By Leslie Linsley

Author of “Nantucket Island Living” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang)

August 2025

It’s August. It’s too hot to do any house projects. But it’s a fine time to take stock of your home, and plan what needs attention. Decide what building projects, repair jobs large and small, and replacements you want done by next season. When you run to Marine for a forgotten something, take an extra minute to check out new products in Home Furnishings and Housewares for inspiration. Rugs, window treatments, wallpaper and some furniture are special orders or custom made to your specific needs. Avoid frustration by making these decisions now so you can fully enjoy your reimagined home when the new season begins. 

At the beginning of the summer, I went to the opening of the renovated African Meeting House and adjoining house on the property. Its simplicity, influenced by a Quaker sensibility, is nothing less than elegant. The subtle high gloss paint colors used throughout the house are reminiscent of our earliest island homes; warm cream, soft mustard, cloudlike seafoam, providing a calming oasis from the outside world. While savoring the gift of August, mull over the idea of a new color scheme that can change a look, a mood, the character of your home. Our lifestyles often change as families grow, and our homes reflect how we live. Create the unexpected, something seductive, a sense of surprise with color, patterns, design. Find inspiration in the lush gardens all over the island.

Imagine opening the front door to a beautifully wallpapered entryway, or an unexpected paint color. The easiest way to revitalize a living room or the bedrooms is with a new hue. Many friends of mine are redoing a powder room with bright, bold wallpaper (include the ceiling for a cocoon-like feeling). It’s a small room with big possibilities. Get inspiration from the wallpaper samples in Home Furnishings.

I just finished a project and love the results. I created a “vision board” in my office by.  covering one entire wall, floor to ceiling, with 12-inch square cork tiles. Now I don’t have to keep stick-up notes everywhere and it looks terrific. The rest of the room is painted with a new color from Farrow & Ball, Naperon No. 315, described as Terra Cotta. I call it “paper bag.” It matches the cork. Made in Dorset, England. Farrow & Ball paint is produced the old-fashioned way, in small batches using high levels of rich pigments and real ingredients—not synthetic fillers—which give the colors a velvety depth and life. Favored by interior designers, the colors are rich and nuanced, never flat or garish, and they somehow manage to look just as beautiful in daylight as candlelight.  It’s my go-to when I want a touch of quiet luxury—especially in those soft coastal tones that feel right at home on Nantucket.

Pull colors from a painting or an object in the room for accents. An unexpected touch of pink adds youthfulness. A pairing of blue and brown infuses an historic environment with a contemporary feeling. Throw pillows in striped fabrics look sharp and graphic without overpowering.  It’s very pleasant to sleep in a white bedroom. But neutral sands soften a minimal look. 

Door Prize: First Impressions Matter!
As Nantucket’s one stop shop for all your building and home improvement needs, cutting edge products are always on Marine’s radar. Fine Paints of Europe is a Vermont based company is an importer of Dutch paint products that are like the Rolls-Royce of paint—sleek, elegant, and uncompromising in quality. The color depth is extraordinary. The white is so pure it makes everything else look dingy. And because it’s a high-performance, oil-based paint, it goes on like cream and lasts like memories of Nantucket summers. Europeans have always viewed the process of painting as a capital investment and believe that the appearance of a finish reflects its true underlying quality. For homeowners who appreciate craftsmanship and want their walls to feel dressed in couture, this is the secret sauce.

Their marine grade coating, in Nantucket’s approved historic colors, provides high durability as well as a brilliant and striking finish for exterior doors. They also have a wide variety of colors for kitchen cabinets and interior doors. As part of Marine’s referral services, they work hand in hand with two certified, on-island professional painters, trained to apply these paints.

If you’re like me, you’re beginning to imagine everything that needs to be fixed, changed, added or spruced up in your home. Getting a jump on next season will be its own reward as you smugly pat yourself on the back next spring and look forward to a carefree summer.