Meet Melanie
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 spends time 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.
SAY HELLO TO CALLIE
Callie joins the Melanie Gowen Home + Design team as a Design Assistant, bringing a fresh perspective, a sharp eye for detail, and a deep appreciation for timeless style. A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, she holds a B.S. in Marketing Strategy. During her time at UNCW, Callie was actively involved in Alpha Delta Pi, the Real Estate Investment Club, and the Cameron Executive Network, experiences that strengthened her collaborative spirit and business insight.
Having grown up in a small town, Callie developed an early love for preservation and the character of well-crafted spaces. She spends much of her free time curating vintage and antique pieces, dreaming of one day incorporating them into a home of her own. Travel has also played a key role in shaping her design sensibilities, exposing her to a wide range of aesthetics, materials, and architecture.
At Melanie Gowen Home + Design, Callie supports the creative process from concept to execution—whether coordinating behind the scenes or helping bring a vision to life. She approaches every project with energy, curiosity, and a passion for thoughtful design.
Outside of work, Callie enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying new restaurants, shopping around town, going to the beach, and long walks around the island.
SAY HELLO TO JANELLE
With nearly a decade of experience as an interior designer and project manager, Janelle joins the Melanie Gowen Home + Design team as the Director of Interior Operations. Utilizing her skills in organization, creating workflow efficiencies, and planning, she keeps the implementation phase of each project, and the office as a whole, running smoothly.
Janelle currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, but has lived in several cities along the east coast including Boston and D.C. She enjoys exploring neighborhoods, allowing both the urban and natural environments to inform her creativity and passion for architecture, art and design. She loves to be immersed in the culture of a place and always prefers to “do as the locals do.” Originally from Connecticut, Janelle’s New England roots allow her to connect with Melanie’s historic design ethos.
Janelle graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a degree in Architecture; however, has always maintained a focus in interiors to honor her obsession with details and the human experience- first specializing in commercial and retail and now transitioning to residential. In addition to working with Melanie, Janelle runs a small business, Jane Home Studio, selling home goods and a luxury candle collection entirely developed by her.
Janelle stays grounded by spending her time at yoga or pilates and going for long walks. Art has always been a large part of her life; she especially loves crochet, painting, and designing pattern repeats. She is co-chair of her family book club and often spends her weekends at community events around Bushwick to contribute and give back to her neighborhood.
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.
