Ingrained in Cape Cod

Some things beg to be touched: cashmere sweaters, wool blankets, fluffed towels just out of the dryer, glistening new cars, dogs. If you find yourself in West Barnstable, stop by Pastiche of Cape Cod to experience a small feast for the senses. Owner Irina MacPhee has recently debuted a line of wooden furniture that is hard to pass by without touching. Titled The Cape Cod Collection™ and found exclusively at Pastiche or through designers, these beautifully crafted pieces evoke a sense of history, craftsmanship, and cozy farmhouse kitchens, as your hand trails the contours of each one.

Posted in Arts & Culture, Interiors

Bayside Beauty

Seclusion and privacy at the end of a long wooded road in a famous Cape Cod location. Panoramic views of Buzzards Bay. There were a lot of positive things to be said for the Upper Cape property purchased by an active family several years ago for their new seaside summer home.

Posted in Architecture, Arts & Culture

Out of the Box

The words were written in ballpoint pen on a scrap of printer paper and duct-taped to a tree in front of artist Jennifer Morgan’s new house in East Harwich: “This is a disgrace.”

Not exactly the warm, neighborly welcome Morgan was used to from her lifelong visits to Cape Cod. She could have been upset over it or worse, bitter. But that’s not Morgan’s style.

“I taped the sign to the window of my truck and drove around with it for a while,” Morgan laughs while recounting just one of many challenges she encountered in the process of designing and building her own house.

Posted in Architecture, Arts & Culture

Seaside Reverie

Renowned landscape architect Greg Lombardi was asked to create an elegant, yet natural-looking design to complement the renovation of a mid-Cape home for homeowners seeking a coastal retreat by the sea. Right from the beginning of the project, Lombardi took into account the homeowner’s desire for a tranquil refuge from complicated metropolitan lives, one that would allow the owners to relax in understated comfort, making the most of Cape Cod’s natural glory. “The clients wanted to engage in Cape Cod’s abundant nature, celebrating simple moments living by the sea,” says Lombardi.

Posted in Architecture, Arts & Culture

Creative Craftsman

“It’s not everyday you come across a client like this,” says Chris Hereford of HMD Architects in Harwich. “She really wanted to go the extra distance to create a home that was special.” The original house, which sits just off of Chatham’s Main Street, was a mishmash of styles—a little Greek Revival, a little Federal. “We did a total renovation of the house,” says Hereford. The dark, closed-off spaces did not work for the family. “There are often three generations under one roof here during the summer months,” says Hereford. Hereford, who had worked with the client on other house projects in the past, designed new spaces for the family—two additions—as well as adding much needed curb appeal and natural light to the home.

Posted in Architecture, Arts & Culture

Shorelines – Early Summer ’11

DREAM DESIGN

Perspectives on Design New England offers expert insights from leading design professionals into how truly beautiful New England homes are created: from conceptualizing your dream home to creating an outdoor oasis in your backyard or garden. These industry masters can help you create a new home or redesign one to suit your own unique lifestyle. Superbly written and brimming with brilliant photographs, this coffee table book captures the high style of Cape Cod and our coastal region. Panache Partners, $40, www.panache.com.

Posted in Arts & Culture, Literature

Where the Livin’ is Easy

One of the best things about living on Cape Cod is the great variety of homes and gardens that can be found in every town. In my hometown of Centerville, for instance, seventeenth century Capes with moss-covered wooden roofs share backyards with cutting edge twenty-first century designs. There are sprawling brick mansions alongside Nantucket Sound and tiny shingled cottages hugging the shores of Lake Wequaquet. Something about living by the water seems to invite freedom of expression. When we choose our homes—and our gardens—anything goes.

Posted in Philanthropy

60 Years Under the Big Top

On first sight, the giant blue vinyl tent pitched over cement risers beside a gravel parking lot west of downtown Hyannis seems an unlikely spot for a 60-year success story. But once inside, as childhood tent-by-the-campfire instincts take over, the audience of 2,000 swiftly bonds with the performers beneath the canopy’s cozy cocoon. “The fans are so close that they become part of the show!” rock star Melissa Etheridge exclaimed following a recent appearance. Read more…

Posted in Arts & Culture, Family Fun

Handcrafted Luxury

Steps away from Provincetown’s Lobster Pot Restaurant, a simple sign comprised of the words “THE WORKSHOP” and a large wooden sandal draws curious visitors away from the commotion of Commercial Street down a quaint alley.

A set of wooden stairs at the alley’s end leads up past a wall covered with morning glory vines to a beautiful view of the ocean and an unassuming workshop with the Rolling Stones playing softly from a back room.

“I’m in what’s known as a destination location,” says Victor Powell, who has been working in this space since 1999. “Once you come past the bikers and the funk in the alley, you reach this oasis up here.”

Victor Powell has been designing and creating high quality leather goods since 1967, and legions of notable buyers from around the world have traveled to The Workshop to have pairs of his famous leather sandals fitted, fashioned, and signed as unique, wearable art pieces.

In 2006, fashion designer Michael Kors commissioned Powell to make all of the footwear for his spring menswear 2006 Collection, which was exhibited at a runway show during New York City’s Fashion Week. Three months later, Vanity Fair pictured Nicole Kidman wearing a pair of Powell’s sandals. Even Cardinal O’Malley of Boston purchased a pair of his sandals a few years ago. Read more…