Martha’s Vineyard has been famous with summer vacationers like Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama. Menemsha Beach, a 100-square-mile summer colony located six miles south of Cape Cod, is a popular destination for sailing, fishing, and surfing.
When Keith McNally, a New York City restaurateur, settles down for the summer at his Chilmark farm of four acres in Chilmark, he doesn’t go out to sea but instead works the land. McNally, his wife Alina, and their five children share the farm with several Berkshire pigs. They also have goats, sheep, and lambs. There are also free-range chickens, ducks, and Tamworth pigs. McNally and Alina like to keep their farm low-key, even though they can host some great dinner parties. They also have famous neighbors who are invited to the party. McNally says, “I need to make my food because I am always around people eating food.” He has even started making his own goat’s cheese. I often cook for parties but primarily for my family.
Hibiscus outside the berry gardens
McNally founded Martha’s Vineyard by accident in the summer of 1976. He had just moved to New York City after a stint in London. His goal was to become a filmmaker. He spent a weekend in Hyannis, Massachusetts, that summer. I had bought a ticket for the ferry to Nantucket so that I could ride my bicycle. “But the people getting off the Martha’s Vineyard Ferry seemed more diverse and less WASPy,” McNally recalls smilingly. “I changed my ticket to go to the Vineyard,” McNally said. He explored the island on a bicycle and slept at youth hostels or the beach in Menemsha.
After 15 years and the sale of four restaurants, McNally bought Windy Gates Farm using money he had made from selling his first three restaurants, Odeon, Cafe Luxembourg, and Nell’s. He was already well-known in New York City circles as a restaurateur who created restaurants that looked so authentic they were like stage sets: the zinc counters and red leather banquettes, the bistro glasses, the tobacco-stained walls. McNally used the same anthropological approach in renovating his Martha’s Vineyard Farm in 1991. He enlisted the same artisans and electricians he had worked with on his restaurants and some local talent to make the cedar-shingled farmhouse appear as if it’d been there forever, untouched.
I wanted it to look more polished and designed, but this always requires more work
McNally explains that the renovations were therapeutic for him after a recent divorce. The doorframes were made to fit the doors that McNally had bought at flea markets, not the other way around. The floors and furniture are made from reclaimed pine. One of the children’s bedrooms features a berth-like wooden bed that pays homage to the maritime tradition of the island. A wheel from the ship’s helm is carved into the head of the bed. Furniture such as farm tables, French Bistro chairs, rattan couches, and rope beds was found at local flea markets across France.
The walls of one children’s room are plaster, with a vintage rope bed, rugs, and carpet
McNally’s attention to detail is evident here as well. The Windy Gates Farmhouse interiors are sparse, in keeping with its simple spirit. The decoration is kept to a minimum. The walls are also not adorned with much art, except for a few works by his late in-law Albert Johnson, some vintage sconces sourced from Brimfield’s market, and Audubon Society posters. The signatures of McNally are everywhere, including wainscoting and wide-plank flooring, as well as tea-stained wall surfaces and an L-shaped banquette that circles the long farm table.
Tour restauranteur Keith McNally’s cozy house in Martha’s vineyard
The McNallys use this table often during the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. They also use it often in the summer on their farm. Chilmark’s windswept farmland is the perfect escape from city life. The McNallys can save money on food because they have chickens, pigs, and lambs. McNally is proud to say they use their bacon and ham for breakfast.
Daughter Alice and the family’s hens outside the guest cottage.
Orchards are home to apples, peaches, and plums. There’s also a berry patch with blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. There’s also a large vegetable garden full of asparagus, Sun Gold tomato, cucumbers, and okra. Also, there are peppers, fennels, haricots, verges, okras, and peppers. Yes, compost is also available.
McNally said, “It is completely self-contained.” “We never need to go anywhere.”
