Homes»The Power of Nature

The Power of Nature

Drawing its energy from the sun and wind, this newly built off-the-grid cottage combines the charm of old Nantucket with state-of-the-art sustainable design.

“The existing house was four nailed-together shacks,” Alan recalls. “One was a Nantucket barber shop that otherwise would have been torn down; another had been a gas station. They were uninsulated, with different rooflines, and in pretty bad shape.”

Photographer Annie Schlecter, Writer Susan Heeger, Stylist Olga Naiman

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Original Structure

“Nantucketers don’t throw things away,” he adds. Alan began summering on that former whaling island in 1988 and moved there full-time in 2002. Four years later, 7 acres on a smaller island nearby came up for sale. “The existing house was four nailed-together shacks,” Alan recalls. “One was a Nantucket barber shop that otherwise would have been torn down; another had been a gas station. They were uninsulated, with different rooflines, and in pretty bad shape.”