We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.
When Sarah Henley’s clients told her they wanted to store 40 pairs of shoes in their Martha’s Vineyard mudroom, the principal of Henley Design and her studio director Abbey Durkin recreated exactly what that would look like so they could measure the storage out to the T. Because that’s the beauty of building a home from scratch: Everything—boot racks included—can be made to fit your life perfectly.
A place to stash outerwear was a must for the homeowners, a family of four that loves to take advantage of the surrounding nature. The property is situated at the end of a long dirt road ensconced by low, scrubby oak trees and moss-covered forest pathways. A quick five-minute paddle board across the private pond out back takes you to a strip of beach, and beyond that, the ocean. “The first time I went to this site, I was like, where am I?” says Henley. “It feels like you’re on another planet.”
Henley was happy to have been brought onto the project so early in the construction phase. Greenwater Architects had broken ground on the house around nine months prior to Henley Design stepping in. And while that sounds like a long time, many of the interior finishes had yet to be selected. Ahead, the designer answers our most pressing questions about the charming new-build and, in the process, gets us in the mood for summer.
What were some of the design challenges you faced during this project?
We were working on it during Covid, so there was a lot of nervousness around price increases for building costs and materials. On Martha’s Vineyard, it’s already a huge challenge. There are only so many subcontractors who work on the island. The front pavilion was originally specified with a true greenhouse feel with glass panes on the ceiling but it got scaled back to being just skylights, so that was one example of where we tweaked the design to go with a more cost effective option.
And this greenhouse-type room, that’s where you enter the house?
Yes! It’s off the driveway. You walk through the pavilion and then that flows into the mudroom (or you could go straight through the space and end up in the outdoor sitting area). That’s definitely something that I credit to Greenwater Architects. It’s a departure from most homes on Martha’s Vineyard, which have a little bit more of a traditional flow.
And it seems to really operate as a greenhouse.
We were going for this mix of a solarium, but also taking inspiration from orangeries in California wine country—a vineyard type of feel. This is also a space where the homeowners entertain. We styled it as a potting shed for day-to-day use but when they host, that center table can be a spot to rest a drink and people can perch at the metal counter.
What was the first thing you bought for this house?
Really early on, we went with the client to the Brimfield Antique Flea Market and purchased architectural salvaged items to use in the construction like the interior window in the dining space and a console we turned into a powder bathroom vanity.
Is there a detail the homeowner had to convince you on?
The wife is very much a believer in odd numbers. For example, she wanted three kitchen pendant lights instead of two. It was tricky, we had to hang the center fixture through one of the scissor trusses.
Something else she asked for was chicken wire mesh on the cabinet fronts in the mudroom. She loves raising chickens, so her term of endearment for this property became the “lobster coop” (a play on chicken coop, but because it’s Martha’s Vineyard, it became lobster).
There’s no shortage of cozy seating in this house—even next to the dining table.
They wanted this great room for entertaining (that’s the purpose of this home, gathering) but they also wanted nooks so that people could retreat with a book or play a game of cards off to the sides while still feeling connected. This dining room nook has the old antique window we got at Brimfield. It creates this interesting connection to the mudroom hallway. When you enter the home, you can peer into the great room [through it], it’s like a teaser.
Is this game table one of those spots for people to escape?
Mahjong is the game for this family, so we designed a custom table. It’s a step down from the living room and has sliding barn doors so if a group is playing and another group is watching a movie, you can have a sound barrier. This space was also designed during the pandemic, so we added a desk and a hidden printer.
Are there any new artisans you discovered during this project that you’re glad you found?
The metal fabricator who made the shelving in the pavilion, J.A. Metalcraft, is now a workroom we frequently use for other projects. We had to do some hunting because metal fabricators are very overpriced around the Cape and even the Boston area. We brought him down from New Hampshire. He was like, “Yeah, I’ll take the ferry down there.”
The primary suite looks very zen, what inspired this space?
The walls are a warm, light taupe and it has the same vaulted ceiling concept as in the great room. We wanted it to be a sanctuary (you can’t see it here but there are sliding doors that lead to the back deck that look out onto the wooded part of the property). The client had pulled a lot of images from spas and bathrooms she’d seen, so that slotted sliding door was something she came to the architect with. There’s a lot of Scandinavian and Asian influence in the design throughout but we tied it all together with those warm oak tones.
The bunk room looks perfect for summer sleepovers—is that a wardrobe underneath the bed?
It’s a full depth closet. Oftentimes you’ll see a lofted bunk bed over another bed, but we kind of flipped it in this one, so there’s a queen bed facing the loft, and then underneath the loft is storage. It feels a little bit less like everybody’s stacked on top of each other.
I’m guessing everyone just hangs outside all day. What were your priorities when decorating the outdoors?
We had to plan for the swinging daybed very early on with the architect. With the other furnishings, it was about figuring out the layout and creating seating groups that are conversational but also loungey. We didn’t want anyone to walk into the back of one of the sofas, so we decided to flank those French doors so there’s this nice flow into the yard and the woods beyond.
