Weathered shingles, hydrangeas spilling over garden walls, rose-covered cottages and long stretches of Atlantic beach. Nantucket is unmistakably coastal, but its appeal goes well beyond the view.
An aesthetic influenced by the island’s beaches, landscape and rich New England heritage, its houses have evolved over generations, and their interiors carry that history with them. Antiques sit alongside wicker, dark timber with cheerful pattern, the beautiful with the practical. There’s polish, but perfection isn’t really the point.
For Coco Tully, Founder and Creative Director of Cote Interiors, that spirit holds particular appeal. We talk to Coco about looking beyond the conventions of coastal style, bringing a little Nantucket to Australian living, and the lighting that finds its place within the story.
Nantucket has such a distinctive design language. What is it about the aesthetic that speaks to you?
I’ve always been drawn to American East Coast interiors. I went to boarding school near Boston, and that’s really where my love for the style began.
If the Hamptons is the polished older sister, Nantucket is her younger, more playful one. She’s still incredibly chic, but she’s probably come home from the beach with sandy feet, there are wet towels hanging somewhere, and she isn’t overly worried about everything being perfect.
“There’s history and tradition, but there’s also a real sense of fun.”
That’s what I love about it. Nantucket style isn’t really about decorating a house to look “coastal”. It comes from the way people live there. Timber shingles that weather in the salt air, beautiful old houses that evolve over generations, furniture that is collected rather than perfectly matched, and there might be a stripe, a floral, a ticking, a little wicker, an antique and something slightly unexpected all living happily in the same room.
To me, the best Nantucket interiors feel nostalgic, colourful and sophisticated without taking themselves too seriously.
Above: Classic coastal references meet relaxed Australian living at Casa on Noble.
How do you capture that Nantucket spirit in an Australian home?
Australia has this incredible light, a very relaxed way of living and such a strong connection between indoors and out.
To bring Nantucket style into Australian homes, we take the bones of that classic American coastal aesthetic with beautiful detailing, stripes, checks, timber, and woven furniture, but then introduce warmer, more natural materials, artworks by Australian artists, relaxed linens, vintage pieces and a touch more colour and personality.
Above: At Casa on Shelly, woven wicker, a striped bedhead and touches of blush and green create a more playful expression of coastal style, with the ‘Wimberley’ Single Library Wall Light by Marie Flanigan.
Casa on Shelly feels particularly connected to this story. How did Nantucket find its way into the project?
The owners of Casa on Shelly have a holiday home in Nantucket, so we had this lovely opportunity to create a subtle connection between these two places that mean so much to their family.
In the guest bedroom, we used a whale wallpaper as a little nod to Nantucket. It isn’t something you necessarily walk into the room and immediately understand, and that’s exactly why I love it. It means something to them.
The most interesting homes aren’t a perfect representation of one aesthetic; they tell the story of the people who live there. A reference to Nantucket, Belize, a favourite hotel or a family holiday can sit alongside something distinctly Australian. Those layers are what give a home personality.
And Casa on Shelly is still unmistakably a Northern Beaches home. The natural materials, locally made pieces, relaxed furniture and incredible ocean views all root it here.
Above: Perched above Sydney’s coastline, Casa on Shelly captures the ease of a Northern Beaches holiday home.
Above: Warm timber and earthy green sit alongside AERIN’s ‘Benit’ Medium Sculpted Pendant, its organic form adding another layer to the dining room at Casa on Shelly.
How do you use lighting to bring a space together?
Lighting is one of the first things we think about and one of the last things you experience. It has an enormous influence on how a home feels.
“I often describe decorative lighting as the jewellery of a room. You might have quite a simple backdrop and then introduce a beautiful lantern over an island, sconces in a hallway or a gorgeous lamp on an antique chest and suddenly the whole room has another layer.”
But it’s not only about the fixture itself. A home feels infinitely better when the lighting comes from different heights and sources rather than relying on a grid of downlights overhead.
We love wall lights, picture lights, lamps and pendants because they create pools of light. At night, you want to be able to turn off the overheads and have the house take on this completely different mood. That warmth is incredibly important in coastal interiors. Light and bright during the day can also transition into warm and inviting in the evening.
Above: Lighting at different heights creates layers of warmth at Casa on Noble. A pair of Ralph Lauren Home ‘Annette’ Large Picture Lights help this light-filled coastal interior take on a softer mood as the day changes.
What kinds of lighting are you drawn to for a Nantucket-inspired interior?
I gravitate towards pieces that feel as though they could have been there for a long time but still work within a contemporary home.
Lanterns are an obvious favourite. They bring instant architecture to a space and have that wonderful East Coast reference without screaming “nautical”.
I also love antique brass and bronze, clear or seeded glass, pleated or paper shades and more traditional wall lights.
"Ralph Lauren Home, Thomas O’Brien and Chapman & Myers are designers we return to again and again because they understand that balance between heritage and modernity so well."
The trick is in the mix, though. If every fitting is traditional, the house can start to feel like a reproduction. I might use a beautiful classic lantern in an entry and then something much simpler or more sculptural nearby.
Above: The Piatto Large Pendant by Thomas O’Brien brings a contemporary and more sculptural counterpoint to the traditional references of Casa on Shelly's Nantucket-inspired interior.
Beyond lighting, what materials, colours and textures help create that sense of relaxed coastal character?
Natural materials always. Linen, cotton, cane, rattan, sisal, jute, timber and stone create that relaxed foundation. Then I like to layer in materials with a little polish, like aged brass, glass, lacquer, ceramic, and marble, so it doesn’t become too rustic.
I’m also a big believer that coastal interiors need warmth. Blue and white will forever be beautiful, but I love blue so much more when there’s chocolate brown beside it. Or tobacco, ochre, faded red, butter yellow or a murky green. They stop a coastal palette from becoming predictable.
Nantucket style gives you permission to be a little more playful than the traditional Hamptons look.
A stripe with a floral, a check with a small print, a woven piece beside something tailored – those combinations make a room feel collected. The magic is often in putting together things that aren’t an obvious match.
For someone drawn to the Nantucket aesthetic, where would you suggest they begin?
Start with how you want the house to feel. Relaxed. Welcoming. A little nostalgic. Made for people to walk in barefoot. Beautiful enough for a dinner party but comfortable enough that nobody panics when a child climbs onto the sofa.
Then build the layers. Invest in natural materials. Mix old and new. Add a stripe somewhere. Bring in cane or wicker. Use lamps and wall lights instead of relying solely on downlights. Introduce one or two darker timber pieces to ground all the softer colours.
"There’s something charming about a home that feels as though it has evolved over time. Nantucket interiors have that wonderful sense of history, even when they’re new."
You also don’t need anchors, shells or obvious nautical motifs to make a house feel connected to the coast. If anything, the more subtle you can be, the better. Although I obviously make an exception for a statement whale wallpaper.
Above: Wall lights add both function and character at Casa on Shelly, with the 'Clarkson' Single Pivoting Sconce by AERIN bedside and Classic Swing Arm Wall Lamp by Studio VC creating a quiet reading nook by the window.
To discover more from Coco Tully and Cote Interiors, follow @coteinteriors on Instagram or visit coteinteriors.com.
Photography by Nat Spada.