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Cape Cod Museum of Art House Tour and Exhibition

Five Chatham houses designed and built by Polhemus Savery DaSilva will be exclusively featured in the Cape Cod Museum of Art's 2008 Art of Living House Tour on September 20th. The house tour coincides with a major exhibition of the firm's work, entitled "Architectur of the Cape Cod Summer," at the museum this fall, running from November 1, 2008 through January 4, 2009.

Homes on the House Tour

House at Harding Shores Overlook
This is a house meant for ocean breezes and sunny summer days. This quintessential vacation home, designed to take advantage of water views from every room, has an airy, cottage feeling with its bead board detailing and walls painted the colors of sea and sky, sand and beach glass. Indoors, a family-sized designer kitchen gives way to the open floor plan connecting dining, living room and study beyond. Cool colors and natural materials like the stone fireplace and rustic teak kitchen counter, give the home a relaxed and refreshing demeanor. Upstairs is a cozy guest suite, and the master suite - walled in windows - has 180-degree views from Nantucket Sound inland to Buck's Creek. Downstairs on the walkout-level are the children's rooms, whimsically decorated with built-in ship-style bunkbeds and colorful fabrics. With its Dutch door entry, romantic wraparound deck, hydrangea-scaped yard, and outdoor fire pit, this house is as beautiful outside as it is inside.

House at Harding's Beach
Another classic beach house, this home stretches along the dune adjacent to Harding's Beach, just steps from the water. Flattened columns and a gambrel roof face the street, while a windowed wall and sundeck stretch along the ocean side of the house. A broad overhanging roof provides shelter from the high summer sun. Indoors, a calm and sandy palette reflects the natural sand and beach-grass landscape outside the windows. A three-sided glass and polished stone fireplace is the centerpiece of the otherwise open living space made up of the kitchen, dining, and living rooms. Curving ceiling soffits mirror curving walls and extend right into the dunescape beyond. Upstairs, master and guest bedroom suites take advantage of front-row ocean views (including one of Morris Island Light), while also maintaining a sense of intimacy and privacy.

"Sand Dollars" - House on Stage Harbor
This spacious house sits on a hilltop, a majestic sentinel overlooking Stage Harbor. An architectural approach as eclectic as the owners' extensive collections blends elements of Georgian, Shingle-style, and Asian architecture in a diverse whole. An antique Cape, existing on the property, was restored and lovingly incorporated into the varied forms that come together to make this unique and stately house. Two wings of the home embrace a manicured courtyard and formal façade of the main house, while the opposite side proudly greets the harbor like the stern of a ship. The house is surrounded by extensive flower gardens and an expansive lawn that tumbles toward the water. Indoors, the owners' collection of Cape Cod art hangs throughout the house and along the sunny galleries that stretch along the two wings. This colorful home - at once traditional and unconventional, at once dignified and whimsical - boasts a custom gourmet kitchen, two-story oak-lined library tower, stunning master suite, an antique dining room, detailed woodworking throughout, and views of three lighthouses.

House on Oyster River
This waterfront home, sited and landscaped to relate intimately with its dynamic surroundings, is the most classic of Polhemus Savery DaSilva's "Shingle-style" homes. It is a ballooning billowy form that flows to mirror the curving landscape of the surrounding dunes. The classic gambrel shape that graces the approach from the street, is softened into smooth curves instead of the usual angles. An arched porte cochere welcomes cars into the service yard and leads to their enclosure behind hidden garage doors. Inside, the efficient floor plan, designed to make the most of a limited footprint, incorporates both defined and open spaces, like the dramatic double-height living room or the cozy, fireplaced sun porch. The elegant interiors of this sunny, light-filled house enhance the ocean views that can be seen from every room.

House at Harding's General Store
This historic renovation located in the heart of Chatham's Old Village, is a quintessential antique Chatham cottage. The original structure housed Harding's General Store in the late 1800s and was since rotated on the property and taken over as a residence before the current owner lovingly renovated and added to the structure. The quaint cottage blends traditional style with modern amenities - a new cheerful yellow country kitchen with farmer's sink doubles as the house's "back" entryway. And upstairs guest bedroom suite, as well as a sunny lower-level walkout family room were added as part of the renovations. Beams and original floorboards were reused or replicated whenever possible, and other materials in keeping with those of the original structure are used throughout. A lush patio off the dining room and beautifully landscaped outdoor living spaces expand the uses of this modest and charming house. The House at Harding's General Store was a 2007 Chatham Preservation Awards winner.