My Humble Abode: A Cape Cod Cottage

Hi, Everyone!  I am just getting back from being on vacation.  My husband and I took a week and a half off and went on a much needed, restful vacation to our modest cottage on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  If you are new to my blog, you may not know that I grew up on Cape Cod and have lineage dating back to the Mayflower, I am told.  My mom says that everyone says that about the Mayflower but some of my cousins have actually checked into our ancestry and found it to be true.  All of this is to say that I consider myself a true Cape Codder although I have not lived on the Cape full-time for about two-thirds of my life. Some roots are deep enough that you just can't pull them up! 

While I often talk about vacationing on the Cape and the cottage we own down there, I do not often show photos of the place because, to be honest, it is very rustic (to put it kindly) and I am somewhat embarrassed about the look of it and the fact that we have not put as much work into the place as we should have.

 

We purchased the home as a vacation home when our children were young and since that time the problem has always been that we either did not have the extra time, money or desire to work on it.  We often were off to the beach or boating and didn't feel like staying home and painting during the hot summer months.  When fall came around we were completely involved in our children's activities back at home in Groton, and so on and so on.  Even as the kids grew up and got married we still didn't seem to allot ourselves the time to do all the things we wanted to do with the place, unfortunately.





But, I have decided to share a few photos of the humble place anyway because it holds many, many memories for me.  Two of my children were married on Cape Cod and my third was married close by in Plymouth.  All my kids have Cape Cod memories and now my grandchildren are starting to make memories of their own, as well. We've had countless days at the beach and visits from friends and family. When my dad passed away from cancer years ago on Cape Cod, it was worst day of my life but, I returned to this humble cottage that night to be enveloped into the arms of my children and my husband.  If we had not had this little place, I am not sure my children would have been able to be there for me.  So, with all those memories from the cottage in mind, I thought the old girl deserved to have a little time in the limelight :).

Besides, we have done improvements over the years that make it a much cozier home than it was when we first purchased it.  As a point of reference, my husband very recently replaced this screen door.  He also replaced an old window with a new one in the spring so...I guess we do plug along with improvements as best we can :).

Oh yes, I almost forgot...we totally renovated the bathroom a few years ago too.  That was a nice improvement, as well!

For some reason my hydrangea bushes did not fair as well as my neighbor's bushes did this year.  I only got two blossoms on this shrub.  Thankfully, I purchased another hydrangea shrub at the local nursery, on sale no less! Hopefully, it will look beautiful next year too.  The hydrangeas are gorgeous on Cape Cod and seemingly grow like weeds every where but my house!

One of the first improvements we made to the house when we purchased it was to make this back room into something useful. It had simply been a storage area before.  We decided to paint it, put in some carpeting and add a French door to open onto a small deck.  My husband did all of the carpentry with my son, Sam, and the room ended up being a family room with many uses as it turned out.

This is the view from the kitchen to the family room ↓.  There is a step down from the kitchen.  Most of the time we have the French doors open with the wind flowing into the house.  We don't have AC so having the air flow is a good thing.



We purchased a cabana-type thing to offer shade on the back deck.  You can't really see it here but  we eat breakfast pretty much every morning on the deck and sometimes an occasional dinner over the course of our vacation. Lunches are usually a beach affair, weather permitting.

Storage is at a premium in the old cottage so, these hooks in the family room serve as a kind of drop-off station for the beach gear.  I'll be blogging more about storage in the cottage soon.  It can be difficult trying to find places to put things in this small space.

I have collected knick-knacks for the cottage over the years.  Most of them have come from the Christmas Tree Shop, which originated on Cape Cod.  I think the ship was a gift from one of my husband's friends, however.

Our vacation began a few days before the Fourth of July so, I posted this picture on Instagram with words to that effect.  The American flag goes nicely with the colors of the cottage.

As I said, you take a step up into the kitchen from the family room.  This is the only photo I am going to show of the poor old kitchen.  It desperately needs a make-over but, I do like the chandelier and the bead board ceiling.  My husband did that work a few years ago.  I guess he really does do some work around the place!  

From the kitchen you move into the living room.  I would love to paint all the walls white but, that is one of those jobs we just haven't gotten around to.  We had the job priced out one time but, it was too expensive for our blood so, it will have to wait.  I know white paint would look wonderful but until then, I have been trying to lighten up the room with white rugs and curtains.  

The floor could use a fresh coat of paint too but, until that is done I'm saying the well-worn floor adds character to the room.  Hahaha!  It's a good line, anyway!

I think this is the perfect place ↓ to play Bananagrams!

I bought this fish wood sculpture from the Christmas Tree Shop in the spring.  I think it looks like it could have come from one of those specialty shops down in Chatham...at least that is what I am telling myself :).

I debated whether to share this bedroom photo with you or not because it is a pretty starkly decorated room.  Since I love the wallpaper I decided to give it a go.  I know the wallpaper is dated and all that but I still like it.

I especially like the wallpaper with the white lace curtains against it.  I think the look fits well in a humble abode on Cape Cod :).

We had many guests while we were on vacation last week but, our best behaved and most fashionable houseguest had to have been our grand dog, Tucker.  He looks pretty spiffy in his bow tie, don't you think?!

XOXO

Happy Summer!

We were featured here:

Homestyle Gathering

Thursday Favorite Things

***No compensation has been given for writing this post.

Joining these Link Parties:
Inspire Me Monday
The Style Showcase
Wow Me Wednesday
TuesdayTurn About
Grandmas Wednesday Link Party