![Portal to the Past](https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654495/1673339854/articles/76WPF7Vnr1675424415279/PORTAL-TO-THE-PAST.jpg)
While their high school classmates were holding hands at the movies, sweethearts Stephenie and Chase Watts were spending their Friday nights wandering through Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, dreaming of someday decorating their own home. "Those were our date nights," Chase says.
Today, the couple, who now own an interior design studio (Watts Design House; @stepheniewatts), is more likely to spend their evenings cuddled up with their two children inside their 1639 shingled cottage in Sandwich, Massachusetts. "The house sat on the market for two months," says Chase, who is also a real estate agent and discovered the listing two-and-a-half years ago while scrolling on his phone. "I guess not everyone wants a house that's more than 380 years old."
The cottage is a time capsule, sitting on its original post-and-beam foundation that makes for occasionally uneven floors. Other timeworn quirks include low-beamed ceilings and multiple wood-burning fireplaces lined with the county's namesake Barnstable bricks. "It was around the late 1700s or early 1800s that the house got the facade that you see now," Stephenie says.
The couple learned about one of the home's early inhabitants from a keepsake bundle found in the attic by the previous owners. Scraps of satin ribbon and lace, a lock of auburn hair, and a handwritten recipe for loaf cake tell the story of a merchant and his wife who raised their family in the house during the 1800s. The discovery only reinforced the Wattses' resolve to become stewards of the cottage.
Denne historien er fra February - March 2023-utgaven av Country Living.
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Denne historien er fra February - March 2023-utgaven av Country Living.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![FARM and AWAY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/ABL1l8wKO1683801280452/FARM-AND-AWAY.jpg)
FARM and AWAY
When your country cabin is in a place called Summertown, you better believe there's plenty of fresh-air fun to be had
![Homegrown Branching Out](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/bg-FnGUfk1683800194163/HOMEGROWN-BRANCHING-OUT.jpg)
Homegrown Branching Out
A cross-country move to Washington's San Juan Islands prompted Audra Query Lawlor to begin preserving the region's heritage, one jam jar at a time
![Picnics & Parties Just Add Saltwater](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/2k8G2QO1Y1683799963726/PICNICS-PARTIES-JUST-ADD-SALTWATER.jpg)
Picnics & Parties Just Add Saltwater
At her 1930s converted fish camp in Savannah, designer Elizabeth Demos keeps it casual for a come-as-you-are evening down by the dock
![In With the Old Swing Your Partner](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/ONk1g3nLQ1683799630960/IN-WITH-THE-OLD-SWING-YOUR-PARTNER.jpg)
In With the Old Swing Your Partner
Sashay your way to a striking display with colorful Western square dance memorabilia
![Across the Pond - All Hands on Deck](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/wyONK9-tI1683794965914/ACROSS-THE-POND-ALL-HANDS-ON-DECK.jpg)
Across the Pond - All Hands on Deck
When a family of creative spirits sets out to restore a centuries-old English boathouse, the result is a jaunty seaside sanctuary
![Country Comeback Quilty Pleasures](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/6YnaUIYKS1683794603575/COUNTRY-COMEBACK-QUILTY-PLEASURES.jpg)
Country Comeback Quilty Pleasures
Equally timeless and trendy, pieced and patchwork quilts are comfort food in coverlet form
![Currently Craving A Party-Ready Outdoor Kitchen](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/FeHLjaHiy1683794122902/CURRENTLY-CRAVING-A-PARTYREADY-OUTDOOR-KITCHEN.jpg)
Currently Craving A Party-Ready Outdoor Kitchen
Mallorie and Jim Rasberry of HGTV's Home Town serve up ample Southern style at their family cabin outside of Laurel, Mississippi
![Perfectly Imperfect Creaky Screen Doors](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1301504/pp1U_D3Hx1683793924490/PERFECTLY-IMPERFECT-CREAKY-SCREEN-DOORS.jpg)
Perfectly Imperfect Creaky Screen Doors
Nothing complements the come-and-go casualness of summer like this mesh mainstay
![No Place Like Home](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1236767/63zS6jgDv1679572070990/NO-PLACE-LIKE-HOME.jpg)
No Place Like Home
A worn and weathered set of skeleton keys represents a rich life under one roof.
![Hide-and-Seek](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2240/1236767/C6FjgIF2C1679571987619/HIDEANDSEEK.jpg)
Hide-and-Seek
Patience proves paramount when author Tove Danovich's feisty flock of backyard hens sends her on an unconventional egg hunt.