Faraway Martha’s Vineyard Takes Cues From Island Flora

Edgartown icon the Kelly House is revived as a luxuriously laid-back garden party.

The Pelican Club is the hotel's outdoor sushi restaurant surrounded by greenery, flowers, and lanterns.

Faraway Martha's Vineyard opens in Edgartown this season, yet it's housed in a building that's been an island institution since 1742. Blue Flag Partners acquired the Kelley House—one of the nation's oldest hotels—in 2020 and has been busy reimagining the Dock Street property while paying tribute to its past. The developer's second hospitality venture, following Faraway Nantucket, Faraway Martha's Vineyard has a new pool at its center and takes cues from the island's flora.

"We were immediately drawn to Martha's Vineyard's inseparable association with flowers and gardens on the island and the free spirits that attend to them," says Brad Guidi, managing partner at Blue Flag Partners, who collaborated with design firm Workshop/APD to set the aesthetic. With a core color palette of muted sands, burnt sienna, rose, sage green, and deep teal, guest rooms feature wide-plank oak flooring and custom leather headboards with textured wallcoverings that evoke the property's relaxed, bohemian vibe.

Two guest rooms were removed to create the two-story lobby where green leather sofas are paired with upholstered chairs and custom rugs based on historical patterns. / Courtesy photo

Light fixtures are designed to be residential and soft—one fixture is made of draped linen while the bedside lamps are comprised of dozens of small tassels. / Courtesy photo

Midcentury-inspired furnishings are both custom and antique-market finds, and bespoke light fixtures were designed to be residential and soft, says Andrew Kline, Workshop/APD associate principal, "bathrooms are fresh with white subway tile, brass fittings, and fun, patterned ceramic floor tiles."

Artists and floral designers were commissioned to create custom pieces that draw on floras for the two-story lobby and lounge, where dried botanicals spill over walls of bookshelves and floor-to-ceiling stage curtains flank oversize cabinetry, adding a certain level of drama and mystique.

First published in the print edition of Boston Home's Summer 2023 issue, with the headline, "Garden Party."

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