ABOUT
Melanie is one of the East Coast’s emerging real estate and interior designers with over twelve years of experience in interior design and real estate sales. She creates highly individualized environments clients experience and remember. Combining function and beauty, Melanie guides clients to make smart investment decisions, adding value to their lives every step of the way.
Melanie Gowen was named best Interior Designer for Nantucket in 2023, and she was chosen as a What’s New, What's Next Ambassador for 2023. Melanie's work and expertise has been featured in Maine Home + Design, Veranda, Flower magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She has also been featured by Monogram Appliance for her innovative use of state of the art appliances.
Melanie moved to Nantucket to establish her design and real estate business in coastal New England, where her lifelong love for property design had begun. She has a deep understanding for the island of Nantucket’s unique history, neighborhoods, architecture and community. Before practicing design professionally, Melanie worked in financial and strategy consulting. She believes in the value that beautiful, smart design and branded marketing play in the success of real estate sales and rentals. Melanie works with clients across the country, and when not in Nantucket, she lives in her home in Chevy Chase, MD.
Melanie attended the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC and graduated from Cornell University in 2009 with a BS in Interior Design. In Italy, she studied International Marketing and became Wine Spectator Certified. She was a member of the Cornell Sailing Team. When she steps way from the studio or job site, she loves jogging outside, playing tennis, entertaining with family and friends, and spending time with her dog Stella.
MINDfulness for preservation & AFFORDABLE HOUSING
As a designer and realtor, Melanie’s passion is the way people live in houses and making a difference by design. She cares deeply about two important issues that affect all geographies and especially the island of Nantucket: historic preservation and affordable housing.
Melanie first began volunteering for the Nantucket Preservation Trust as a docent at historic house tours. After witnessing firsthand the impact of educating the public with respect to opportunities for saving historic structures, she dedicated her involvement to preserving Nantucket's unique sense of place. Melanie serves as a board member of the Nantucket Preservation Trust and committee member for the Annual August Fête. She is happy to speak with anyone interested in building, renovating, and buying with preservation in mind.
When Melanie first moved to Nantucket, she experienced personally a shortage of available affordable housing options. Thirty miles out to sea, Nantucket's island community fabric is stitched from the delicate interplay between vacationers, year round residents, summer residents, students, professionals and tradespeople...many diverse walks of life. We all need each other, and the affordability of the island continues to erode. Melanie is firmly committed to building solutions for the year round workforce population. From teaching a class to first time homebuyers, to giving back a portion of her own cottage's rental income to Housing Nantucket, Melanie cares about creatively giving back and hopes to share opportunities for anyone else who would like to get involved. She is member of the Housing Nantucket Housing Advisory Board.
