OK. It's freezing. The outdoor shower is off and drained for the winter, as are the water fountains. Winter coats are out, and it's dark at 4:30. For the next few months we'll be spending a lot more time indoors.

And the air won't be so fresh. Air quality can significantly affect the way you feel, day and night. Pet hair, food odors, germs...they all add up over the winter days, weeks, and months. Air purifiers are a great way to clean the air, and help keep healthy during the indoor months.

There are hundereds of air purifiers on the market. Which one is best for you? Here's a great list of Top 10 Air Purifiers for your Cape Cod Home:

Best Air Purifiers for your Cape Cod Home

Best Air Purifiers for your Cape Cod Home

Thanksgiving may be your favorite time of the year. It certainly is mine. Family, friends, food...and no gift-giving stress.

And then there's all the fun stufff to do: Craft Fairs, Turkey Trot, Turnip Festival, Glassblowers Christmas, lighting of the Lobster Pot Tree, the Train to Christmastown...

Since the gang is together, or maybe they've headed back home, here are some great ways to enjoy Thanksgiving on Cape Cod :

Cape Cod Thanksgiving Events Calendar

Cape Cod Thanksgiving Events Calendar

Every day we are focused on designing, permitting, and building homes for valued Customers. We always have multiple projects happening, so it's easy to lose oneself in the details and business of just getting it done.

Last week a package arrived...and there was our good work, on the cover of Modern Buider + Design magazine. Cool! Very cool!

Modern Builder + Design feature article on REEF Cape Cod's Home Builder

Modern Builder + Design feature article on REEF Cape Cod's Home Builder

Check it out, and let us know what you think. We'd love to get your feedback!

Let us design and build a house for you, and maybe you'll end up on a magazine cover!

Wind farms off Cape Cod have been in the news a lot lately. Cape Wind's hopes of seizing Horseshoe Shoals are almost completely dead, and Denmark-based DONG Energy is proposing a 1,000 megawatt project 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard.

So how do you actually install 100 giant wind turbines in the ocean bed? It can't all be easy sledding.

The folks at Deepwater Wind have encountered all sorts of adventures in their efforts to install tubines off Block Island. Everything from humpback whales stopping construction, to huge barges breaking loose.

This is great stuff!:

Offshore Wind Farm encounters events making progress in Rhode Island near Cape Cod.

Offshore Wind Farm encounters events making progress in Rhode Island near Cape Cod.

Busy summer? Stuff everywhere? Me too! Winter is coming - you'll be spending more time inside. So it's time to store the summer stuff, and organize eveything else.

Decluttering is highly underrated: a clean space is happy, productive space. Make it clean and you'll be happier - really!

So where do you begin? Do you create a filing system first, or get stuff into piles? Start at the front door and work backwards?

Here's a great guideline to help you declutter and refresh for the winter season:

5 Ways to Jump-Start your Decluttering effort for your Cape Cod home

Many people are surprised to learn how much it costs to build a house on Cape Cod. One of the cost drivers has been accommodating the "Wind Borne Debris Zone" with Impact Resistant Glass. 

This special zone extends approximately 1 mile inland from mean high water, which includes thousands of Cape Cod homes. The current building code requires any glazed surface (a window or glass door) to be constructed of Impact Resistant Glass (IR Glass), or to have plywood cut to size and available with fasteneters to cover the glazed surface.

IR Glass almost triples the cost of an installed window. Ouch! So this requirement has been a significant comp0nent of the increased cost of building on Cape Cod.

Coming in 2016, the new Building Code is reported to have eliminated the IR Glass requirement:

Further detailed investigation by staff indicates the new wind speeds in this extended windborne area are less than the wind speed that triggered windborne debris requirements in the 2009 IRC. With that consideration, and not finding any historical evidence indicating windborne debris has been the primary cause of major structural damage after much investigation, the windborne debris requirement has been eliminated. This simplifies design and construction and significantly reduces cost."

So...there is hope that the rising cost of materials to build a home on Cape Cod may stall a bit, especially when you don't have to spend $1,000 for a simple window!

Want more info? Here's our updated report on building costs:

We all know it's coming...Summer was great...Fall is wonderful...and ol' man Winter is on his way. How will your home fare the storm season? I know I'll be stowing the porch furniture soon.

Nationwide has a great site with Winter Preparation Tips:

Nationwide Insurance Tips for Cape Cod Homes

Here's some Top Tips from the NAHB:

There are many great events on Cape Cod, but the Wellfleet Oyster Fest is a must! It happens this weekend, October 17 and 18, 10AM - 5PM.

Jim Hagerty, our VP and lead designer, takes his family every year. "I love the  great food and drink at the Winslow Tavern. And the kids love all the activity at the Oyster Fest".

The oyster shucking contest is a highlight (The Shuck-off !). Arts and Crafts are on display, jugglers, Cape Cod African Drums, skateboard competition, spelling bee, tennis round-robin, cooking demonstrations, dance party - all in Wellfleet!

Here's all the info and schedule for one of Cape Cod's best events:

Wellfleet Oyster Fest info and schedule

Wellfleet Oyster Fest info and schedule

Wellfleet Oyster Fest info and schedule

We all know that the kitchen is the "heart of the home", but what about after dinner? Many of our Customers request that their home design offer multiple living areas, including a place to mix and enjoy beverages before and/or after a nice meal. 

Of course there are myriad ways to handle the needs of a home bar, with built-in cabinets and wine coolers, or perhaps a simple space for a classic antique table. Recently we included a beer tap in the wet bar for a Customer.  Sometimes the requirement will roll into an outside space.

In any event, here are some great ideas to get the bar out of the kitchen, and satisfy the needs of entertaining in your Cape Cod home:

Great Bar Design Ideas for Cape Cod homes

Great Bar Design Ideas for Cape Cod homes

Great Bar Design Ideas for Cape Cod homes

For our Customers, every project is special. Of course! What could be better than a home designed around your lifestyle, with special amenities you just for you, delivered on time, at a guaranteed build cost well within your budget.

Every once in a while, one of our custom homes gets noticed and recognized for the easy living and gracious amenities it offers, not to mention the million dollar view! What makes homes like this so special? Take a moment and enjoy:

"Inspired by the Bay" takes you to a Cape Cod beach house...

"Inspired by the Bay" takes you to a Cape Cod beach house...