Each of the homes I’ve designed and decorated over the years holds a special place in my heart. My memories include each home’s unique location and the vistas that surround it, the way the light slants into the rooms, its architecture and elegant features (or the design plans that created columns, fireplaces and cornices exactly where they needed to be), as well as the time I spent working with the home’s owners. So often, a working relationship begins with a blueprint, and ends in a friendship.
A home that has catapulted to fame in the news (recently featured in both Forbes Magazine and the Boston Globe) is the Russell Phelon estate on Nantucket. When Mr. Phelon purchased the home on 69 acres in 1997, he intended it as a family get-away. Known on the island as the Swain’s Neck Compound, after the private peninsula it inhabits (known on old maps as Swain’s Neck), it was sold for a then staggering sum of $7.15 million. Mr. Phelon passed away in March, sadly, and the family is listing the home for sale. It’s asking price? $59 million, or 725% more than the price he paid 15 years ago.
So the home I knew intimately then is on the market now, and I wanted to share some photos of one of the most spectacular homes I know.
I hope you enjoy this glimpse into a special and elegant home. I’ve enjoyed remembering the time I spent there!
All photography: Terry Pommett