As word associations go, Nantucket wins medals for instantly conjuring images of hot sunlit days, summer flings, ice-cold sunset cocktails and dressed-down chic. All of which seems to have been on the mood-board for the newly refurbished Beachside hotel on the island’s northern crescent shoreline.
The Beachside on Nantucket
New York-based design studio Parts and Labor Design – recently anointed in the Wallpaper* USA 400 list – has reimagined a small collection of mid-century white cedar shingled buildings with brio, mining the design ethos of the 1950s whilst drawing inspiration from celluloid classic Sandlot to create what the hotel bills as ‘a love letter to the American summer’.
It’s an entirely appropriate homage, particularly evident in the colour palette of sea foam green, terracotta, cream, mosaics and warm brown timber that Parts and Labor have layered over the original footprint of five extant buildings that settle into a spacious 3.5 acre estate.
Studio co-founder Jeremy Levitt says the design concept centres ‘around the history of textiles and craft on Nantucket, and a lot of the materials and details we’ve used represent that ethos. Every part of the hotel, he adds, including the lobby and each guest room opens into the central interior pool and lawn. ‘This encourages guests to slow down, wander and explore.’
And there is plenty to explore including nearby local landmark, Jetties Beach, but for the indolent, staying on property pays its own dividends – whether curling up in the lobby furnished with woven straw chairs, mosaic vases and white velvet cubes that double as ottomans and stools, or pitting wits in the games room which is dressed with abstract paintings and an installation of Rubik’s cubes.
And if you decide to stay close by the pool snacking on a locally sourced menu whilst tossing back chilled Aperol, well, who can blame you?
The Beachside on Nantucket is located at 30 N Beach St, Nantucket, MA 02554, United States, thebeachside.com