Martha’s Vineyard Cottage

This project was a major restoration of an 1860 “Carpenter Gothic” wooden cottage, located in the Marthas Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, overlooking Oak Bluffs Harbor. New owners wished to restore the dilapidated historic landmark structure, maintaining the hand-hewn, imperfect character, while employing the latest technology and high-efficiency systems located in a new hand-dug basement. Local contractor, South Mountain Company, provided expert craftsmanship and engineering for a deep-energy retrofit. Interior design for the cottage incorporates personal family heirlooms, ancestral photos, and local finds…..to convey the feeling the cottage had been passed down through generations. Inherited furniture was refinished and recovered; collectible treasures from local second-hand shops and local artists’ work were curated to tell a story. Together the composition becomes a very personal expression of rich local history and playfulness, fitting for this New England Summer village of ice-cream parlors and arcades. To note: a piece of vintage bark cloth, depicting a local fishing village, became the touchstone for interior character and color.