Cranberry Cottage

Cranberry Cottage started its life in 1790 as, we believe from examination of existing proportions and structure, a Half Cape Cod Cottage house type (entry door to one side, two windows adjacent on other side). The original entry facade faces what is now the backyard but would have originally been the approach from town to the remotely located cottage. The house grew over time to a Full Cape (entry door on center, two windows more-or-less symmetrically disposed to either side of door) and then with a wing and an ell off one end and the back. By the time the current owners approached PSD to renovate and expand the house yet again, the antique spaces were in-tact and retained their original character, but the more recent additions were tired. The owners sought to be stewards of the layers of history evident in the house, and to add new layers uniquely established for them, and they invited PSD to join them in that pursuit.

PSD restored the antique portion, lifted it to install a new hand-made brick clad foundation with finished basement, and added compatible but not replicative additions. The additions create a new covered porch for shaded outdoor living amongst the property's giant antique trees; a new street-facing entry highlighted by a bracketed hood roof and a cupola above; a new mudroom with a stair leading down to a new basement playroom; and a new primary bathroom and closet off the existing bedroom. The charming assemblage of old and new, as well as carefully integrated new systems, now functions well as a family home that is both full of character and memories yet ready to see its next 225 years of history.