An outdoor shower awaits swimmers and sunbathers alike. Photographed by Michael J. Lee

An outdoor shower awaits swimmers and sunbathers alike.


To make the home beach and pool friendly, Hill chose a faux leather fabric to cover the seats. Photographed by Michael J. Lee
To make the home beach and pool friendly, Hill chose a faux leather fabric to cover the seats.

For Nancy Hill of Nancy Hill Interiors (nancyhillinteriors.com), lifestyle comes first, and that’s exactly what one long-term client desired in a new vacation home. Although their Cape house was easily accessible, the family felt cramped with only one main living space for their kids, dogs and guests. Plus, they dearly missed Nantucket summers. After closing on a house in the desirable town in July 2020, Hill was their first call to reimagine the 5,000-square-foot, five-bed, eight-bath property featuring a guesthouse and pool. “They like clean lines, easy living, and because they have other homes, they always like their summer homes to have a little bit of fun,” the designer says. Since the clients gave her carte blanche—other than a request that the home stray from typical white-blue Nantucket interiors and focus on a white-sand palette—she drew inspiration from a beach-chicstyle shoe. “I saw this Chanel espadrille that was navy leather with a woven wedge base and ran with it from there,” she notes. Inside the main house, Hill turned an open-concept dining, kitchen and living area into four carefully curated spaces. For entertaining and family meals, a custom 160-inch white banquette commands the dining area, surrounded by woven chairs from Palecek (palecek.com). To make the area accessible for casual beach living, the seat cushions are wrapped in faux leather. “You can sit in this entire house with a wet bathing suit,” she says. “It’s easy, easy living.” Adjacent, the whiteand cream-colored kitchen houses all Wolf (subzero-wolf.com) appliances, Urban Electric (urbanelectric.com) fixtures and a long island with seating for four. Here, the water- and sandfriendly faux leather material makes another appearance in the island’s stools for fuss-free care. Steps away, Hill transformed a traditional dead space that leads to the patio into an intimate seating area. Now, two love seats wrapped in a light sandhued indoor-outdoor Schumacher (fschumacher.com) linen and sculptural side tables from Serena & Lily (serenaandlily.com) make the space. “We added this other seating area so that the client could wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee and look at the sunshine in the pool, or have cocktails in the evening,” the designer explains. Another entertaining spot in the open-concept space is the main living room, which ties in a touch of leather through piping on a custom sectional. To match the seating’s cream Perennials (perennialsfabrics.com) fabric, Hill added a custom white oak coffee table, neutral Marika Meyer (marikameyertextiles.com) window treatments and a cream Stark Carpet (starkcarpet.com) rug. However, one design flaw presented a challenge: the existing, ugly prefab fireplace. “We wanted to add a stone fireplace and make it really islandy, but because there’s an outdoor shower behind it, we didn’t have the depth to do it, so we added a textured Venetian plaster on top of it,” she notes. To complete the room, local artist Sunny Wood Designs (nantucketwhales.com) crafted a 9-foot-long wooden whale named Henry to adorn the wall. Upstairs, the primary bed and bath offer a serene paradise. Details like an intricate glass chandelier from Visual Comfort (visualcomfort.com) suspended above the bed and bath amenities, such as the soaking tub and glass shower, make this suite the ideal place to unwind. The space even features a deck that overlooks the pool and guest house above the garage. Venture across the pool area to this visitor’s nook, where its own deck, kitchenette, wine fridge and more await. To create a visual experience for guests, Hill wrapped the space in the funky Phillip Jeffries (phillipjeffries.com) Cape Town Hope Sands wallpaper. “I always loved that wallpaper, and it was the perfect place to use it because it has sloped ceilings, which lended itself to gift-wrapping the space,” the designer shares. “You may not want that in your primary bedroom to look at every day, but for a guesthouse, it makes the experience unexpected, fresh and new.” Whether hosting in the guesthouse or one of the many gathering areas, the family no longer feels trapped in one living space. “Everyone has their place to go in this fun, family home,” she says. “It’s perfect.”


When designing the guesthouse, Hill chose a wallpaper that she had loved for a long time. With the sloped ceiling, this Phillip Jeffries design was meant to be. Photographed by Michael J. Lee
When designing the guesthouse, Hill chose a wallpaper that she had loved for a long time. With the sloped ceiling, this Phillip Jeffries design was meant to be.


The powder room features beachy details like a woven mirror and Ellitis wallpaper. Photographed by Michael J. Lee
The powder room features beachy details like a woven mirror and Ellitis wallpaper.