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Pleasant Heights

Pleasant Bay is the largest estuary on Cape Cod. It spans four towns and includes numerous coves, tidal rivers, ponds, harbors, marshes, islands, and beaches. It has been a special, environmentally rich, place since recorded history of the region began. All types of houses have been built around it, from modest beach houses right on the sand to large shingle style manses. Pleasant Heights is a large bluff-top site with a new, up-to-date, shingle style home inspired by these classic shoreline homes.

PSD Pleasant Heights Front Entry Door Open
Seaside
Scope of Work Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Construction
Finished Space Above Grade 5,099
Guest House Finished Space Above Grade 844
Photography Brian Vanden Brink
PSD Pleasant Heights Front Exterior
Pleasant Heights PSD 2 R Exterior Detail
PSD Pleasant Heights Porte Cochere

Several client requirements and site characteristics drove the design of the house. A portion of the property includes a neighbor’s view easement, and preservation of some magnificent large trees was important.

A driveway defines one edge of the front yard/playing field, the garage forms another, and the main house a third. The driveway passes the front door, goes through a porte-cochere that connects the garage to the house, and then behind the garage to the parking bays. Garage doors are hidden from the street and from the rest of the house and front yard. Two classic shingle style gambrel roofs run perpendicular to the main body of the house and flank an entry porch with two stout columns. A hip-roofed dormer—with an arch-top center window and two tiny side windows—highlights the center and caps off the orderly but not too formal entry. A third gambrel defines the garage that is set off to one side. A continuous flared roof overhang accentuates the horizontal, brings down the scale, and helps shade first-floor windows. Sinuous lines created by arches and brackets balance the linear geometry of the main mass and are playful and fun.

Pleasant Heights PSD 2 R Stair
Pleasant Heights PSD 8 Dining Room
Pleasant Heights PSD 7 L Kitchen

Inside, a grand entry hall with a curved stair and balcony above begins circulation through a sequence of spaces parallel to the beach.

Nearly every room takes in the spectacular bay view. A rustic brick and stone fireplace warms, literally and figuratively, the living room and recalls the detailed handmade brick chimney that anchors the west end of the house.

Pleasant Heights PSD 6 Living Room
Pleasant Heights PSD 5 Living Room
PSD Pleasant Heights Sitting
Pleasant Heights PSD 4 L Detail

Curves from the exterior are reflected in the interior. Columns, newel posts, and balustrades gracefully bulge and taper. Patterns and textures abound in both the architecture and the decorating.

Pleasant Heights PSD 9 R Bedroom
Pleasant Heights PSD 9 L Bedroom Detail
PSD Pleasant Heights Bathroom
Pleasant Heights PSD 10 Bedroom
PSD Pleasant Heights Guest House

An ancient oak tree delightfully grows next to the guest house.

The top level of the guest house includes living and dining spaces, while two bedrooms occupy the lower level.

PSD Pleasant Heights Guest House Interior1
PSD Pleasant Heights Guest House Interior2
Pleasant Heights PSD 12 Exterior
Pleasant Heights PSD 12 L View
Pleasant Heights PSD 12 R Exterior Back
Pleasant Heights PSD 14 Exterior

As Seen In...


20231220 PSD Pleasant Heights
Cape Cod Home

The Heights of Family, by Chris White, Winter 2023.

PSD's "Pleasant Heights" appears on the cover and featured within the September-October 2019 issue of New England Home magazine.
New England Home

Generation Next, by Elizabeth F. McNamara, September-October 2019.