Back in 2009, I wrote about a spectacular house on Nantucket with its coastal decor designed by Frank Roop, one of Boston's most prominent interior designers (and my personal favorite). I absolutely love the rooms, done in Roop's signature style, with seaside colors, interesting but never fussy vintage finds, custom furniture, light fixtures with bespoke lampshades, and a sprinkling of Moroccan details. All the while, Roop manages to make it pure Nantucket, with chic references to this very sophisticated coastal community.
Here's how he pulled it together, along with pieces you can use in your own house.
The architectural details are fairly traditional, with its plank wood floor, unpainted beams, and wainscoting, but the the airy entryway is chockfull of interesting details. It's anchored by a painted, Swedish neoclassical table upon which sits a cluster of earthy accessories, including driftwood branches, a hunk of quartz, and a small succulent. Above, Roop hung a faux bamboo chandelier, infusing Chinoiserie chic.
Shopping guide: 1 Disney Fantasia Nutcracker Suite Ferns Art 2 Square on Squares Outdoor Bench 3 Expressionistic Wood-Look Stallion Sculpture (currently unavailable) 4 Traditions Collection Hudson Dining Table 5 Succulent Arrangement in Stone Bowl 6 Quorum Salento Persian Chandelier
This dreamy bathroom, which has the only tub in the house, is done in a pale, watery palette, complete with shimmer. The homeowner chose the coastal style chandelier for a slightly kitschy (it’s made out of shells!), but a wholly appropriate touch.
Shopping guide: 1 Kathy Ireland Devon Antique White Crystal Chandelier 2 Blue Shells Coastal Wall Art 3 Olivia Polygon Shell Accent Stool (currently unavailable)
As is his custom, Roop designed all the upholstered pieces in the living room. Roop loves to do contrasting cushions, as you can see on the daybed. They frame is upholstered in linen and the cushion, which almost looks like a mattress, is in a cozy, blue-green linen velvet. It sits in front of the window, but since there's no back, it doesn't block the view. The drapes are also quintessential Roop, comprised of three swathes of softly colored vertical panels stitched together. They’re linen, with some shine, in three different colors. Finally, since the family have two dogs and three cats, sisal rugs are the perfect no-fuss floor solution.
Shopping guide: 1 Trace Collection Lagoon Armless Sofa 2 Sabertooth Seagrass Area Rug 3 Aegean Dandelion Print Armless Chair 4 Buchanan Industrial Style Nickel Floor Lamp
The centerpiece of the room is the faux bamboo bed, which the homeowners found on their own in Maine. The green porcelain lamp on the far side of the bed echoes the bamboo look, as does the floor lamp, which is a vintage Jacques Adnet piece, finished with a custom lampshade constructed from string (another Roop specialty). Roop designed the slipper chair, the side table is Syrian, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The Roop-designed sofa is covered in sand-colored linen and the vintage faux bamboo stool is topped with a cushion of silk canvas. There's a natural, no-nonsense sisal rug in here too, which is a coastal-style essential.
Shopping guide: 1 Turned Candlestick Faux Wood Floor Lamp 2 Surya Tobias Avocado Throw Blanket 3 Uttermost Karline Natural Linen Bench 4 Thumprints Juicy Lime Green Glasswirl Shade Table Lamp 5 Safavieh Orson Blue and White Accent Chair
The homeowners wanted their daughters’ rooms to be reflect their individual personalities, so they were allowed to choose their colors. The youngest wanted lime green. The walls are somewhat pale, but Roop revved up the intensity for the niche, which is a more acid shade. Its Moorish shape echoes the silhouette of the headboard, and adds an ethnic note that’s found throughout the house. On the mid-century modern side table, he placed a 1960s studio pottery lamp with a custom shade white linen shade trimmed with grosgrain ribbon, another Frank Roop signature touch in his coastal decor style.
Shopping guide: 1 Jamie Young Berlin White Marble Accent Table 2 Lime Green Moroccan Pillow 3 Ceramic Teal Mid-Century Table Lamp 4 Silver and Gold Leaves Branch Wall Art
For more on these fabulous interiors, see StyleCarrot's two-part blog post: Design Diary: Frank Roop in Nantucket (Part I) and Design Diary: Frank Roop in Nantucket (Part II).