Cape Cod Home, Spring 2018 | capecodlife.com

Gray Expectations

Cape Cod Home  /  Spring 2018 / ,

Writer: Allyson Plessner / Photographer: Paige Biviano 

Gray Expectations

Cape Cod Home, Spring 2018 | capecodlife.com

Cape Cod Home  /  Spring 2018 / ,

Writer: Allyson Plessner / Photographer: Paige Biviano 

Gray Expectations, Spring 2018 Cape Cod HOME | capecodlife.com

The kitchen, once a secluded, cramped space, now looks out through an opening in the wall over the living room. Visitors can relax in the seating area, eat snacks at the bar stools or chat at the dining table, all while interacting with whoever is preparing a meal in the kitchen.

Fifty years ago, a Cape home was something very different than what it is today. The house that Peg and Jeff bought, with its pine-paneled walls, shag carpeting and maze-like floor plan, fit the dreams of Cape Codders of yesteryear. “What we were looking at was a full Cape that was in disrepair. The entire house had to be re-engineered to meet current codes,” explains Senior Project Manager Mike Katon of The Valle Group in Falmouth. Together the team set out to turn the home into something modern, beachy and open—a Cape home for today.

Peg, Jeff and Moe divided the critical responsibilities of the project amongst themselves—Jeff coordinated the construction, Peg handled interior design, and Moe was designated as chief gardener. The result is a space overflowing with personality. There is truly something for everyone. For Jeff, nautical paintings by his aunt hang in the living room; for Peg, Mackenzie-Childs accessories add pops of color throughout the space; and for Moe, an expansive garden softens the bluestone patio, and pictures of flowers hang in her room as a defiant contrast to the ocean-themed artwork downstairs.

“We went through 33 sets of plans with our architect, Chris Warner, trying to achieve the most livable house we possibly could, given the existing footprint and the fact that we only wanted to extend the house on one side,” says Jeff. The other side of the house boasts a magnificent screened-in porch that the couple wanted to save, situated just above a steep drop-off of grade in the property, so the porch looks out amongst the trees. “People who visit the house call it the treehouse,” Jeff explains with a laugh. For a couple that spends their days on the water, a treehouse is likely a welcome change.

While the evergreen trees surrounding the back of the property provide wooded embrace, the landscape starts and ends there. Peg and Jeff have traded in rolling ocean waves for a sea of hardscape spanning the entirety of the front yard. “Neither one of us wanted to mow a lawn,” explains Peg, laughing.

Allyson Plessner

Allyson Plessner is a former editorial intern for Cape Cod Life and now works for the publication as a staff writer and digital media coordinator. Born in Florida, Allyson has been a lifelong summer resident of the Cape. She is a recent alumna of the College of Charleston, located in Charleston, South Carolina, where she completed bachelor’s degrees in both English and Spanish. In her free time, Allyson is an avid sailor, beach-goer, and—like her fellow Cape Cod Life colleagues—a dog-lover.