On Nantucket, designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd breathes new life into a storied retreat for her family.
“Nantucket is an important place for me. I first came here as a young teenager, later I got married here and had my kids here in the summers. It’s rich with history, of course, but also rich with my history, layered with my family members and the sense of time gone by. Geographically, it’s remote and hard to get to, so once you’re here, you’re flooded with a sense of place. The traditions of the island are cemented: the car, the ferry, the harbor. From the night sky full of stars to the smell of the sea, being here touches all the senses. You see the same familiar faces at restaurants every year, and there’s a wonderful feeling of revisiting. The island pulls you back, but the relationship is reciprocal – it also seems to remember you.”
A Dynamic Use of Color
“I really love saturated color, and I always have. I believe color should be approached in a painterly fashion, which comes as no surprise – I’m a huge collector of artwork, and art informs the design of my rooms. Here, color is also a nod to the history of New England: deep wood tones, the colors of the sea and, of course, Nantucket red. These are colors meant to carry you through the long nights and winter months of the off-season, drawing you close to the fire, with its warm pools of light, or reading or knitting. No matter the location or design brief, houses are all about experiencing emotions, and color and lighting are two great tools to help set the tone.”
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First Impressions
“When people come into this house for the first time, they have an emotional reaction to the color. It’s the theatre of design, and those are the moments you strive for as a designer. They spin, they turn, they stare. They might not quite know why, and if you wanted to, you could break it down for them: like a good painting or a good piece of architecture there’s a foreground, a middle ground and background. As the saying goes, the eye wants to travel. In this house, I had a lot on my side, like earthy authentic floors that ground the space with their worn footpath. The color pulls it together, and it was my job to stay clear on the progression, the personality of each space and the way they all fit together like a puzzle.”
Architecture Meets Interior Design
“This home was built in the 1930s in the style of homes a century earlier, so the door latches, staircases and ceiling heights reference the past in an authentic way. In terms of elevation and building fabric, homes on Nantucket have to follow a certain architectural language, but this home has a really unusual (and somewhat upside-down, for a 100-year old home) feature: a second floor great room overlooking the harbor, which is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the fireplace and the view.”
“Interiors are different from fashion in the sense that no one’s designing or decorating a house every few years.”
“I go back to homes I did 25 or 30 years ago and they still look great. I always advise my clients to invest in good pieces, whether that’s a collection of chairs, a dining room table or a beautiful Kallista faucet and taps. It’s not about having the most expensive things across the board – it’s about training your eye to seek beauty, authenticity and craftsmanship. Great design always stands the test of time.”
Mixing Collections
“My outlook on mixing metals, silhouettes and collections tends to be less intentional and more intuitive. It’s a similar process to assembling an outfit – you have to consider what fits well and what will endure, and you have to feel inspired. Every room had different needs – for instance, I was attracted to rose quartz tap handles in the powder bathroom much the same way I might be attracted to a great dress. Rooms are rooted in time and place but as a designer, you hope they’re timeless, too. That’s certainly the case with more permanent fixtures, like my selections from Kallista. It’s comforting to know that every Kallista product has been vetted by engineers and master craftsman. By the time it arrives, it can function like a piece of art would, sitting beautifully in the landscape of the room. More often than not, I’m asking myself – does this room deserve this fixture? If not, we still have work to do.”
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The Power of Modern Art and Furniture
“To me, it’s pure logic: a house is a living, breathing thing, and a house that feels authentic welcomes you in. As you’re assembling all these parts and pieces, it’s always good to consider the balance. Just as a new house needs antique pieces for soul, an older home needs modern elements to shake the whole thing up. For a family home, I don’t see any value in authenticity at the expense of energy and freshness. When we got this house, it was dormant, with lapsed décor. But it had amazing bones and perfect proportions and I thought, let’s just dress up this girl. Let’s throw in great cabinetry profiles, unexpected textures and out-of-this-world plumbing fixtures to create a curated space we can truly live in. After 35 years as a designer, I’m sensitive to everything about the fixtures we bring into a space: the look, the feel, the weight, the quality. It’s important to introduce pedigree wherever you can, and in this house, I chose polished nickel fixtures because I love the living finish. It feels human. When you see and touch Kallista fixtures, you know they’re outstanding. They feel special, and they instantly elevate a room.”
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