Well hello July! The height of summer is here. 
Have you ever thought about where your dream location for celebrating the 4th of July would be? I have always wanted to spend it in one of two places, the first of which is Nantucket. (I’ll share the second place with you this weekend.) I thought it would be fun for the next couple of days to look at some homes done by one of my long time favorite interior designers…Gary McBournie. He has office locations in Boston, Nantucket, and Palm Beach, but it is his Nantucket styling that steals my heart every time.
I first fell in love with this bedroom in his own Nantucket home many years ago…sigh.
traditionalhome.com
In fact, I think that blue plaid implanted itself in my brain and made me choose the fabric I did for our bedroom. (So much so that I am hearing the music from The Twilight Zone in my head.) If you are very observant, you will notice how he repeated a border of the plaid on the simple white drapes and a border of the bright blue on the hem of the bedskirt. Perfection.
There’s more blue and white loveliness in the guest bedroom from his old home.
traditionalhome.com
He said that he does not use a lot of different patterns in a room like many designers, but he chooses instead to repeat his fabrics in different ways. Note a stripe for the canopy on that slanted ceiling and a stripe for the bedskirt – all punctuated by a small dose of that cute sailing print with the repeated blue.
Now don’t go thinking his whole cottage was done entirely in blue…
It’s definitely wasn’t.
traditionalhome.com
I know…There are blue accents in this room with those beautiful blue plates, but the color plays second fiddle to the happy yellow.
And there is more yellow here although toned down some in its use…
traditionalhome.com
Of course, I love his use of red and yellow, but my favorite thing is the yellow border on the skirts of the upholstered pieces. How smart is that?! I should also mention to you that he painted the shell watercolors there on the wall himself. Impressed? You bet.
Now all of these photos came from a Traditional Home magazine article on one of his earlier homes, but that house was also featured in this book if you are interested.
At Home in Nantucket (Amazon Affiliate link)
I have been saying his old home, right? Which would make you think he has a newer one. Well he does! In fact, his most recent one was in the March, 2013 issue of House Beautiful.
When I first saw this photo, I thought, “Why, Gary McBournie has redecorated his old place in Nantucket!”
deringhall.com
Similar layout…same sloped roof and all…colors that would have worked with the old one..but it wasn’t his old house. This is his new/old cottage in Nantucket. Would you like to see more of it?
I thought you would.
deringhall.com
Are you loving that 19th century dresser as much as I am?? And did you notice the repeated print from the linens used as wallcovering? (Please don’t let me start liking wallpaper again.ever.)
He has gone with a softer color palette here in the living room…
deringhall.com
Recognize the chairs with the contrasting hem?
He still has my favorite touches of red in this cottage as well. (The print of the drapes here reminds me of our master bath drapes…maybe more subliminal influencing?)
deringhall.com
I am loving the continuity of the color palette throughout the house, with the colors taking turns at which one is dominant in the room. Do you see how he used the contrasting red border on the drapes in the dining room above to bring out that color from the fabric pattern? I love drapes with borders!
In the butler’s pantry he went really bold with the wallcovering.
(I will not like wallpaper. I will not like wallpaper.)
deringhall.com
I love love love those upper cabinets, and would you look at the skirting detail!! (Hmmm…maybe I don’t need lower cabinet doors in the little kitchen in the room over the garage, right? )
Red doesn’t make an appearance in his new/old kitchen because that palladian blue takes over here.
deringhall.com
That little room has such an old fashioned feel to it!
So what do you think? Are you a fan of his rooms?
I’m afraid that’s all the Gary goodness I have for you today, but I will be back very soon with more. (His work is just too good to me to not show you this week! )
deringhall.com
Until next time…