A Designer at Home: Susan Stacy

A sculptural mobile dangles above the side-entrance table in Susan Stacy’s Cape Cod home. Paired with hand-stained wood floors and vintage shoe molds, it hints at the playfulness found inside.

The family’s yellow labrador retrievers, Zeke and Ziggy, are just as much a part of the home as any antique or architectural flourish.

In the family room, wooden hat molds—many of which Stacy found in Europe—act as de facto art on the bookshelves.

A Balinese umbrella filled with twinkle lights—a memento from Stacy’s honeymoon in Indonesia—hangs above the dining table. For a sense of grandeur, she brought the table skirt to the floor.

The screened porch, a favorite gathering spot, includes a daybed swing made from a wonky Indonesian sofa Stacy found while she was out shopping with her late father. “We lopped the legs off and made it into a swing,” she says. “We watch movies out here…it’s kind of fun and old-fashioned.”

On the porch, the combination of wicker and folding chairs offers flexibility, and kerosene lanterns glow beautifully at night.

Interior designer and homeowner Susan Stacy arranges flowers in the dining room.

In the powder room, Stacy and a friend hand-painted and waxed the walls in a block-printed way that’s reminiscent of Matisse.

Even the backyard firepit is handmade. It’s recessed into the ground and fringed in stone to prevent sparks from igniting.

Finding a Home with Antique Charm

Every serious antiquarian knows that sometimes you must bide your time to get what you really want. For Boston interior designer Susan Stacy—who collects everything from hat molds to shoe molds, then turns them into decorative objets d’art—her Cape Cod house itself was theultimate find worth waiting for. “I grew up not far from here, and I’d always admired it,” she says of the 1920s colonial revival. “It has presence: the way it sits way back from the road, it’s a classic old house.”

Originally purchased as a weekend getaway for her family, the home that presides over three lush acres became their full-time residence fifteen years ago—a move prompted by the unexpected passing of Stacy’s father and a desire to be closer to her mother as they sorted things out. What was intended to be a sabbatical year quickly turned into something permanent when her kids enrolled in school—and thrived.

The house had not been revamped much by previous owners—something Stacy saw as a gift. “Everything needed work, which was great in many respects because a lot of the architecture was intact,” she explains. Inside, the design story unfolds like a personal memoir, written and edited over
the years.

Vintage Pieces and Personal Objects Bring Character to the Home

Case in point: the side-entrance mudroom, which sets the tone for the house with its graphic hand-stained wood floors—a DIY project Stacy finished with her sister-in-law. Throughout the home, vintage finds bring soul. A wall installation of antique shoe molds (each one is unique) and an impressive collection of hat molds are displayed with something nearing reverence.

Another standout moment is the powder room, where the black-and-white walls were hand-painted by Stacy, in collaboration with an artist friend. A carved wood mirror with an attached bowl adds both whimsy and function. “I fill it with flowers,” Stacy says.

While much of the home is painted Benjamin Moore Cloud White, the dining room is a decadent departure. Deep chocolate walls—Falcon Brown, also by Benjamin Moore—set a moody, inviting tone. “It looks like rich chocolate pudding,” Stacy says. Above it, yet another find, this one from Stacy and her husband’s honeymoon in Indonesia: a festive umbrella, converted for use indoors. “I had it shipped and then cut off the handle,” Stacy says. “I wanted it suspended.” She wove Christmas lights through the umbrella’s inner ribs—proof that sometimes the best thing about a ‘find’ is knowing just how to use it.

Project Team
Interior design: Susan Stacy Design
Builder: Brian Burbic Custom Homes & Woodworking
Landscape design: LeBlanc Jones Landscape Architects