Our 2020 Home for the Year has a new owner who is just starting their adventure.

No doubt about it, the real estate market is hot, hot, hot! As we debuted the 2020 Home for the Year, our semi-annual series where we examine a special home through the various editorial lenses applied throughout the year’s issues, we introduced you to the husband-wife team behind Bessey Construction on Nantucket. J.D. and Laura Bessey, along with their hard-working team of dedicated employees, have been involved in over 500 projects on the tiny island. A number of recent homes the Besseys completed for clients really struck a chord for the couple. “One house in particular,” Laura remembers, “had so many interesting elements and features, J.D. and I kept talking about what we would do with that layout if it were our home. So, we decided to do just that and built this house in the Surfside area of the island.”

The home, designed by Nantucket’s Brook Meerbergen, is just over 4.500 square feet, which provides enough space for seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a wide variety of amenities, both inside and out. A fully appointed lower level has an entertainment area, a spacious gym, and a custom-crafted shuffleboard table. Outside, the landscaped grounds include an exquisite pool with a waterfall, a dining pavilion, a guest cabana, an outdoor fireplace and even a basketball court. The Besseys created an oasis for their active family that includes four adult-aged children as well as a long roster of extended family and friends.

The thing about the Besseys though, is that they are always on the move. The first of the year found them hopscotching across Europe as their daughter competed in figure skating competitions. They have roots in the western mountains of Maine as well as a love for the coast of Florida. So selling their home, particularly to another dynamic and active family, is just part of their adventurous approach to life. After all, they designed and built their dream home, as well as dream homes for countless other families; dreams aren’t a limited commodity when you are able to combine your creative and energetic forces.

New homeowners Dave and Theresa are thrilled to herald the next chapter of this special home. Theresa says that she subscribes to real estate newsletters as a matter of entertainment. “I love looking at various properties that are on the market,” she explains. “Less as an actual objective, more just as fun.” Of course, the pursuit of fun activities can sometimes result in a commitment you may not have seen coming.  Great Point Properties on Nantucket does in fact have a compelling regular e-newsletter that, of course, presents beautiful homes that all offer the dream that is Nantucket, and that are only a click away.

“There was an amazing family home in Tom Nevers,” Theresa remembers. “I called the office and, of course, it was already under agreement. But, they did have a listing in Surfside they thought we might be interested in.” Sure enough, life, opportunity and serendipity intersected at exactly the right point and the Besseys handed their home off to a new family who can imagine many happy years creating memories.

While they may not have been actively in the market for a vacation home at the time, Dave and Theresa say that the idea of acquiring a home on Nantucket just suddenly seemed right. “Due to COVID, any travel plans we had for this summer were off the table,” Dave notes. “This home was the perfect opportunity, especially as people are turning to their homes to create the sense of adventure they might otherwise pursue. This home certainly has that.” The concept of right time/right now was reinforced when the couple met the Besseys. “Meeting Laura was when we knew we were making the right move,” Dave confirms. “She is just solid, and you know that if this is the person who envisioned this home, as well as pulled it all together, then we were going to be just fine.” These sentiments were confirmed when the deal was negotiated to include the furnishings. “Not only would it take an incredible budget, but just the time and energy to furnish this home as well as Laura did would be impossible. We couldn’t have done it any better,” says Dave.

Dave and Theresa, who had first visited Nantucket a couple of times each summer when they first started dating five years ago, are now new parents to a busy 13-month-old baby boy. The couple’s extended family is what really keeps things hopping. With six siblings between the two of them, and a dozen nieces and nephews, the list of guests and visitors is an ever-changing roulette wheel of fun, activities and life-long memories in the making. “This home is a dream come true. It particularly appealed to us because both of us have large extended families that are also very active as well as diverse. There is something for everyone here,” Dave points out and says that big family get-togethers have already filled their weekends. With so many activities as well as quiet places to carve out some peace and quiet, the home and its various elements of distraction make for the perfect family retreat, while still remaining intimate and accessible.

The couple has spent most of their time on the island during the summer, but now they look forward to experiencing the island throughout the year. “We met a family on the ferry who happened to live very close to us,” Dave recounts. “They told us that some of their best memories are from Thanksgiving and Stroll Weekend. We are looking forward to experiencing the island in ways other than what we do in summer,” Dave continues to say, “I look around this home, and I imagine my son in future years, playing basketball, swimming and eventually, traveling here with his friends when he is in college and beyond, and that is when I felt really good about finding this home. It is an immediate memory maker.”

For our previous coverage of our Home for the Year, click here and here!