Our Story

My love of building and design was instilled at a very young age. I grew up in the antique home pictured above, located in Pleasant Lake village, in Harwich, MA. My father was a builder and I have fond memories of watching him transform that house back to it’s original splendor after years of neglect from the previous owners. I helped him often with projects around the house, though he was adamant that I go to college and become “more than just a builder”. Of course, he didn’t help his cause any by introducing me to power tools at such a young age. My parents also owned a local antique shop in Harwich, and I spent many hours working there as well, repairing antique furniture and perfecting the art of rushing and re-caning chairs. I grew to appreciate the many different periods of design, as well as the time-tested craftsmanship that is so lacking today.
As the college years neared, my appreciation for woodworking only grew. Because my father wasn’t actively working in the trades anymore, opting instead to grow his antiques business, I struck-out on my own to further learn the craft of home building. I figured since building was such a big part of his life that maybe I would discover something about him, as well as myself, along the way.

Well, long story short, I discovered a lot along the way. First, I discovered my dad was right -building was hard work and it seemed there were probably better ways to earn a living. I did go to college and honored my dad’s wishes, and upon graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, I’ve had the pleasure of working in many different professional fields -political consultant, television producer, writer -the list goes on. But the other thing I discovered was no other profession has given me more satisfaction than working for myself on beautiful projects in one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Though I still write and freelance for many different magazines, I just couldn’t seem to get the sawdust out of my blood.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working beside some great craftsmen who have graciously passed on to me a knowledge that you couldn’t buy in the best trade schools today. One of my favorite mentors was an old-timer that used to be the custom stair builder for all of Royal Barry Wills’ homes in the Boston area. In case you don’t know the name, he was the architect/author responsible for making the Cape Cod-style home what it is today -which to say is much more formal than what it originally started out as.
Needless to say, I was fortunate to have learned what it really means to be a ‘finish carpenter’ during my time working with him, and am grateful for all that he shared with me.
I continued to work my way up through the ranks at some of the top building companies in the area -from finish carpenter to project manager, running multiple million-dollar projects at the same time.

All the while, amassing this wealth of knowledge and appreciation for history, architecture and design, I decided it was time to embrace my past, as well as my future, and officially become a builder. I’d like to think that if my folks were still here, they’d enjoy seeing me follow in my fathers footsteps. By choice.

The rest, as they say…

I now reside near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mounatins with my wife and four children, all of whom contribute to the family business.
We feel blessed to be able to do what we do and hope you’ll consider our company for any of your needs.

-Mattheau and Kate LeDuc, owners of LeDUC design+build