When Melonie Parker opens the door to her newly rebuilt bungalow on Pennacook Avenue in Oak Bluffs, the first thing you notice isn’t the bright hues, the rich blue molding, or even the thoughtful selection of wallpaper that hints at stories still to come. It’s the feeling. Parker’s warmth and pride is reflected in the color and texture all around her. 

Parker, a vice president of employee engagement at Google, purchased the modest post-war bungalow in late 2021 on a quintessential in-town block of Oak Bluffs. It was a decision that soon unfolded into a nearly four-year exploration of identity, creative expression, and legacy. Somewhere between planning and demolition, foundation and framing, designer consultations and finding inspiration from her own handcrafted quilt, the house evolved into a vessel that didn’t just reflect Parker’s life; it expanded it.

Parker’s connection to Oak Bluffs didn’t come through inheritance or long-running family traditions tied to the Inkwell, the Camp Ground, or Ocean Park. It came gradually, from books and cultural histories. She read Dorothy West’s The Wedding and the social history Our Kind of People by Lawrence Otis Graham. She learned of the town’s significance as a haven for African American families. Then came her own Hampton University alumni gatherings, known as “Pirates on the Vineyard,” which deepened her relationship with the Island.

During her first visit, something in the clear air – and an even clearer sense of community – pulled her back. By the summer of 2014, she was renting the famed Cinderella Cottage on Pequot Avenue and watching her sons wander the parks and footpaths as if they had always known them. When the pandemic arrived and colleagues retreated to second homes for sanctuary, she found herself facing a question that carried more weight than she expected: “Why not me?”

A friend – like her, a single professional woman – bought a modest Camp Ground cottage. That decision shifted something for her. 

“I always wanted to create that legacy for my family,” Parker said. “I just didn’t know how it would happen.” The house on Pennacook Avenue felt like the beginning of an answer. 

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When Parker first toured the 1930s bungalow, she was charmed by its façade, porches, and original footprint. Soon, her attention turned to its bones. What she imagined or hoped would be a renovation was soon contradicted by architect Chuck Sullivan of Sullivan + Associates Architects and general contractor Luis Perdomo of Perdomo’s Construction. The team opened walls and uncovered sagging framing, failing insulation, and other fragile elements that often serve as early cautionary tales for new stewards of old Island houses. It quickly became clear that rebuilding from the ground up was the only path forward.

Parker faced a choice: walk away or embrace the challenge. She chose the latter. “I didn’t know I was going on a journey,” she says now. “And my neighbors didn’t realize they were going with me. We all watched this house come alive together!” 

From the start, she trusted her team – Sullivan with the design and Vineyard Decorators’ COO and creative director Sophia Brush with the interiors. “I didn’t try to enter waters where I didn’t have expertise,” she said. “But at the same time, I learned so much about myself during the process.”  

With the house dating to the 1930s, Parker and Sullivan were able to move forward without triggering the Island’s 100-year review rule, which requires additional approvals for any structure more than a century old when demolition or substantial alteration is proposed. Still, Sullivan worked with restraint, respecting the bungalow’s scale, elevation, and its relationship to the street. All the while, he found smart ways to maximize the space, gaining headroom upstairs and creating light-filled rooms that stayed true to the home’s bungalow character in a completely new structure.

“What made working with Melonie remarkable was her trust,” Sullivan recalled. “From the very beginning, she stayed grounded, thoughtful, and open to learning. That gave us the freedom to do our best work and made the whole collaboration genuinely enjoyable.”

For Parker, who has twin sons and a daughter, that sense of trust was essential, but even more important was “Chuck’s quick insight and ability to cut to the heart of the matter. Plus, he’s a fun guy with twin boys – so we had that special, shared experience,” she said.

That trust turned out to be one of the through lines of the entire project – especially when Parker brought in Vineyard Decorators to shape the interior architecture and design. Parker relied on Brush, alongside designers Julianna Thiel and Nina Hitchen, to approach the project with their full-service style. The team worked closely with Sullivan and Perdomo to shape the home’s personality room by room, from the custom kitchen and bedrooms to the bathrooms.    

“We don’t impose a Vineyard Decorators’ look,” explained Brush. “We begin with the client’s story, preferences, routines, aspirations, even the objects they cherish.” 

