CAPE MAY — There is just no comparison to the genuine article: the real deal doesn’t need bells or whistles, only acknowledgement.
The kind of house all lovers of Cape May dream of living in, the actual turreted Victorian mansion only steps from the beach in the most fashionable and energetic part of town — is for sale for the first time in decades.
Find out why people hold onto these homes for generations and fall in love with the one at 130 Decatur St., right in the heart of the city’s beachfront.
Whatever one imagines, it’s better: on a street of beauties, this home stands out with an elegantly slender facade complete with a side turret and a deep front porch for shady afternoon people-watching.
With so many angled lines of roof and turret picked out in a strong contrasting russet shade to glow against the pale sage green wood siding and intricate scallop shingles, the most striking feature after the inviting porch is the arch above the second-floor window, a touch of Queen Anne style that immediately sets this place apart from the theme park copycats.
So many of the original features of this 1895 home feel like treasures that it would become a distracting game to list them all, with the current favorites changing every year.
This is the second house in from Carpenters Lane, with the best of Cape May’s shopping and dining around the corner.
Every home claims to be “steps away” from the heart of town, but this home genuinely is: this block of Decatur Street is the final slope before the beach, a neighborhood of almost mythological importance for jazz fans, theater buffs and lovers of history.
But absolutely none of those wonderfully nerdy concerns should keep one from hitting the white sands of the beach every single morning, enjoying the life that can be found only by the sea.
If for some bizarre reason one cannot make it to the beach for sunrise, there is the front porch from which to watch everyone else head that way and a secret back porch looking out over the rarest of all commodities in this district: a leafy, green, private back garden. No paving, no parking spaces laid down in the 1990s for 27 minivans with “CM” stickers and overly optimistic surfboard racks — actual grass, shrubs that bloom year after year and a little bit of quiet in the center of the city’s beating heart.
The interior of the house carries some of that same feeling: calm in the center of a particularly beautiful storm. Obviously there have been renovations and upgrades since the home was built: the chandeliers are no longer gas-powered, the old knob-and-tube wiring was eradicated long ago and the home was brought up to code as recently as 2011.
In essentials, though, every pair of hands that touched this house has been respectful of the inherent beauty of it, and no one has bulldozed a path to trendy great rooms or open plans.
What they have done, repeatedly from the looks of it, is simplify wherever a change absolutely had to be made. The lines of the rooms are clean and light, allowing some of the original features to shine all the brighter.
The Craftsman staircase, the honey-colored wood floors, the stained glass in the top floor alcove and the French doors leading out to the back porch invite one to slow down and appreciate the feel of old weathered wood and beams of sunlight through glass.
Although simple, this is not farmhouse-chic; nor is this a museum to a romanticized past. This is a real family home, with six bedrooms boasting real closets, a laundry room tucked under the stairs and three large bathrooms — all updated with a charming mix of timeless fixtures and modern expectations.
Gone are the tiny little powder rooms that one used to encounter in a house of this age. The floor plan has been adjusted to allow for convenience and comfort, with sunny spaces and ample storage built in.
The rooms have their own personalities: well-earned after so long, but still calm and welcoming throughout. The living room by the stunning entry hall is a high-ceilinged highlight, with an elegant fireplace and plenty of room for entertaining.
The kitchen is right behind this room but designed in a way that nothing modern can be seen from either the hallway or the front room, which is a nice touch.
The kitchen workspace fits under the stairs (it should be noted that these stairs are quite a grand affair, not some steep back staircase but a long, gentle pathway to the wonders above) occupying the center of the house.
The feature is historically inaccurate but somehow feels right, as it opens up the entire back and side of the home for an informal dining space that is sunny and welcoming, not cut off and lonely like the formal dining rooms of old.
It also means there is room for a long family room opening up to the back porch, which should make entertaining easy no matter the weather.
The second floor has four bedrooms gathered around a central hall. The bedrooms are sunny and simple and invite a summer nap as enticingly as a cold-winter’s snuggle under the comforter.
There are subtle differences in a house used by one family as their actual home compared to one that has been a semi-public space for decades, and nothing exemplifies those differences quite like these open, spacious rooms — with one bed each.
The top floor holds two more bedrooms, and they are possibly the most photogenic. The front bedroom has a triangular alcove framing the stained glass window visible from the street, and access to the beautiful little turret room. The second bedroom up top has another lovely window: this one a narrow gable under the cozy eaves of the roof.
As below, these rooms were decorated with a confident simplicity, allowing the space to feel open and bright. This departure from the Victorian preference for dark and cluttered rooms shows off the lines of the house to greater effect.
Still, one has to go outside sometimes, and here one is spoiled for choice. When the beach has exhausted the kids, the nightlife and music have run their course, the fine dining has left everyone stuffed, and the eyes have been dazzled by sun and architectural splendor, this is by far the perfect calming haven to return home to.
