Florida Coastal Interior Design, Inspired by The Five-Star Weekend’s Dreamy Nantucket House

Have you watched The Five-Star Weekend on Peacock yet? I'll admit it — I tuned in for the story, but I stayed for the house. Hollis Shaw's Nantucket beach home might be the real star of that show, and if you found yourself pausing scenes just to study the wallpaper, you're in good company. As someone who has spent years practicing Florida coastal interior design, I watched that gorgeous, layered New England home and immediately started thinking: how would I bring this feeling to a home here in Orlando? Because here's the secret — you can capture everything that makes that house so special without your Florida home feeling like it's wearing a Cape Cod costume.

What Makes the Five-Star Weekend House So Special?

A little behind-the-scenes magic first, because I find this fascinating. The exterior scenes were filmed at a real waterfront estate on Nantucket overlooking Dionis Beach, but the interiors — that kitchen! those bathrooms! — were actually built on a soundstage in Los Angeles. The design team even photographed the actual ocean and printed it on an enormous backdrop wrapping the set, so the water is visible from the living room in every scene.

What makes the rooms feel so real is how they were furnished. Rather than ordering everything from a catalog, the set decorator gathered pieces from antique shops and small island boutiques, layering in art that connected to the characters' lives. Because Hollis's late husband loved birdwatching, birds became a quiet motif throughout the home. The walls got confident color — rich, saturated blues from Farrow & Ball and Benjamin Moore — and the bathrooms wear playful botanical and sailboat wallpapers.

In other words: nothing in that house is generic. Every room tells you who lives there.

Can Nantucket Style Work in a Florida Home?

Here's my honest answer: not if you copy it line for line. And that's actually good news.

New England coastal design is built around shelter. Those homes are cozy and enveloping because for much of the year, the weather outside is something you retreat from — the layered rugs, the deep upholstery, the rich wall colors all wrap you up against gray skies and cold wind.

Florida coastal living is the opposite. Our homes open outward. We have sunshine most of the year, lanais and patios we use in every season, and natural light that pours in from morning to evening. Florida coastal interior design isn't about retreating from the coast — it's about inviting it in.

So the goal isn't to recreate Hollis's house. It's to borrow its principles — the layering, the meaningful collections, the confident color — and let them breathe in our light, our climate, and our indoor-outdoor way of living.

How Do You Adapt Coastal Colors for Florida Coastal Interior Design?

The blues in that show are stunning — deep, moody, almost stormy. But here's something I've learned over many years of designing Florida homes: color doesn't behave the same way in our light. A saturated New England blue that feels cozy under gray skies can feel heavy under intense Florida sun.

A few principles I follow when bringing coastal color into Florida homes:

• Soften the saturation. Where Nantucket reaches for deep, stormy blues, I often reach for their sun-washed cousins — colors with the same soul, adjusted for our brighter light.

• Warm up the neutrals. Crisp white can turn glaring in Florida sun. Creamy whites, sandy taupes, and warm ivories keep rooms feeling relaxed instead of stark.

• Use bold color where the light is gentler. A powder room, a study, a hallway — these are wonderful places for that rich, dramatic blue you fell in love with on screen.

• Let green join the conversation. Florida coastal isn't just about the water — it's palms, live oaks, and gardens. Soft greens bridge your interiors to the landscape outside.

What's the Secret to a Collected (Not Decorated) Coastal Look?

This is my favorite lesson from that show, and it's one I've built my whole design philosophy around: the most beautiful rooms are personal.

The design team didn't choose art because the colors matched. They chose pieces that meant something to the character — and you can feel that through the screen. That's exactly what I tell my clients. Skip the mass-produced anchor above the sofa. Instead, frame the shells your grandchildren collected on Cocoa Beach. Display the serving platter that's been in your family for three generations. In my own home, orchids appear again and again — my mother adored them, and every bloom is a little conversation with her.

That's what makes a coastal home feel collected instead of decorated: the story comes first, and the style follows.

This is what I mean by letting coastal color breathe — crisp blues and creamy ivories keep the open living and kitchen space feeling light and airy, while a rich navy rug does the anchoring. All the soul of those deep Nantucket blues, adapted for the way we live (and the sunshine we live in) here in Florida.

Remember what I said about saving your boldest choices for smaller spaces? This powder room is exactly that — a geometric nautical wallpaper in teal and apricot, paired with a soft blue vanity. Just like the whimsical bathroom prints in the Five-Star Weekend house, it's a daily dose of delight in the space where you can be the most daring.

How Does Florida Coastal Interior Design Handle Outdoor Living?

Here's where we have the advantage, friends. Hollis's house looks out at the beach — but for much of the year, Nantucket residents are admiring that view from behind glass. In Florida, our outdoor rooms are true living space twelve months a year.

When I design a coastal-inspired Florida home, the lanai is never an afterthought. I carry the interior palette right through the sliders — the same blues, the same warm neutrals, the same layered textures in weather-friendly fabrics — so the patio feels like the home's most relaxed room rather than a separate zone. Add generous seating, soft lighting for warm evenings, and greenery that echoes the landscape, and you've created something even that gorgeous Nantucket house can't offer: a coastal retreat you never have to close up for the season.

If The Five-Star Weekend left you dreaming about a home with that same layered, personal, coastal soul — I'd love to help you create it, Florida-style. Reach out through my contact page and let's talk about what your home's story could look like.