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This Martha's Vineyard Beach Cottage Offers a Crash Course in the Art of Easy, Breezy
Featuring well-worn materials, unfussy antiques, and a sandy-feet-welcome policy, this retreat perfects casual, come-as-you-are style.
You might say Phoebe Cole-Smith was born to own her Martha’s Vineyard cottage. She did, after all, first visit the island when she was two weeks old. “My grandparents lived in Ohio but owned houses in Martha’s Vineyard that have been passed down for 75 years. It was a way to curb my grandmother’s homesickness for her native Boston,” says Phoebe, a farmer-chef and founder of Dirt Road Farm. She and her children, Walker and Sophie Cole, shared countless summer days at the family home in the island’s village of Edgartown. In 2014, Phoebe, her children (now grown), and her husband, Mike Smith, decided they were ready to dip their toes into purchasing something of their own on the beloved island. “We settled on Chappaquiddick because it’s a bit wild and remote. It’s also only a short ferry ride into Edgartown, which totally appeased Sophie and Walker,” she says.
As luck would have it, they found not one but three cottages on “Chappy,” as the locals call it. The trio of tiny 1930s structures had previously been guest cottages for a much larger home and were sold as a single unit. “With grown children and lots of guests coming and going, it’s just right,” says Phoebe. Careful not to undo the historic charm, she took a light touch to the cottages, filling them with a pieced-together collection of furniture and artwork, much of it straight from her family’s Martha’s Vineyard home. “My grandparents and mother had a very artful way of making simple items look beautiful,” she says. Yet another family tradition that’s going strong. Here, her "rules" for creating the perfect nostalgic meets modern, casual meets pretty cottage.
Backyard Fun
Homeowners Phoebe Cole-Smith and Mike Smith engage in a friendly game of croquet with her children, Walker and Sophie Cole outside of the 1930s shingled cottage, named “the Anchor.”
Champion the Old
Rather than rip out the original humble materials, such as the exposed-lathe walls or beadboard ceilings, Phoebe kept the original bones of the houses blessedly intact. She patched rotted spots as needed and spiffed up the surfaces with fresh coats of paint. (The interiors were previously a dark stained wood.) On the porch, for example, the floors were lightly sanded and waxed, the siding brightened up with white, the ceiling painted a cheery shade of aqua, and the shutters elevated with a stately blue. “It’s all the same here,” says Phoebe. “Same doors, same floors, same old screens—same everything. I just revived it.”
Family Ties: The wonderfully weathered life ring was a quirky gift to Phoebe from her sister Mary long before the coastal cottage came along.
Display Nature Finds
No surface is off-limits for finds from the latest treasure hunt. Shells and sea glass collected on the latest beach walk dry off on the windowsill.
Give Dogs Free Rein
If it can withstand wily pups, then it can also handle drippy bathing suits and sandy feet. That was Phoebe’s philosophy as she chose textiles for the cottages, where her dogs Glen, a rescue, and Dixie, a Jack Russell terrier, are inevitably the life of the party. Furnishings, including the vintage rattan sofa from Phoebe’s grandparents’ house on Martha’s Vineyard, are upholstered in durable Sunbrella and hemp linen fabrics. Meanwhile, most floors feature inexpensive rush rugs: a seagrass floor covering pieced together via one-foot interwoven squares.
SHOP RUSH RUGS
Curate Coastal Collections
Family Ties: The sailboat weather vane from Phoebe’s grandfather’s Martha’s Vineyard home now graces the mantel.
Embrace the Quirky Architecture
Exposed support beams and joists double as shelving, creating a no-fuss way to display books, mementos, and knickknacks.
Carve Out Cozy Sitting Spots
The small living room is a crowd pleaser thanks to plenty of places to perch, including this tucked away table and captain's chair.
Family Ties: A painting by Phoebe’s sister, Alexandra Thompson, depicts their mother swimming in the chilly Vineyard water.
Nestled in a corner by a window, the well-loved wicker table is a perfect perch for playing cards.
SHOP WICKER TABLES
Make Spaces Multi-Purpose
“The Anchor” cottage’s hardworking screened-in porch serves various functions throughout the course of a day. It’s part dining room, part game room, and part cocktail lounge, thanks to lightweight furniture, like foldable directors' chairs, that can easily be reconfigured. “It doesn’t hurt that it also has the best views. People naturally want to gather here,” adds Phoebe.
Layer in the Familiar
“Most of the furniture here was inherited one way or another,” says Phoebe of the motley crew of pieces throughout. That mismatch solidifies the quaint aesthetic and connects her to childhood memories. In the kitchen, her grandparents’ antique table serves as a quirky work space. (The tuck-under seat brings to mind bygone days of “swinging” from it.) “Even though this isn’t the house I grew up with, it all feels very familiar.”
Forgo Closed Doors
Open storage puts dishware, pantry goods, and cocktail supplies in plain sight and arm’s reach, so even visitors feel at home.
Pick a Palette with Patina
While the house doesn’t feel capital-D “Decorated” or overtly beach-house themed, it does feel casually cohesive, thanks largely to a just-loose-enough, weathered-feeling color scheme of faded nautical hues. (Think warm coral instead of primary red, or a buttery yellow instead of bold.) Here, an assortment of totes and hats adds texture to the wall when not beach-bound.
Lend Some Personality to the Guest Rooms
“You’ll be in the yellow room” sounds so much more cheerful than “down the hall, second door to the left,” don’t you think? Some guest rooms have taken on an unplanned accent-color theme: red, yellow, blue-green. What’s uniform, though: easy-to-clean and interchangeable white bed linens and durable hooked wool and cotton rag rugs. A red frame punches up a beloved map from longtime friends.
Make Guests Feel Welcome
In the bedrooms, baskets and compact chests of drawers give company a place to stash a weekend wardrobe. “I’d rather guests feel at home than shown-off for,” says Phoebe. The exposed rafters make the perfect spot for Walker to stash his fishing rods. “When storage is limited, you have to get creative,” says Phoebe.
Literally Keep Things Easy, Breezy
No fussy window treatments here. Phoebe chose simple rod pocket hemstitch curtains (find similar ones at vermontcountrystore.com) “just like my mom used” for the bedrooms.
SHOP CURTAINS
Use Worry-Free Materials
In the bathroom, industrial elements such as the deep-basin sink and subway tile shower were selected for their durability. The floor features durable, outdoor-friendly marine paint in a cheery shade (Citron by Farrow & Ball).
Take Time to Enjoy the View
Phoebe, Walker, and Sophie enjoy cocktails against a picture-perfect Martha’s Vineyard sunset.
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