Cape-Cod-HOME

A Kempt Kitchen

Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2024 /

Writer: Leslie Hatton / Photographer: Salty Broad Studios 

A Kempt Kitchen

Cape-Cod-HOME

Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2024 /

Writer: Leslie Hatton / Photographer: Salty Broad Studios 


A new home on an old property in Harwich Port boasts a stunning new kitchen perfect for entertaining for years to come.

Location, location, location. 

It’s an age-old mantra that stresses the fundamental principle of real estate. For one Connecticut family, they already knew, and loved, the location of their summer home; so when the opportunity arose to purchase the house across the street, they took it. 

“I grew up coming to the Cape as a child,” homeowner Tara Seiler says. Seiler is Tara’s married name but her maiden name is a familiar one—Nickerson—a relative of William Nickerson who founded the town of Chatham. The Nickerson Family Association is one of the largest family associations in the world with descendants estimating over 350,000. Tara shared her love of Cape Cod, which ran as deep as the roots of her ancestors, with her husband George and their children, spending vacations here as often as they could. She shares, “My heart was always on Cape Cod and then I introduced it to my own family. My husband, who was originally from New York, fell in love with it too, and after renting a few times over the years we decided to look for our own place.” 

They purchased a lovely little ranch on a quiet street in Harwich Port, but with two children who grew from teens to adults in the 6 years they summered there, they began to outgrow the space. The family looked into expanding the ranch but due to the property’s location nearby conservation land, there were restrictions and limits on how much they could do. They were discussing this crossroad one afternoon with a neighbor who shared that, coincidentally, he...

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Leslie Hatton

Leslie (Horne) Hatton enthusiastically joined Cape Cod Life in October of 2022. Educated in Mashpee and Falmouth, she graduated from Assumption College and received her Master of Education degree from Lesley College. A former teacher, she has taught middle school, preschool and most recently, fifth grade. She and her husband Tom have three children: Aidan, Colin, and Erin. Their newest family member is Millie, an outgoing, outrageously happy chocolate lab. She loves to talk about all of them so better not ask. One neat tidbit about Leslie is that she is the author of the locally best-selling children’s book Cape Cod ABCs, with over 10K books sold on Cape Cod, the Islands and across Massachusetts. Happiest in the summer with a little sun on her face, she loves being with friends and her family, laughing, drinking and eating all over beautiful Cape Cod.