Nantucket Looms

In the early 1960s a reawakening was happening on Nantucket, a destination rich in history and seafaring lore. Into this world stepped Andy Oates and Bill Euler, one skilled in the fine arts and the other in the art of hospitality. In 1968 they opened Nantucket Looms, which specialized in needlepoint, crewelwork, handwoven fabrics, and local artwork. It is here that they forged their Nantucket cottage style aesthetic. This modest homespun charm held great appeal to such twentieth-century tastemakers as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bunny Mellon, interior designer Billy Baldwin, Hubert de Givenchy, and Chanel Inc. Nantucket Looms launched an interior design studio in 1998 to much acclaim. The featured recent home interiors have a sophisticated, comfortable ambience that exemplifies the company's style. They include such elements as wooden planked floors, natural fiber rugs, muted color palettes in shades of blues, grays, greens, and whites, timeless furnishings, and handwoven textiles, and are adorned with local artwork, lightship baskets, and carved bird decoys. This modern approach to homespun living can be applied everywhere; it is a style now embraced in the work of many leading interior designers.