This is the old Cape Cod at its loveliest and most peaceful. Although the oldest part of the house was originally a cottage built in the 1830s, this property was one of the first in Chatham to be transformed into a summer estate in the early 20th century. The architectural details are unique, the views heavenly, the outdoors inviting. There's no place like it.

The property (and this booking) includes two houses: the ten-bedroom main house and the 3 bedroom cottage.

Our houses are located on 3.2 acres, which provide sweeping ocean views and plenty of secret places to hide away with a deck chair and a book. For children there's ample terrain for tag, softball, scavenger hunts, and epic games of hide and seek.

Our home overlooks North Chatham’s Pleasant Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Although the geography is shifting quickly these days, there is a barrier beach--the outer bar--in places, that separates the bay from the ocean and shelters our beach from the ocean surf.

A lawn slopes down from the house to a staircase down to a wide sandy beach. In Massachusetts, beach is private to the low tide mark but in practice we allow people to walk on our beach.

The main house opens up onto a large flat lawn that is equally inviting for morning donuts and coffee or evening wine and cheese. In fact, entire days can slip by as one sits here contemplating the changing light and tides. A stroll down the lawn and a flight of stairs takes you to a quiet beach. To the south of the main house is a large flower garden, designed early in the 20th century, complete with a gazebo. Also overlooking the water, this garden is a perfect spot for a picnic, a nap, or a party.

Behind the house, away from the water, is a meadow and a grove of locust trees. There’s a back patio by the kitchen for grilling and outdoor eating, and plenty of cozy spots to shelter from the sea wind on breezy days.

The main house stretches along the bay, allowing for many spectacular water views and lending the house a feeling of transparency. Bright morning light pours in across the water from the east and gentle golden light filters in from the west in the evening.

The main house has 10 bedrooms. There are 5 bathrooms: 1 half bath; 1 bathroom with a shower; 1 bathroom with a tub-shower combination; 1 bathroom with a separate shower and tub, and 1 bathroom with a bathtub only. There is also an outdoor shower, and in summer, almost everyone showers outdoors because it's such a treat!

Most of the first floor is an extended living space which includes a dining room, the music room (a living room with an old piano--nice for kids, disappointing for a concert pianist, a TV, and French doors that open onto the formal garden), the sunporch (a spacious living room, with a wall of full-length windows overlooking the water), a third living room organized around a big working fireplace, a pantry, and a kitchen that opens onto a cozy breakfast patio under a chestnut tree. There is also a bedroom with its own entrance, two sweet and simple bedrooms in the original "maid's wing," and two bathrooms—one a half-bath and one with a shower.

Upstairs are bedrooms and more bedrooms: 2 bedrooms with king beds and water views; 2 bedrooms with queen beds, 1 of which has a water view; 1 bedroom with two singles; 2 bedrooms with 1 single bed each. There are three bathrooms, one of which has a bathtub only, one of which has a separate shower and tub, and one of which has a bathtub-shower combination.

The cottage is cozy, yet spacious. It has 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The living room has a working fireplace and a small TV. Two French doors open from the living room onto an outdoor sitting area with views of the water. The kitchen overlooks the ocean—I’ve never found a more inspiring spot for vegetable chopping--and opens up to an airy dining room on one side and an outdoor sitting and grilling area on the other, so whether you’re dining indoors or out, it's easy to keep an eye on the stove.

Also on the first floor is a bedroom overlooking the water with a queen bed, a bathroom with a shower, and a bedroom with a single bed, it’s own entrance, and gorgeous late-afternoon light.

Upstairs is one large bedroom with windows on three sides. You can lie in the king-sized bed and watch the sunrise over the water, while children sleep in a double bed that is nestled into an alcove. There is also a bathroom upstairs with a claw foot bathtub.

The main house is not heated (although the cottage is) so we make the property available for rental from the mid-May to mid-October.

Please note: this shoreline is very dynamic. I describe above what the beach looks like now. A big storm could either wipe away a good portion of the beach or deposit more sand thereby increasing the beach's size. We do everything we can to protect ourselves from erosion, but the reality of shore-front property these days is that the beach levels are not in our control. This would be the case with any ocean front house. So there are no guarantees that the beach will still be as currently described when the rental begins and we will not offer any money back because of shifts in the beach due to storms, erosion, or anything else.