The Breuer House Restoration is Complete

Photos of the newly renovated Breuer Cottage, Wellfleet, MA

It’s been a long journey but the house is now fully restored and looking about twice as good as anticipated. The work was much more extensive than originally hoped, but that’s often true when taking apart an old building. It wasn't until the last day, when all the paint cans, tools and materials were removed, that the house revealed itself. After much debate we had decided to keep the furnishings quite spare, as they had been in the 1950s and 60s. Once the floors were re-stained black and the Homosote walls were freshly painted white, the influence of Japanese traditional architecture became very clear. It’s also possible now to better see Breuer’s big ideas. The three screen porches are arrayed to catch the pond breezes coming up the hill, and to get very little mid-day sun, so as to stay cool all day. The interior and exterior living spaces are strung together in an ingenious way, encouraging visitors to find a spot to perch in groups or alone. The most startling aspect is how the spaces expand, and project the viewer though the screen of trees and out over the water.

Standing in the house it’s clear that this is a very important piece of history and a truly amazing work by a master designer.

The art in the house is a combination of originals and very high quality reproductions, stuck to the wall with thumbtacks as the originals were. Much of the original furniture has been refurbished and re-installed along with some new Breuer-designed pieces. The same approach was taken with the books and kitchen equipment.
Here is a current article in the Provincetown Independent about hanging the art with curator/artist Bob Bailey. 

Saving the house was a huge project supported by large and small donations from 32 states and 6 countries. 

Thank you to everyone who helped, in so many different ways.

We will be holding two open houses the week of September 7th so stand by for details. See you there!

Photos from inside of the Breuer Cottage, Wellfleet, MA