In colors reserved for a fantastical escape, interior designer Nina Liddle creates an oasis of serenity on Nantucket.

“From tiny, tiny waves of joy, one gets to the ocean of happiness, which is called bliss.” — Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

For anyone who has dreamed of an underwater world where mermaids lie in repose and Neptune warriors compete for the sirens’ attention, it is a landscape full of romance, fantasy and sweeping emotions. Yet, beyond the drama, the myth extracts a sense of serenity where anyone could imagine finding the chance to float away upon the peace of this faraway world. On Nantucket, known as the Faraway Land, from the Wampanoag word “Natockete,” the concept of getting away and leaving the world we know in our wake, is common practice, especially during the warmest months in New England.

This magical summer playground greets visitors as they first arrive with the bucolic and iconic Brant Point, and its charming lighthouse and adjacent beach full of treasure seekers. This harbinger of everything to come on Nantucket is a perfect emblem of a preppy New England summer. The weathered lighthouse, squat and sturdy, with a patina only acquired by the weathering of the winter storms, stretches out at the end of its inimitable gangway, as though it is reaching out, to wave at passengers aboard a variety of vessels, like an eager child in July.