There is something about the light on the Cape that washes away the worries of the world. There is something about the air on the Cape that lets you sleep soundly at night. There is something about the wind in the pine trees above that lulls you into peace. Water, sky, earth combine to whisper that all will be well with the world.

That's Cape Cod
Where the friendly little houses are 
With the blinds of blue and green,
Where the water-lilies lift their cups - 
The fairest ever seen - 
Within the sound of Ocean's roar.
That's Cape Cod.

Where the gaily painted wind-mills whirl.
And Bob-whites call and Whippoorwills:
Where the roads wind among the trees.
And every breeze some white sail fills;
Where roses climb on old grey walls
When soft-voiced summer stands and call.
That's Cape Cod...
Bernice Hall Legg


West Dennis July 2018, Photo by Barry Friedman

We recently had bnbNomad stay at Summer Pines Cottage for a week for a comprehensive guest experience report. They gave us an outstanding review, a detailed report and beautiful new photos!

What a little bit of ingenuity and hard work can accomplish: Our cottage kitchen renovation story
Our vintage 1940's cottage kitchen at Summer Pines Cottage with an antique farmhouse cast iron sink was charming but it wasn't very functional for cooking so we decided to renovate the kitchen over this past winter. We were working with a tight budget and knew that we would need to do some of the work ourselves and try to source the materials in creative ways. We started by taking down the cabinets ourselves with a crowbar - an easy and strangely satisfying task. We found another happy home for the farmhouse sink and decided to tackle taking up the tile flooring next. After many long hours with hammers and not much progress, we realized that we had to turn the tile removal and refinishing the nice old wood floors to professionals who had the expertise and the right equipment for the job. That done, we set about looking for cabinets. We were lucky to find a Boston couple on CL selling their beautiful, fairly new kitchen as they were tearing down their house and rebuilding. Their only requirement (besides cash) was that we helped them take down their cabinets and appliances, so off we went to their house with hammers in hand. It was a long and hard process but we did learn how to use a crowbar and reverse electric screwdriver. We also learned that granite countertops are VERY heavy! That done, we shuttled each cabinet and appliance down to the Cape and drew up the plan of our new kitchen using the measurements of the cabinets and the space. We enlisted the help of a very talented carpenter to creatively build around the cabinets we had so that it all looked built in. He created a large island on wheels with some extra cabinets and added cabinets above the stove, fridge and washer and dryer for a "built in" look. We found matching paint and painted all the new pieces to match the cabinets. Due to the tight space, I had to forgo a sliding barn door to hide the washer and dryer but found that a curtain did the trick and added to the cottage feel. Wanting a clean look, we found the deep sink, smaller profile european faucet and white quartz countertops at IKEA. Add some rush stools and cottage decor and we were done - only took from October to March!