Cape Cod Life

After more than ten years with b Architecture Studio, Kurt Stavdal, AIA, has been named an Associate—a well-deserved result of his strong contributions to the firm. Since joining the team in 2014, he has earned the respect of clients and colleagues through his collaborative approach, architectural knowledge, and dedication to seeing projects through from concept to completion. Additionally, Stadval is working toward his PHIUS certification, given his interest in sustainable and green architecture.

There are few objects that possess the rare ability to transform before our eyes. At first glance, it appears to be an elegant bronze sculpture, its graceful proportions suggesting the work of an accomplished artist rather than an engineer. Set within a garden, it seems perfectly at home among flowering shrubs and stone pathways, its warm patina catching the changing light of the day. Look a little closer and Roman numerals circling its base reveal another surprise.

The best waterfront homes know when to step aside. Perched above the Slocum River Estuary in South Dartmouth, this newly reimagined retreat understands that its greatest luxury isn’t found in imported stone or elaborate ornamentation. It’s found beyond the glass, where tides rise and fall, marsh grasses sway in the coastal breeze and every room shares an uninterrupted conversation with the water. That conversation begins the moment the home’s dramatic NanaWall disappears.

Coffee won’t turn them blue, Rusty nails false too, Banana water a big waste of time, Growth will be the best, Starting with soil test, So you’ll know to add sulfur or lime. In Hydrangea Happiness, Cape Cod’s leading gardening expert C.L. Fornari shares her expertise and offers her advice with a dose of humor.

Recipes by Iris McNally, Iris & Company Catering There is a particular kind of alchemy that happens when a chef is handed a basket of just-picked produce and told, simply, to cook. For Iris McNally of Iris & Company Catering, a visit to Bartlett’s Farm is all the inspiration she needs.

When landscape designer Paul Miskovsky looked beyond an overgrown Cape Cod yard, he saw not only the garden it could become, but the life its homeowner had quietly imagined for years. Through craftsmanship, creativity and a touch of wonder, an ordinary property was transformed into a place where possibility flourishes around every bend. Every fairy tale begins in an ordinary place. Not in castles or enchanted forests, but somewhere familiar—a quiet cottage, a forgotten path, a weathered gate.

Architecture by Doreve Nicholaeff Architecture Construction by Meagher Construction Interior Design by Hudson Home Landscape Design by Sudbury Design Group There is an almost instinctive assumption when building a dream home on Cape Cod that everything begins with the view. A stretch of salt marsh, an expanse of ocean or a ribbon of harbor often becomes the organizing principle around which architecture takes shape.

There are homes with beautiful views, and then there are homes whose daily rhythms are dictated by the landscape beyond their windows. Perched high above Cape Cod Bay in Dennis, this gracious gambrel belongs firmly in the latter category, where every tide, passing squall, sailboat and sunset becomes part of the family’s everyday experience. The bay is never simply a backdrop here. It is a living canvas, shifting in color, texture and temperament from one hour to the next.

“Let’s design the kitchen,” Robin Arouca remembers saying, “and we’ll build the house around it.” It is an unconventional way to begin designing a home, but then this was never intended to be an ordinary house. Nestled into a quiet neighborhood overlooking Green Pond—with Vineyard Sound stretching beyond and Martha’s Vineyard visible on the horizon—the residence built by Cataldo Custom Builders was conceived around something far more important than square footage or architectural statements.

Photos by Kate Benson Photography and Heidi Haseltine Photography Alyson Iarrusso has spent nearly two decades of her life committed to a zeal for history. A Masters degree in the field led her to a career in academia, sharing her love and knowledge of civics and history.