White Elephant Nantucket reimagined

Following on from the design firm’s multi-award winning renovation of White Elephant Palm Beach, the anticipated transformation of White Elephant Nantucket will create a bright, airy, residential feel that draws inspiration from Nantucket – its history, the quality of its natural light, its landscape – to breathe new life into the historic buildings and immerse guests in an authentic Nantucket vacation experience.

“Our intention with the redesign is to deliver the feeling of deep relaxation that comes with opening a window, looking out to the sea, and taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, smelling the salt air, boats softly rocking in their slips and the hum of children laughing on the beach,” said Elizabeth Lowrey, Principal at Elkus Manfredi Architects. “We want all the senses to be engaged and excited.”

Image credit: White Elephant Resorts / Elkus Manfredi Architects

Originally opened in the 1920s, White Elephant Nantucket began as a series of rustic lodges and has evolved into one of Nantucket’s most popular resort destinations. Elkus Manfredi is designing a complete renovation of the 54 guestroom and suite hotel and its 11 cottages. A redesigned lobby will set the tone for relaxed elegance, and the entire hotel will be filled with details that honour the colours, textures, and artistic legacy of the island, from the basket weave carpet design, to grass cloth wall coverings that evoke the dune grasses, to ceilings painted to match the colour of a Nantucket summer sky.

Signature touches like brass elephant knockers, elephant door and drawer pulls, and elephant needlepoint pillows will maintain the iconic brand. In recognition of Nantucket’s rich history of basket weaving and textile production, Elkus Manfredi is working with Bloomsburg, a family-run carpet mill based in Pennsylvania that is creating custom carpets inspired by the New England island’s iconic basket weave design.

All 11 cottages will be renovated and given individual themes inspired by native plants of Nantucket— Bayberry, Hydrangea, Daylily, Beachplum, Honeysuckle, Holly, Arrowwood, Marigold, Rose, and Snapdragon. Elkus Manfredi has developed a unique colour palette for each cottage from buttery yellows and pale lavender through to pale pink. The design team wanted it to feel as charming as being invited into the home of a long-time Nantucket resident who is always thinking of ways to freshen up the guest rooms.

A key element in the redesign is the development of an Artist-in-Residency program to source new locally inspired original art that will be placed throughout the hotel. This specially curated and commissioned collection is an Elkus Manfredi initiative with White Elephant Resorts and art consultant and curator, Emily Santangelo, who also collaborated with Elkus Manfredi on White Elephant Palm Beach. The new Artist-in-Residency program provides selected artists from around the world with travel expenses, meal allowances, accommodations, and everything they need to gather inspiration and source material to create new works for the collection. Artists chosen for the initial program include painters Renee Levin from New Jersey and Greta Van Campen from Maine, Pennsylvania-based photographer and installation artist Thomas Jackson, Swedish artist Clara Hallencruetz from Stockholm, and New England-focused watercolourist Mary Chandler from Connecticut.

Main image credit: White Elephant Resorts / Elkus Manfredi Architects