This Home Offers Joy for the Generations

Andy LeStage has ties to Orleans that go back generations. His summers were spent in a cedar-sided home on his parents’ property, up on a hill overlooking the river that gave the family a place to fish, swim, boat, and explore.

Several years ago, he and his wife, Maria, (pronounced “Mariah”), decided to build on a parcel of land next to the home Andy grew up in, where Andy’s brother lives now; the property was part of the family compound and gave the brothers the chance to also be neighbors.

The new homestead—created by SV Design and Laplante Construction—gave the LeStages the chance to pass on the joy of Cape Cod river life to their two children and future generations. The family can see Andy’s brother’s home and the river from the backyard, where a native meadow is frequented by dozens of species of birds, and the stunning river greets them whether they sit outside on the patio or in the kitchen, dining area, and living room. 

“I love the way the house lives,” Maria says, and Andy agrees, saying, “The flow of life through the house works really well.” 

The LeStages particularly enjoy that the home scales easily—up or down—depending on how many people are in it. Over Thanksgiving 2023, they had extended family visit. They’ve hosted a cocktail party for 40 people, and for much of the year, they live in their home alone. “It doesn’t ever feel too big or too small,” Maria says.

Getting started

In 2020, the LeStages connected with the architecture and interior design firm SV Design and Sean Henry, a senior project manager who works out of the company’s Chatham office. They shared their vision for a classic Cape home with an open design, office spaces for each of them, ample views of the river that leads to Little Pleasant Bay, and the flexibility to grow from three bedrooms to five—with an additional two-bedroom guest house, if needed. 

“They gave us the parameters and also valued our expertise in what we do with design,” Sean says, explaining that SV Design’s associate of interiors, Lindsay Goode, also entered into an iterative process with the LeStages, bouncing ideas back and forth and guiding them through the interior design.

In 2021, the vision and design were clear, and the LeStages reached out to Bill Laplante, president of Laplante Construction in both Chatham and East Longmeadow, to bring it to life. The couple was living in Hingham, and Laplante came recommended by a fellow gym member in casual conversation. 

After viewing Bill’s home in Orleans, which was built by Laplante Construction, the LeStages brought the firm on board. “It worked amazingly well,” Andy says. “Maria and I have built additions on previous homes, but this was the first time we did a ground-up construction. It worked as we hoped, with the architect and builder working together to deliver the dream home.” 

Design flair outside the home includes classic exterior lighting sourced by The Nauset Lantern Shop in Orleans, landscaping in the rear by Blue Flax Design of Harwich Port, and a Nantucket-style dormer over the front door.

The open floor plan and plentiful windows by Andersen let light and beauty inside the home, where you’ll also find Vartanian Custom Cabinetry in the kitchen, wet bar, and bathrooms; quartz countertops; frameless glass shower doors with porcelain tile; and a custom-built white oak staircase.

Bill says the LeStage’s color selections help the interior shine. “They weren’t afraid of color,” he adds, pointing to the stunning teal glass backsplash in the kitchen, the deep blue cabinetry of the wet bar in the living room, and the Ombre tile that fades from deep blue to white in the master bath.

The importance of communication

The LeStages moved from Hingham to the Cape and were living in another family home after their project broke ground. Maria works in marketing, remotely; Andy had recently retired from commercial real estate and investment management, and in 2023, he bought a Budget Blinds window coverings franchise in Dennis.

Their lifestyle made them available to their architect and builder as the project evolved.

Bill says he and his team stayed in contact with Sean and the LeStages, working through various changes and making materials choices as needed. That communication, he says, is critical.

“There must be a very, very close working relationship between our team and the customer, and the communication is the absolute most important part,” Bill says, noting that oftentimes—but not with the LeStage’s job—“We might discover a technique, a design detail, or a material we’re not comfortable with. We bring that up, and we talk to the customer about that. We talk to the architect about that.” 

One major detail that did change in the plans for the LeStage’s home was that there was originally a step up from the main home to the rooftop deck; the couple preferred it to be level, so the plan was tweaked, taking depth from the garage ceiling.

“It was a great example of that collaboration—fixing something in the field,” Andy says.

Taking in the outdoors

Sean says the site the LeStage’s home sits on is a previously untouched wooded lot, and site constraints were defined by the winding river and conservation restrictions. A great deal of invasive species were removed, which made it easier to also remove many trees in poor condition. 

Blue Flax oversaw the restoration of the property along the riverbank. In addition to serving as a liaison with the Conservation Commission, Blue Flax landscaped the rear garden, which holds Queen Anne’s Lace, Black Eyed Susans, and other native species. In the front of the home, traditional hydrangeas and ornamental grasses were planted by Outerland of Mashpee. 

“We spend a lot of time on the patio,” Maria says. “We try to eat outside. We sit in the Adirondack chairs and hang in the hammock. I could watch the river all day, and Andy’s a big birder.”

Both of the LeStages appreciate the respect the Laplante team offered during construction. “Working with Bill and Rich Walz, our project manager, was wonderful. They treated our home like they were building for themselves,” Maria says. “They were thoughtful, respectful. They took care. It was just incredible.”

Laplante Construction serves communities within a 20-mile radius of Orleans, Chatham, Eastham, Wellfleet, Dennis, Yarmouth and Harwich, on the lower Cape in Massachusetts. In the Western part of the state, we serve towns within 20 miles of Greater Springfield, which includes Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, and Wilbraham, and Somers and Enfield, Connecticut.

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