WEST CAPE MAY – The first step of living in a dream beach house is obvious: find a house by the beach. It sounds simple, and in terms of geography, it’s easy to spot the big blue ocean and pitch up alongside it.
What no one gets into, probably for the sake of their own sanity, is what kind of beach house one dreams of. Is it a lonesome seaside cottage or a massive waterfront showplace? What about a comfortable family house within walking distance of all the fun stuff, but set back a ways for more quiet, more privacy, more bird calls? Can a beach house really be simple enough to feel relaxing on non-beach days – and how soon before we crave some activity again?
One house designed to help answer these questions and more is the home at 104 Atlantic Ave., West Cape May.
Tucked into a quiet pocket surrounded by green meadows, this old-fashioned family home is deceptive: it might feel like it’s enclosed by the lovely protected lands northwest of the Cove, but all the fun of West Cape is just a block away and a short walk east brings one to the heart of Cape May’s fine dining, shopping and nightlife.
Atlantic Avenue leads directly to Sunset Boulevard, offering a scenic bicycle path to Cape May Point and Sunset Beach. Beach-lovers will be spoiled for choice, without ever having to reach for the car keys or worry about parking.
The house itself is a spacious and light family home. The downstairs is a meandering open plan beginning with a tasteful yet comfy sitting room, a dining room next to the picturesque staircase, and then a surprise: a dividing wall hides another sitting room and small informal dining area to the right of the kitchen.
The kitchen itself is designed for large family dinners and sleepy counter-top breakfasts before sunrise (the better to catch the waves) at the wide island running nearly the length of the workspace behind. Crisp cabinets, a larger-than-usual double sink set in cream-colored stone countertops with a backsplash to match, a chef’s preferred gas range and oven, and lots of storage space mean this is a kitchen tailor-made for making great meals.
The fact that the home itself is so close to so many great restaurants is just inspiration; with the West Cape May Farmer’s Market only a short bike ride away, the ingredients for an amazing meal practically walk themselves to the door.
While the cook is making something wonderful (or just bowls of popcorn) the rest of the family can gather in the center of the home, the sitting room surrounding the gas fireplace, set in a pretty deep blue mantel. Doors lead out to the side and back yards, the back deck and the wrap-around front porch. The gardens and views unfold at every angle, making a persuasive invitation to come back outside. A raised deck leads down to a flagstone-paved fire pit, comfortably placed in the corner of a fenced-in back yard with even more room for dining and entertaining.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom suite seems to occupy half the house, with cathedral ceilings following the peak of the home’s roof in a simple but elegant design. An ensuite bath offers built-in storage both in the vanity and in a side hutch, plus a large tiled shower with bench seating and penny-tile details. This ensuite bath brings the total number of bathrooms to three, adding to the powder room off the kitchen and a full bath shared by the other three bedrooms down the hall.
These bedrooms are spacious enough to fit at least seven sleepers between them without feeling crowded. The bath they share is bright and clean, with a large white vanity and sea-blue walls surrounding another tiled shower. Every inch of this home has been recently updated in peaceful tones of blue and tan, white and natural wood, mingling in a way that stays calm without feeling sterile, welcoming the sunlight and ocean breezes on days when the temperature doesn’t require the central air or gas heat. (Those days are now, the best time of the year: late summer and autumn.)
Rest assured, the seasons unfolding offer many ways to enjoy the Cape, so though some people might argue that summer is the best season (a dubious argument) there’s still plenty to love about the winter moods and spring bustle, with protected sanctuaries so near to the home, bike trails and boat docks close at hand, and scenic places everywhere one looks. There’s also schools nearby, and necessities like grocery stores, health clinics and convenient roads out to the rest of the world.
Trying to keep the world at bay might be the goal of a beach house, but with this one there’s no need to choose.
If one is looking for a rental property, this home has so far brought impressive returns to the current owners – and that was after they kept the peak summer weeks to themselves. Though the home at 104 Atlantic Ave. looks old-fashioned, it was built in 2006, so a lot of modern convenience is included in the DNA of the place.
The Victorians were not known for their foresight in building an easily-accessible laundry room right off the kitchen, or in planning off-street parking for up to four cars, or in building an outside shower that helps keep sand off the wood floors. Luckily, the builders of this home thought of all of that and more.
