One of my most favorite places on earth..............

Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Many summers of my youth were spent vacationing on the island of Nantucket. These vacations were very meaningful, inspiring and certainly formed a love of early American architecture that, I'm sure, influenced my choice of major in college (art history), my career (interior decorator) as well as the purchase of Haven on Hanover. The cedar shingles and morning fog is what caused the color gray to get into my blood. I didn't put all of that together until I had the fortune to visit the island again this week. It has been twenty years since my family has been back to Nantucket to vacation. The coordination of the house rental with the ferry tickets and the hike in the price of living out there all caused us to turn to other geographical areas to vacation. While out for a long walk with my camera on Monday I was bombarded by the sights, smells, sounds and tastes and textures that I have always loved and longed for. The fog rolled in and brought with it the smell of the salt and the sound of the fog horns and seagulls.


This house on Main Street was one of our most favorite rentals. I didn't recall that it had a blue door - but it must have stayed with me as I painted my door in Northern Virginia (photo below) the same shade years later.
This home on Union Street was a rental for a few years. The lanterns of Nantucket certainly has influenced my choice of lighting for our renovation here in Richmond.
The lantern pictured above came from a consignment shop here in Richmond. I was told that the fixture came from a house nearby so it seems only fitting that it come back to the neighborhood.

Now all I need is some hydrangeas. But the southern magnolia tree that I have in my front yard probably would object. I always knew Nantucket was in my heart - I guess I just didn't realize to what extent!!Here are some more shots of Nantucket:
The view down Main Street
Early morning fog at the ferry landing.
Steps Beach at dusk.

Brandt Point Lighthouse. No words can describe this accurately.

The view of town from the passenger ferry.
Charming home.
Hydrangeas everywhere.


So, speaking of Richmond, I came back to more progress on the renovation. The Kitchen and Family Room windows have been trimmed out, the walls and ceilings have been primed and I had a date with the laundry room counter top installer.
The next step is to paint the floors (Benjamin Moore Cape Hatteras Sand) and get those laundry machines in there. I'm actually looking forward to folding laundry on that slab of marble.