About book Cottage For Sale, Must Be Moved: A Woman Moves A House To Make A Home (2005)
Kate Whouley's Cottage for Sale takes my vote as one of the best books I've read on residential architecture and the relationship between home and heart. It was a serendipitous find, browsing the Ashland Public Library's shelves on residential architecture. Wholey's marriage metaphor aptly describes the complicated, deliberate, craftsman union of Whouley's small Cape Code home to an old-new cottage moved to the site - combining what I see as the best of measured, considered thought, and a beautiful, extravagant, certain passion.Whouley's cat looks on as Whouley chronicles her thorough and painstaking negotiation of details involved in land use permits, the talents of craftsmen and the progression of the project. I love her careful extravagance to create a perfect space, a space of dreams and vision. I think she must be a remarkable woman, caring so much about the work at hand, and communicating so well its personal importance to those in her life. Every detail is so carefully thought out, and I find it marvelous that the builders Whouley works with are so able, and so capable of both trusting her vision, and sharing their own perspective. It's a flexibility of construction that I didn't think existed in real life.The other aspects of this work that I loved were the use of space and perception of light. The need to expand into new space was constrained for so long, that when it finally occured, Whouley's discomfort was almost comical. A conversation later, and resulting furniture rearrangement resolved the difficulty. Her bedroom too, a bed centrally placed to see the sky and the trees gave peace and freedom. How the two buildings were made into one showed how clearly Whouley understood the relationship of the structures to each other and to herself. Light was central to the work too, from neighbor Barbara Dowe's dark bedroom to Whouley's understanding that skylights, windows and doors, the flow from old to new, from inside to outside, to being in a place of light and with a view - I can wholeheartedly consent to placing these as a priority of place and in life. This place, this home is wholley and entirely Kate's.I hope never to have to build, or to renovate but if I do, Whouley's work leaves me optimistic that it is possible with the right skills, the right outlook, and the right people on your side.Thank you Kate Whouley for writing Cottage for Sale, Must be Moved. There's so much more to think of in your work, thoughts that I consider private and personal, and so I am grateful for your expression of them. I wish to see more of your independent bookstore design work, more photos of your home. I so look forward to reading Remembering the Music and learning from your perspective and your narrative. --Ashland Mystery
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live through a re-model or construction project - if you've wanted to take your home with you when you moved, if you're just curious about buildings in general, Kate has a story for you! Her home was lovely, just a little too small - when what should she see in Pennysaver but five little cottages for sale! There was just one catch - she had to move the cottage herself! Through the paperwork, the cranes, the construction, and the search for self and romance, we watch Kate marry her lovely little house with the cottage and make for herself a home.
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Cottage for Sale, Must Be Moved is delightful memoir about Whouley purchasing an old cottage on Cape Cod and having it moved and joined to the cottage she was already living in. You will get to know a lot of quirky Cape Codders who help her out along the way - contractors, neighbors and family members. Glimpses into her longings for love are also revealed. This story could easily have ended up a litany of construction details, but it doesn't. Instead, Whouley gives us a lively and charming beach read.
—Janet
"When Kate Whouley saw the classified ad for an abandoned vacation cottage, she began to dream. Transport the cottage through four Cape Cod towns. Attach it to my three-room house. Create more space for my work and life. Smart, single, and self-employed, Kate was used to fending for herself. But she wasn’t prepared for half the surprises, complications, and self-discoveries of her house-moving adventure.Supported by friends and family, and egged on by Egypt, her bossy gray cat, Kate encountered a parade of town officials, a small convoy of State Police, and an eccentric band of house-movers, carpenters, and tradesmen. She found herself dancing on the edge of the gender divide–infatuated with trucks, cranes, tools, construction terms, and a dreamy mason who teaches her the history of concrete.Sketched with a deft hand and told with an open heart, Cottage for Sale is a deeply personal story that captivates, inspires, and delights. In one remarkable year, Kate moved a cottage and created a home. Once you cross the threshold, you’ll never want to leave."~~back coverI loved this book! It was a fascinating combination of the actual nuts and bolts of moving a house and Kate's growth into a competent, more confident woman as she dealt with "the surprises, complications, and self-discoveries of her house-moving adventure." It was fascinating!
—Kate
My neighbor passed this book to me because she thought I would be interested in a local Cape Cod woman's story and it was fun to read. Not everyone is willing to wade through the paperwork and other obstacles in order to add on to your house by buying and moving an abandoned vacation cottage, but that's what single woman Kate Whouley did. Being the handy woman in my house, it was interesting to read about how she handled all the workMEN she depended on to get the job done, along with those local agencies, like the conservation commission, whose permission must be obtained. Being a former cat owner, I enjoyed her descriptions of Egypt's comings and goings. I appreciate visuals so I liked the photos she included. I admire anyone who can cash in on sharing stories about the passions in their life.
—Judy
