Cozy Cape offers lakeside ambience
South Hamilton
Style: Cape
Built: 1930
Square feet: 1,224
Rooms: 6
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1.5
Sewer: Septic
Evelyn and Shawn Davis bought this lakeside cottage from Shawn's father in 1995. It had been in the family since the mid-1950s, and the cottages in the area date to the early 1900s, when Boston families summered here. More than a dozen families in the neighborhood are going on third-generation ownership, Shawn Davis said.
"The street is full of friendly neighborhood kids. There's hiking trails, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, a warm-water beach, and skating and cross-country skiing in winter," he said. "It's a home where you're always on vacation."
Inside the red cedar-shingled structure, a new woodstove insert in the living room fireplace creates an appealing centerpiece in an inviting room with pine beams, recessed lighting, wide pine boards painted off-white, and pale sage window trims. An adjacent bright, cozy sitting area features multiple windows, a pine ceiling, and a 6-foot sliding glass door leading to a deck high above Pleasant Pond, also known as Idlewood Lake. The kitchen, bath, and bedroom on this level are in good condition; a sliding glass door leads to a deck and accessible ramp.
Upstairs, ceilings are low and slanted because of the dormers, but skylights help the area, which contains two bedrooms and a half bath, feel airy. The beautifully landscaped yard is full of special trees and bushes including a weeping cherry, dogwood, apple, pear, lilac, and rose of Sharon. "Hamilton has homes in this price range and then you go over $1 million. This one is for someone who wants to get into the great school system at an entry level, or retire here," said broker Dottie Felch, who is listing the property with Cookie Melanson of Century 21 North Shore.
MINDY POLLACK-FUSI 