Ship Shape
House Beautiful|February 2018

The key to getting an antique cottage vacation-ready in weeks f lat: a few coats of paint and the good sense  to leave well enough alone.

Kathleen Hackett
Ship Shape

You turned a former fisherman’s shack— the previous incarnation featured a brown kitchen and floors the color of pancake makeup—into the quintessential Nantucket cottage in just three weeks. How did you accomplish this feat?

KEVIN ISBELL: It really was like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. The family bought the house on Memorial Day, closed on the 5th of July, and wanted it ready before August. I started with a collection of needlepoint pillows made by the owner’s mother, who had recently passed away. She also left her daughter enough furniture to fill the basement of her Connecticut home. I drew on those pieces and filled in the gaps with vintage furniture and antiques. I made use of websites like Chairish, eBay, and Etsy to source artwork and accessories. It helped that these are longtime clients who say yes quite readily.

KATHLEEN HACKETT: When faced with Nantucket ferry schedules and freight fees, most people would have relied on “optimism and white paint,” like Elsie de Wolfe.

Optimism, yes; white paint, not necessarily. It’s easy to resort to white, but the approach can fail miserably if not done properly. Rooms need an anchor and that all-important tension. That’s what brings a space to life. Here, I opted for cobalt-blue floors, which nod to nautical without screaming it too loudly.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of House Beautiful.

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This story is from the February 2018 edition of House Beautiful.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

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