White Elephant Nantucket reveals details of new look

Elkus Manfredi Architects has drawn on the history, landscapes and artistic legacy of Nantucket for this property-wide restoration and renovation project.

Locally inspired design

The iconic White Elephant hotel first opened in Nantucket in the 1920s when local socialite Elizabeth T. Ludwig dreamed up this harbourfront resort showcasing the best of the locale.

Just as the resort marks its 100th year, the property enters a new era with the completion of a renovation spanning the 54-room and -suite harbourside hotel and its 11 garden cottages.

Elizabeth Lowrey, Principal at Elkus Manfredi Architects, led the redesign of the resort, with inspiration taken from the history, quality of light, natural landscapes, colours, textures and artistic legacy that define Nantucket.

The leader in artisan-crafted and responsibly sourced home furnishings, Arhaus, then led the property’s exterior refresh, providing teak and wicker furnishings for the resort’s outdoor spaces.

All materials and finishes throughout the property have been updated with a focus on remaining authentic to place. For the resort’s carpets and textiles, Pennsylvania-based carpet mill Bloomsburg drew on the island’s history of basket weaving.

Updated accommodation and public spaces

The hotel’s 54 rooms and suites, ranging in size from 375 to 450 sq ft, are all individually designed, with a coastal colour palette, rattan textiles, white oak desks, grass cloth wall coverings and scalloped headboards and lampshades.

The 11 cottages within the resort, spanning from 400 to 900 sq ft, are then individually styled according to the plants that are indigenous to Nantucket. Each cottage takes one plant as its inspiration for the colour palette and artwork, and they are all set in newly landscaped gardens.

Other areas of the hotel to receive a redesign include the lobby, which has been reimagined with an expanded retail space, more approachable reception area and a centrepiece artwork by the Israeli painter Orit Fuchs.

New artwork also features throughout the corridors and accommodation as the result of a new artist in residency programme created by New York based art consultant and curator Emily Santangel in partnership with the hotel.