Design in Depth: The Houses of the Vineyard

By Stacy Kunstel

Last night ABC Family premiered a new reality-meets-scripted television show called The Vineyard that follows the lives of a handful of slick-looking twenty-somethings over the course of a summer. While I’m a huge fan of the island of Martha’s Vineyard, the closest I get to watching reality TV is Secrets of the Manor House on PBS.

My parents are baby boomers, so I’m not old, but it’s not likely I’m the target audience for The Vineyard, but I can’t help but think how you could combine these two shows into something fantastic mixing summer on the Vineyard with the islands most beautiful homes like this waterfront house in Vineyard Haven designed by architect Patrick Ahearn

Photos by Michael Partenio

Or this upisland home owned by interior designer Gil Walsh.

I’m sure some tale could be spun around my favorite showhouse room on the Vineyard designed by Mary Rentschler. 

Or this contemporary home by Mark Hutker.

And surely a home like this one designed by Louise Brooks in Edgartown is more interesting than whether two sort-of actors are going to hook up in the sand after they’ve had one too many shots.

I did DVR The Vineyard and will at least watch a bit of it to see if I catch glimpses of favorite places on the island. Who knows? Maybe I’ll like the show as much as I like the homes there.