Thank you so much to Cape Cod Home for publishing our historic renovation in Harwichport!

Homeowner’s Steve and Peggy from Dallas Texas asked us to help them create a real family gathering space in their historic Harwichport home. The home, which has been in Steve’s family for over 100 years, consists of an historic half-Cape (the antique), a dated 50s kitchen connector and a 1980s addition (the annex). Steve grew up coming to Harwichport in the summer and wanted to provide that for the next generation.

We decided to leave the antique and the annex largely intact and worked on connecting them better with a more modern gathering space that could accommodate their extended family.

The modern addition acts as connector – from old to new, inside to out and front to back. It consists of a large kitchen, dining and living areas. Since the existing rooms are all small and have low ceilings, we thought the new modern rooms should be expansive and have some height to them. The spaces are all open to one another, but the living room ceiling is vaulted to follow the gabled roof line.

From the exterior the new addition gabled entry signals a more modern approach in the back. It pulls visitors to the new entry into the new living room. The new simple bluestone patio in the back is a private oasis for summer parties.

The Clients hope to spend more time in Harwichport moving forward!

To check out the article: https://capecodlife.com/harwich-port-cottage/

A3 Architects is located in the heart of Dennis Village in a historic building from the 1830s. Before we moved from our office in Brewster to our current location, we didn’t know much about this part of the cape. It has been wonderful to explore all the hidden (and not so hidden) gems in the area and we thought we would take a moment to highlight a few of our favorite stops.

Our favorite places to grab a bite to eat:

The Mercantile

Fun little sandwich shop located behind the post office. It is easy to run in and out for a quick sandwich (or call ahead during their busy summer months) Everything on the menu is great, but we suggest the jimmy tuna on oatmeal bread and maybe a cookie…

The Underground Bakery

Located in the same plaza as the Merc – they have great coffee, fun sweet treats, and awesome atmosphere

Encore Bistro and Bar

This little bistro is located on the grounds of the Cape Playhouse and is a lovely setting for an eat-in business lunch.

Sesuit Harbor Café

This one isn’t within walking distance, but it is probably a five minute drive from our office and a great location to sit outside and enjoy a lobster roll by the water. Open during the summer months

Dennis Village might be small, but it has some great little boutiques

Deep BLUE

Deep BLUE is owned by Amy Mason –she is an illustrator and designer with her own line of cards, graphics, and fabrics that are showcased in the store. She also carries an array of furnishings, art, jewelry – seriously – We always stop in when we are looking for gifts and somehow leave having bought ourselves something as well! (Also ,we love her blue barn doors on the exterior of the Deep Blue shop- such a fun pop of color on 6A!)

Scout

This little shop is precious. The owner goes to Paris every year to shop for unique items for the store. Scout has an array of home furnishings, textiles, and jewelry with a Parisian flair that you won’t find anywhere else (…at least on this side of the Atlantic!).

Also, if you’re on the cape in December, be sure to check out her shop—she decorates it to the nines for the holiday seasons!

Elburne

Elburne is a newcomer to Dennis Village and we are very excited about the addition of this new boutique. They specialize in reclaimed, recycled, and sustainable home décor….. Right up our alley!

A few of the special places in Dennis village

The beaches: Corporation Beach, Mayflower Beach, and Chapin Beach

It goes without saying since we are located on Cape Cod that the beaches are a highlight.

The whole cape has beautiful beaches, but our office is located within a mile of Corporation Beach which makes for a fun run out to the beach and back during our warmer months. Mayflower Beach and Chapin Beach are also beautiful spots.

The Cape Cinema

We are located directly across from the Cape Cinema and when we moved to our office a few years back… none of us really knew how special it was to be located across from this landmark.

The claim to fame:

The Cape Cinema (then the Cape Playhouse) opened in the 1930 and was one of three cinemas to preview the Wizard of Oz before its Hollywood premier. Oh and the other claim to fame…its ceiling. There is a 6,400 square foot mural designed by Rockwell Kent in the art deco style. It in itself is worth the trip, but the cinema hosts a wide array of shows (really something for everyone) from the most recent Indie film to the Met Opera to the Ballet and my personal favorite – during the summer they will host a few indie music concerts. AND you get to watch it all in a beautiful space. Win-win

Scargo Tower

It is a random, 30 foot tall cobblestone tower located at the top of Scargo Hill. There are a couple of things that make this a worthwhile stop:

You did hear us say: it is a random, 30 foot tall cobblestone tower located at the top of Scargo Hill. The oddity of that should be enough of an allurement alone. Seriously – it makes you feel like you’re in a fairytale.
The views. From the top of the tower, you are afforded beautiful views of Scargo lake below and Cape Cod Bay beyond. The view is beautiful year round, but particularly specialduring peak leaf season in the fall and in winter after a snowfall.

A little History and a few fun facts: (thank you Wikipedia!)

There have been 3 Scargo Towers in the same spot. The first one was constructed in 1874; it was wood and well-the cape is a windy place so it didn’t last too long. The second tower was built in 1900, also out of wood, but it burned down. Since we all learn by iteration – the third was built out of cobblestones and it is what we see today. It was constructed in 1901.
One other random fact. The mason, who did the stonework for the tower, also constructed the stone wall in front of the A3/E2 Solar offices.

This was fun highlighting some of our local favorite stops – we might just have to do future blog posts on other cape town’s and our favorite places to stop. We do project all over the cape and always enjoy wandering around! Be sure to let us know if you have any favorite places we should check out – always love finding spots!