Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Where We Live: 30 years later, Sunset Beach home is still this family’s labor of love

SUNSET BEACH — Off a quiet lane, on the waterway side of Sunset Beach, a quaint cottage sits tucked between gnarled oak trees and the water. You wouldn’t know when just looking at it, but the home has been a project over the course of the past 30 years — a labor of love for Evelyn Callahan-Cates and her family.

This week’s “Where We Live” takes you inside Callahan-Cates’ waterfront cottage, where you’re greeted by an eclectic blend of nautical themed furnishings and flourishing plant life. 

Callahan-Cates grew up in the Methodist Orphanage, now the Methodist Home for Children, in Raleigh. After marrying and having four sons, she and her then husband began looking for a place to retire.

They decided on a quiet corner of sunset beach where they built a small “shotgun style cottage,” in 1985.

“I fell in love with the two trees out back,” she said. “I did not want to be on the ocean, but I knew I wanted to be on the water. This place was the right fit.”

These gnarled Oak Trees helped Evelyn fall in love with the property. (Port City Daily photo/CORY MANNION)
These gnarled Oak Trees helped Evelyn fall in love with the property. (Port City Daily photo/CORY MANNION)

But after her husband passed away, she wanted the ability to house her growing family.

Callahan-Cates had experience in both real estate, and contracting work, so she called upon her sons and family friends to begin working on additions to the cottage.

“I felt comfortable being the contractor, since I had helped put up log houses in the past,” she said. “I was already familiar with working with building inspectors and that sort of thing, it made sense.”

She began by building a wrap around porch to the front of the home, which would later extend three quarters of the way around. She said that originally, the house didn’t have much curb appeal from the front, and thought the porch was a good way to increase it.

She and her sons then tore out the back wall of the home where the living room stood, and built high vaulted ceilings, allowing for large windows overlooking Bonaparte Creek, and views of stunning sunrises. 

The home offers stunning views of the sunrise over the waterway
The home offers stunning views of the sunrise over the waterway. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Lloyd Manning)

They managed to incorporate the original fireplace into the new living room, which now offers double sided access to the warmth.

“I really like my see-through fireplace,” Callahan-Cates said. “It’s more for ambiance than anything else, but it’s nice for some heat in the winter.”

Eventually, Evelyn remarried, and her sons built an “artists studio” onto the side of the home for her husband, as well as an alcove allowing for a large dining room table, and room to entertain guests.

A lively exterior

But the most notable feature of the home is the exterior. Family friend Eddie Parker, a Vietnam Veteran and local artist, painted murals all over the exterior of the home.

A large beach scene is painted on the wall nearest the carport, while images of wildlife like dolphins and pelicans dot the eave of the home.

A section of porch covered with vegetables. (Port City Daily photo/CORY MANNION)
A section of porch covered with vegetables. (Port City Daily photo/CORY MANNION)

After extending the porch around the home, she and her sons decided the waterfront property needed a dock. The dock was connected to the porch, and then built out as far as possible on dry lands by her boys. After reaching the farthest point of land they could, she hired a barge to come down the waterway and drive the remaining posts needed into the water.

“We can crab out here, and we had friends who did it well,” she said. “We just really wanted to be on the waterway, and the dock was a great way to do that.”

Callahan-Cates’ son Lloyd Manning is a talented gardener, and has grown a flourishing garden all around the exterior of the home. Walking along the porch, you find yourself in a veritable forest of vegetables and flowering plants overlooking the water.

This garden is hemmed in by two massive, gnarled oak trees, allowing for a very private view of the waterway.

A greenhouse sits in one one corner of the porch, allowing Manning the ability to keep his waterfront garden alive year round.

One of her other sons, Wayne, recently built a gazebo in front of the house, which is now covered in sprawling ivy.

One thing is for certain, Callahan-Cates loves the home she’s built.

“I’ve really enjoyed working on it,” she said. “Just being in this home, it’s great.”

Where We Live is a weekly feature looking at the homes and unique places to stay in the Cape Fear Region. Do you have a home, on or off the market, that our readers may be interested in seeing? Let us know at PCD@localvoicemedia.com.

Related Articles