“This home is completely their personality,” says Peacock about the LePain’s. “What you see is what you get.” Pattie’s eye for design is what really brings the small space to life. Collections from her travels, like dolls from Italy and France, salvaged beadboard in the bathroom, and an antique tub, add just the right amount of personality. Having downsized when they moved into this space, everything in the LePain’s home is special and important to them—like Marc’s precious book collection, creatively stored in the cupboard so that Pattie can use the shelf space in the home for her charmingly eclectic collection of dishes. “Those are all books that I cherish, and when you’ve been teaching books as long as I have, you learn that they can easily wear. So I used an old trick from school and protect them with brown paper.” It’s a charming reminder of just how personal this small space is for Marc and Pattie.

Creative space savers—like using cupboards as makeshift libraries and custom barn doors for the entry to the bedroom and en suite—make the space efficient. And touches, like white shiplap walls and vaulted ceilings in the bedroom—both thanks to Pattie’s keen eye—make it feel bright, welcoming and distinctly Cape Cod. Outside the home, the home is bordered by a layer of rocks, broken up only by a single walkway and a few plants. “We loved working with Scott and his entire team, and his son, Michael, actually did our landscaping,” explains Marc. The rock was Pattie’s idea, and it fits the stylish simplicity of the rest of the home. At the very back of the property, beyond the custom cedar door is a firepit for Marc and Pattie to enjoy alone or with company—last year they hosted 15 people for Thanksgiving. “And we’re going to do it again this Easter,” says Marc.