I wanted to share this beautiful antique Cape Cod home – an 1815 brick Federal style house that’s on the market in Sandwich, MA. My parent’s lived in Sandwich for 30 years and I’ve been by this house a million times. I love it when I finally get to see inside and am happy with what I see!
We don’t have a huge number of antique brick homes here in New England because trees were so plentiful and brick so expensive. So, it’s fun to get a glimpse inside one of these unique spaces.
Stepping inside, we have a beautiful curved staircase – very elegant!
This 5-bedroom home is only 2800 sq. ft. so the rooms aren’t terribly big. The house has fireplaces on each end which means all the fireplaces are on the ends of each room.
The decor is simple with a coastal flair – which is perfect for a Cape Cod property. The color palette is gray (not my favorite) though it’s certainly fresh and light looking. Look at the depth of the windows in the dining room above – you can really see how thick the walls are.
Clearly, there have been updates to this house – the walls were taken down to create a bigger, more open kitchen. There is a long beam in the ceiling – holding up the second floor and there is a chimney flu running up the middle.
Based on the amount of track lighting, I’m assuming they didn’t want to drop the ceiling down to accommodate pot lights. I usually like open shelving rather than upper cabinets, but I do think there is a lot going on here visually and closed cabinets might have been a bit cleaner looking.
The far wall above is brick and I probably would have kept the brick on the chimney flu in the foreground rather than more headboard. But they did a nice job working around this obstruction. Look at those floors!
The living room is fresh and pretty like the dining room.
I wonder where the door leads above? Personally, I hate the look of a blocked door – even if it’s a door to nowhere. I’d rather take it out and board it up.
Isn’t this staircase below beautiful? Some maintenance is needed – but I do like the chippy banister. A fun runner on the stair case would be nice.
The grounds out behind the house are also lovely. A beautiful little oasis.
This is the beautiful marsh view across the street.
Update: This Antique Cape house is now a short term rental. See all the details here.
You may also enjoy:
Hello Linda, Although the decor in this house is light and attractive, and I love the yard, there is almost no evidence that this is an antique house, other than a few elements like the thick walls. While all old houses don’t have to be museums, I don’t understand why people who want modern houses buy historic ones and then gut them. Or perhaps it has been “staged,” but that still wouldn’t explain the kitchen.
–Jim
Hi Jim,
Well – the floors are definitely old. I don’t personally mind a modernization of an antique home. But the kitchen is terrible. I’ll admit that I was really tired when I wrote the post and sort of glossed over my thoughts on the it. I do hope the next owners gut it and re-do it with a few more nods to history!