That cherished object emerged in an early meeting, when Parker arrived with a handmade quilt folded and tucked into a tote bag. It wasn’t an heirloom passed down through her family, but her own original creation, crafted in a stunning mix of turquoise, coral, indigo, and soft ivory. She had intended to hang it somewhere meaningful, but Brush understood immediately that this quilt was more than a decorative piece. 

“That quilt unlocked everything,” Brush said. “Its colors told us she didn’t want a neutral retreat. She wanted a home that felt like a joyful departure – and one that honored her heritage.”

The palette radiated outward from that quilt, becoming the thread that tied together the entire house: bold, expressive colors; playful patterns; layered textures; hand-touched materials. Brush used Benjamin Moore waterfall – a lively, watery blue paint color – as an accent trim throughout the first floor. The effect is both energetic and grounding. “Even bold color,” Brush said, “becomes soothing when it moves intentionally across rooms.” 

From the start, Vineyard Decorators approached color not as a single-room statement, but as a whole-house composition. That palette, woven through the textiles and Parker’s intentionally chosen artwork, reflected the liveliness of Oak Bluffs itself, including the blues of Inkwell Beach and the coral hues of Camp Ground cottage trim.

And then, of course, there is the dining room wallpaper depicting scenes of nineteenth-century Oak Bluffs – a design element that underscores the long and enduring Black presence in the town. The Oak Bluffs Toile wallpaper, commissioned by Kahina Van Dyke for her Oak Bluffs boutique, Jubilee, and designed by Connecticut-based artist Ron Norsworthy, is often the first thing visitors notice. 

The sepia-and-blue pattern depicts African Americans gathering at the Tabernacle, strolling Ocean Park, and standing in front of Union Chapel. For Parker, its inclusion in the home felt meant to be: the blue molding trim was already in place, and the wallpaper’s palette aligned so perfectly that she called it “a cosmic decorative moment.”

Yet the most profound connection came later, when her two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter pointed to the figures in the wallpaper and insisted she saw herself. “That’s why this kind of art matters,” Parker said. “She believes she belongs in the story.”

Elsewhere throughout the home, more original art reflects Parker’s vision for a space that feels both personal and rooted in story. She began collecting art around 2016, drawn to Black artists and quilted pieces that echo her own love of textiles. She buys what she loves, whether it’s a quilted work like Sherry Shine’s Count Your Blessings or a deeply hued, multi-layered portrait from modern-day impressionist Jay Durrah that highlights the commonality of humanity. Durrah was a featured artist at Island Life Studio on Circuit Avenue. 

As the rooms took shape, the artwork helped to define the emotional heart of the home.

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As the design process unfolded and stretched out over the years, Parker realized that she was not simply building a home; she was creating an anchor for four generations of women: her eighty-seven-year-old mother, herself, her daughter, and her granddaughter. 

In keeping with that idea, the bedrooms are adaptable. One on the ground floor doubles as an office. Upstairs, rolling twin beds are ready for future grandchildren. Clever and carefully milled built-ins manage the clutter while maintaining the home’s sense of warmth and ease.

To maximize living areas, Sullivan folded the footprint of the original screened-in porch into the main living area, adding valuable space while preserving a welcoming front porch. “Nothing is wasted,” Parker said. “It’s not about design perfection – it’s about life happening here.” Parker likes to use the space for handiwork. It is her stillness, she said. “When I quilt or knit, I rediscover who I am from the inside out.” Mounted on the outside porch is a custom-designed iron sign that reads “Parker’s Promise,” which she ordered from Etsy.

Parker’s family has already integrated themselves into the neighborhood’s rhythm. Her granddaughter has memorized the route from Pennacook to the Inkwell and Circuit Avenue’s summer bustle. “She knows the directions,” she said proudly. Her grown children see the home as a gathering place for holidays, reunions, and summers yet to come. 

Parker has noted a change in her rhythm and pace too. These days, she dips into Inkwell or walks to Jaws Bridge, waving to neighbors who supported her at historic commission meetings through the long years of construction. She rides the #13 Vineyard Transit Authority bus into Edgartown for breakfast at Behind the Bookstore. In the evening, she hosts friends and colleagues on the porch, where conversations stretch in that unmistakable Oak Bluffs porch tradition. But the greatest shift, she said, is internal.

“This house taught me balance,” reflected Parker. “It reminds me that home is a partner in how you live. It gives me permission to rest.” 

THE TEAM

Architect: Sullivan + Associates Architects
General Contractor: Perdomo’s Construction
Interior Design: Vineyard Decorators
Furniture + Finishings: Vineyard Decorators