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A renovated Scituate home with award-winning design
Chris Bernstein
For many coastal properties on the South Shore that have been passed down through generations, both sentimental and monetary values have increased over time. In the best of circumstances, these homes, many of which are summer residences, have been lovingly maintained. Faced with the decision of what to do with the oceanfront cottage where he, like his mother before him, had joyfully passed childhood summers, Les Yetton welcomed input from those around him. Friends and family reaffirmed his personal leaning toward renovation over reconstruction of the house on Rebecca Road across the street from Sand Hill Beach in Scituate—a community that includes disparate styles of homes, from elaborate, year-round contemporaries to older, modest vacation cottages updated over the years. The property, passed down to his mother’s sister in the 80s, had fallen into serious disrepair by 2009. Yetton, being the only living Cushing heir (his mother’s maiden name), took on the responsibility of making the necessary repairs required to maintain homeowner’s insurance while assuring that his elderly aunt could continue to spend her summers in the cottage without disruption. “Aunt Helen possessed the Yankee, depression-era mentality and resisted any change,” he said on a recent summer afternoon visit at the house.
The cottage, which had been an ideal respite for Yetton growing up and later, when he and his wife Donna started their own family, had gradually become cluttered and less suitable for the family. “I spent entire summers here till I was in my early 20s,” he says. “Between the ages of 10 and 15 I had a license from the state and had about ten lobster pots; I’d go up and down the seawall selling them to people.”
The couple appreciates the opportunity to again enjoy leisurely family walks and bike rides in the environment where they have developed lifelong friendships while ensuring the same for their children, Kaitlyn, 26, Ryan, 23, and Emily, 10, and future generations. “Life happens so fast now especially with the Internet, cell phones, Twitter. No one has time to kick back and read and reflect,” he says. The couple agrees that their daughter Emily’s lemonade stand is a perfect example of something that would never happen back in Andover, home of their primary residence.
Every older property has a backstory, and the Cushing Cottage is no exception. Yetton’s grandfather and great-grandfather constructed the house from a Sears Roebuck home kit in 1921. Between 1908 and 1940 Sears sold some 70,000 homes in 447 different styles, through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the homeowner in full creative control. The Cushings were not builders by trade; in fact Yetton’s grandfather was a professor and athletic director at the Lowell Institute of Technology, now UMass Lowell, where the football stadium, Cushing Field, bears his name.
The renovation project began with considerable r
esearch, which to no surprise took place online; Yetton is a high-tech executive who has spent the last 25 years of his professional life as an entrepreneur, guiding, investing in, and growing technology company startups. He was intent on finding a builder with specific design expertise. “I wanted someone who understood the subtlety and nuances of properties like this,” he says. In custom builder David Agnew, the owner found his project partner, who a year later would be recognized for this endeavor by the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry with the 2010 Award for interior design.
Together they worked out interesting ways of tackling challenges, like creating more living space by moving the first floor half-bath from a corner of the kitchen to beneath the staircase. Its wall-mounted sink is boat shaped and gently expressive of the seaside environment. Yetton credits Agnew for coming up with unique design elements including the stairway landing’s sunburst pattern created by cutting Douglas fir with or against the grain to reveal varying tones from blond to amber. Flooring throughout the cottage is fir treated with shellac, which is 100 percent organic, but only the second floor is original. Yetton admiringly points out the intricacies of camouflaging plumbing, cable and electrical systems within paneled cabinets, another inspiration of Agnew’s. Even the hot water heater that once stood in the middle of the living room is hidden behind the pine plank paneling featured on all of the surrounding walls, which reflect the home’s original, rustic charm.
Phase one of the renovation involved major exterior work: replacement of the roof, chimney, shingles, windows, doors and decking that wraps around three sides of the building with accompanying railings. “Everything was restored to the original design,” says Yetton. Cedar shingles were replaced with new cedar shingles and the windows are the same size, except for one window in the back, which was replaced with a sliding glass door.
“We wanted to let in more natural light and allow for easy access to the deck, which was enlarged quite a bit, but we retained the colors: grey flooring and green and white railings.” The ample front porch was rebuilt to its original specifications including screening; it easily accommodates four rocking chairs and tables. “The sunsets out here are spectacular,” says Yetton, who spends many summer evenings looking out onto the horizon over the ocean.
Because the house was constructed on pylons, or stilts, it became apparent that structural reinforcement was required when, Yetton says, “David was here working on the cottage during the winter months and it was literally swaying in the wind.” The added supports blend seamlessly with the original exposed framing. The second floor was painstakingly recreated in a nearly precise replica of its original state. The refurbished walls are pine center-bead, tongue and groove consistent with the entire home. The electrical wiring had to be brought up to code, which the builder cleverly enclosed in casing made from wood reclaimed within the house.
Originally, there were four bedrooms, but one was converted into a large bathroom that accommodates a washer and dryer. The hallway was enhanced when Agnew fashioned a curved wall to enclose the bedroom opposite the bath where previously an accordion door of synthetic fabric hung, most likely added sometime in the 70s. The three remaining bedrooms, each with its own closet, are decorated in a calming, summer color pallet.
Painted wood furniture in surf green, summer turquoise and ecru feature contemporary beadboard that complements the preserved, natural center-bead walls. “I wanted to keep it simple, stress-free to maintain, yet comfortable,” says Donna Yetton, who works part time as a registered nurse. All but one of the seven five-panel doors are original, with new flat black hardware that carries over to the switch plates, in place of the former white porcelain ones.
“In keeping with the theme of blending modern amenities with turn of the century style, we installed a gas fireplace with a flat-screen TV above it in the living room,” says Agnew. The mantel and stairway newel were configured with 150-year-old, reclaimed yellow pine from a mill in Rhode Island, while the handrail is the original. The simplicity of the light fixtures, mostly brass reproductions, are reflective of simpler times yet feel contemporary.
The kitchen, a project in itself, was originally walled off from the living room and offered only six feet of counter space. On the positive side, it offered an abundance of natural light through its numerous windows. Once the open floor plan was created by eliminating all but the center third of the dividing wall, the galley style kitchen was completely reconfigured by designer Kevin Schlosser. It features custom white cabinets with beadboard doors, black granite countertops, a deep farmer’s porcelain sink and stainless steel appliances. PVC water pipes for the second-floor bathroom and microwave exhaust are painted black and run along the ceiling, which is the original, exposed upstairs flooring. The result is a quaint, country farmhouse feel with contemporary efficiency.
“Our son Ryan loves to cook and together we make meals and eat on the deck,” Donna Yetton says. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, the family has a small round table, one of the few pieces of Aunt Helen’s furniture that they kept, and they pull up chairs to create an intimate dining experience. “The kitchen is compact,” she says, “I almost prefer it to the kitchen in our Andover home of 4,000 square feet, with a huge great room, large kitchen and formal rooms we don’t even use any more.”
“Coming here is almost like going back in time, a way to slow things down a bit,” says Yetton, who, in restoring the cottage, succeeded in creating the ideal setting to recapture the best of what his youthful summers meant to him.
