Description
In 1852, ship Captain John Sears proudly built his house in the fashionable Greek Revival style. By that time, the village of East Dennis on Cape Cod Bay had been settled by the English for two centuries and by the Wampanoag for centuries before that.
Set behind mature maples, the Capt. Sears House had been lovingly maintained for decades but was due for upgrades both inside and out. The owners’ program for their long-held second home was to create a first floor master bedroom suite with a generous family room and to add bedrooms upstairs for a three-generation Cape Cod retreat.
The challenge for Torrey Architecture was to add significant volume to the modestly-scaled original house while still retaining the prominence and grandeur of its original street-facing end-gabled entry elevation. This resolution of these conflicting goals was accomplished with a smaller-scaled T-shaped addition set back from the street and by creative interpretation and skillful replication of its historic character-defining details.
During the prerequisite review by Old King’s Highway Historic Commission, (as required for local permitting) the review board commented on the appropriateness of the design. Today, we hope we’ve again made Captain Sears proud.
Photo credits: David w. Torrey, BluWater Photography
Gallery
Before & After
