A modest cottage in Centerville becomes the backdrop for a family’s legacy.

When Jane and Michael Curley first set eyes on a modest cottage tucked away in Centerville, the property hardly hinted at the gracious family home it would one day become. Just 750 square feet, shaded by more than 30 overgrown trees and long past its heyday, the structure felt more like an artifact of Cape Cod’s summer cottage era than a canvas for contemporary family life. With three young daughters in tow and a vision that blended timeless New England tradition with clean, modern lines, the Curleys made a decision that would shape their family’s story for nearly two decades.

Michael had purchased the cottage back in 2005, before he and Jane were even married—the couple first settled in Marblehead—but their summers at the little Cape house turned into daydreams about what it could one day become. By 2016, those daydreams took shape, and finally set the wheels of renovation in motion.

What began as a simple seasonal escape became a family nest—expanded, remodeled, and layered with thoughtful details—where children grew into the young women they were destined to become, countless gatherings took place around a fire pit embraced by trees, and every inch of space bore witness to both practicality and beauty. Now, as their eldest daughter is in the throes of her freshman year in college and the family readies for the next chapter, the Centerville house stands as both a memory keeper and a testament to the Curleys’ design philosophy: livable, natural, and forever enduring.