an environment that had fabrics and textures and a layout that was inviting." The idea was to ensure nothing felt too precious, allowing the inhabitants of the space to simply be themselves.
The end result, the client says, is a home that reflects her eclectic, bicoastal sensibilities. "It’s a wonderful oasis for our family."
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