Last week I posted part of the evolution of a home that REEF is building here on Cape Cod. The blog received a lot of attention. It seems many people are interested in watching the metamorphosis of an old, rundown cottage into a modern waterfront or water view Cape Cod home. The home I featured last week overlooks the dunes on the north side of the Cape, and Cape Cod Bay.

Here’s another REEF project with southern exposure over a beautiful bay and river in Dennis. It’s the small one in the center of the first photo, right above the red and green buoys. You can see that the neighborhood has grown up around the old cottage. The scene is pretty tranquil now, as the photos were taken in November through January. However this area is alive with small boat activity in the summer, which will provide for endless hours of quiet enjoyment.  I’ll update the blog photos as construction progresses. The kitchen and living area, as well as most of the bedrooms in the home, overlook the water. It will be breath taking. Stay tuned…!

Outdoor living is a big part of Cape Cod. We are constantly designing new, bigger, and more exciting ways for our customers to live outside. Today’s outdoor spaces include relaxing water features, gourmet kitchens, expansive bar areas, and multiple levels. Often the focus is as much on outside amenities and living as it is on the interior spaces! Here’s some amazing decks to consider as you begin to plan your Cape Cod home.

Amazing Deck Designs

Many of our customers seek to replace their old cottages with new homes. There is no new land being created on Cape Cod, so often folks will purchase an older home for its location. Then they come to us to maximize the views, and create a wonderful home for their family to enjoy. Here are a few photos of one of our current projects. We designed the home to take advantage of commanding views of some north side dunes and Cape Cod Bay. The view from the kitchen window is breathtaking. Adjacent is a large living area with an expansive bank of windows and sliding glass doors. The last photo is the view from the soon-to-be-completed deck.

If you have a wonderful view and a not-so-wonderful house, or you’d like to enjoy a similar Cape Cod home, just call us. We are happy to help.

Bob Sheldon does a great job with his timely review of real esate transactions on outer Cape Cod, specifically Eastham. He includes highlights, commentary, year-to-year comparisons...even a report on sharks! It's a good read, with some interesting insights into the Cape Cod real estate market.

Eastham Cape Cod February Newsletter

The kitchen is the heart of your Cape Cod home, and even though it may be your Cape Escape cottage, it’s our job to ensure that your home design has access to the latest and greatest. Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) surveys its members to identify the latest design and specification trends in kitchen and bath design. This year, more than 300 NKBA member-designers participated in the 2013 NKBA Design Trends Survey, reporting the materials, product types, and styles that they specified in their kitchen and bath designs over the final three months of 2012. New products - like this touch-activated faucet - new ideas, great reading!

2013 Kitchen Design Trends

Join the REEF team live tomorrow, Saturday, on the radio for a discussion of the state of new home building on Cape Cod. Our team is a resource for building code changes, zoning issues, historic district and conservation issues. The new building codes have seriously impacted the cost of construction, and people have lots of questions. The folks at WXTK asked us to do their program tomorrow, so we'll be on at 10:15AM.

Just follow the link below,and click on Listen Live.

Cape Cod News Radio WXTK

Cape Cod in the winter? You may not know that the richness of life on Cape Cod and the Islands is celebrated with festivals all year long. We celebrate our clams, chowder and scallops, daffodils and strawberries, fine wines and culinary fare, extraordinary films and filmmakers, along with our seafaring heritage. February must be slow and quiet, right? Well it’s not as buys as July, but there’s plenty going on:

The Magnificent Splendor of Trees Exhibit, Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit; Van Gogh Through the Weaver's Eyes: An Exhibit of Woven Art, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth; Presidents’ Holiday Antiques Show and Sale, a quality antique show featuring over 30 dealers, including fine and country furniture, Americana, quilts, stoneware, and more; Gershwin, By George!, Highfield Hall, Falmouth; Broadway and Beyond! A Salute to the Oscars, Orleans.

Here’s a great Cape and Islands Event Calendar to help you plan your year. You’ll be plenty busy!

Cape Cod Event Calendar

Kitchen design is always evolving, which is why REEF spends so much time keeping abreast of new ideas and trends. Some hot topics of late: neutral finishes, warm touches, new interpretation of country style, nature and natural textures, gourmet cooking features and induction cooktops. Our new homes on Cape Cod always feature a wonderful, sometimes fabulous, kitchen. Here’s some insight into what’s trending for 2013.

Kitchen Design Trends for 2013

While 10% of Cape Cod is still without electrical power, we are picking ourselves up from a huge blizzard. Many of us were prepared, and some were not. Some of us got lucky and never experienced a power outage. Most of Cape Cod lost power for at least 24 hours. It certainly makes one grateful for things we generally take for granted, like electricity and heat! While the cleanup continues, here’s a list of 14 essential items to have on hand for the next big storm (blizzard or hurricane!).

14 Blizzard Essentials for your Cape Cod home

It’s the middle of winter, and weather dictates almost everything on a gardener's to-do list. Even though February marks the heart of winter, there’s still plenty to do to prepare for the spring thaw. It's not too late to provide cover for tender and early-flowering plants. Get back into the swing of perennials this month with shopping, clearing, ordering, dividing and possibly a bit of planting. Spend sunny February weekends doing building projects so you're all ready when spring kicks in, like creating a raised garden bed. Here’s some great information and a handy checklist to help get your garden ready for a beautiful season.

February checklist for your Cape Cod garden