A Visit to My Nantucket Fisherman’s Cottage

 

I’m delighted that my summer home on Nantucket is featured in the April issue of Traditional Home Magazine, on stands now.  My husband Frank and I fell in love with this older home in Madaket, near the most beautiful beach on the island, and began a renovation project to make this house perfect for relaxed summer living.  I consider it a blessing to live in a house that’s just big enough:  big enough to invite friends and family to join us for lazy weekends, and small enough to be manageable.  I call it my new “cottage living” phase of life.

 

I tell my clients that “a healthy home is the ultimate luxury,” and this house is both welcoming and healthy!  We carefully removed any building materials with lingering toxic off gassing, and refinished ceilings, walls, cabinetry and floors with nontoxic paints.  A state of the art ventilation system makes sure the air inside is as fresh and clean as the ocean breezes outside.  And of course, I decorated with all my favorite things, including my collection of nautical antiques.

Pick up a copy of Traditional Home  today.  I hope you enjoy your visit!

We’re featured in two Nantucket publications!

Please join me in enjoying articles about Dujardin Design in both Nantucket Today and Nantucket Home and Garden, on newsstands now!

Click on the Home and Garden cover image below to download our article in pdf (1.9mb)

 

Then join me to help create a “Blueprint for our Coast”: September 29th and 30th

 

Scientists, city planners, stewards of the environment and government officials will gather on Nantucket on Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th to discuss the impact of how we use our waterways.  The goal?  To explore new tools available to analyze current and anticipated uses of ocean and coastal areas, to achieve maximum social and economic benefits, and to ensure that the sea remains healthy.

Some of the things that impact our waterways are transportation (seaplanes, boats and ferries), fishing, pleasure boating, wind farms, aquaculture, and more.  Bringing all of these concerns together to create a coastal waters management strategy that includes ecosystem protection is one of the most important things we can do to protect the beauty of Nantucket, and allof the New England coast.

This conference is co-hosted by ReMain Nantucket (www.remainnantucket.org) and Egan Maritime Institute (www.eganmaritime.org) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (www.massoceanpartnership.org), The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org), Maria Mitchell Association (www.mmo.org),  the Urban Harbors Institute (www.uhi.umb.edu), UMass Boston and the UMass Boston Field Station.

Join me as we discuss how to knit together the shared edges between the blue water, the near shore, and the watershed!

CT Cottages & Gardens: Nantucket Style!

Join me in celebrating our eight page spread in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine.  The February issue of the magazine features my newly remodeled Nantucket home by the sea!  Completely “green” in design from front door to chimney top, all the building materials, cabinetry, flooring and finishes were carefully selected to be as healthy as they are beautiful.

Creating a home as fresh as the sea breezes that blow through the windows is easier than ever now, as eco-friendly choices in rugs, upholstered furniture, and drapery fabrics are rapidly expanding.  I invite you to pick up a copy of the magazine or visit their website for an “e-visit!’  I hope it feels like a little bit of summer for you.

The article is available now on Connecticut Cottages & Gardens’ website!

 

Connecticut Cottages and Gardens Magazine

Join me in celebrating our eight page spread in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Magazine.  The February issue of the magazine will feature my newly remodeled Nantucket home by the sea!  Completely “green” in design from front door to chimney top, all the building materials, cabinetry, flooring and finishes were carefully selected to be as healthy as they are beautiful.

Creating a home as fresh as the sea breezes that blow through the windows is easier than ever now, as eco-friendly choices in rugs, upholstered furniture, and drapery fabrics are rapidly expanding.  I invite you to pick up a copy of the magazine and drop in for a “visit!’  I hope it feels like a little bit of summer for you.

The article will be available on Connecticut Cottages & Gardens’ website after February 10th.

Practical Green Remodeling


Practical Green Remodeling: Down-to-Earth Solutions for Everyday Homes

Going green doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition.  It’s possible to make sustainable choices that result in a more energy-efficient home and healthier living spaces by incorporating ideas from Barry Katz’s new book Practical Green Remodeling: Down-to-Earth Solutions for Everyday Homes. (Published by The Taunton Press, 2010)

An architect and building professional who offers green building services for both residential and commercial projects, Barry has written a user-friendly book to guide novice and expert alike through ways to improve the home you live in.

Remodeling an existing house is always “greener” than building a new one: as Barry explains, “you are keeping significant amounts of material—lumber, hardwood flooring, copper tubing, cabinets—and continuing to use these resources rather than sending them to a landfill and replacing them with virgin material.”

He continues, “And you are continuing to live in a place where infrastructure—roads, sewers, utility lines—is already in place, rather than moving to a new sub-division where previously undeveloped land needs to be cleared, dug up, and paved over and where new water and sewer lines and electric, telephone and TV cables must be installed, all at great cost both financially and in the consumption of resources.”

This book covers the fundamentals of green remodeling and explains things in reader-friendly language that makes it a perfect guide for anyone updating or remodeling their home.

I’ve remodeled two waterfront homes and speak from experience: you can create the holistic house of your dreams without changing your address. This book can show you how.

Don’t Postpone Joy!

In my last blog post, I wrote about the renewal of mind, body and spirit that I experience at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts. One other thing that I always come away with is expressed in these three words: Don’t postpone joy!

It’s easy to feel stress in our daily lives. We all have to-do lists that seem to get longer as the day goes on. But we can’t live a healthy life without joy. So keep it on your calendar. Schedule time for the things, and the people, you love. Take a walk with your dad, catch a movie with your spouse, make time for a yoga class.

Do something joyful every day!