WEST CAPE MAY — Cape Island has no bad locations, only genres. There’s the super-private, the village-esque, the beachy, the Historic District and the nebulous concept of being in the thick of the action.
The properties at 101 Sunset Blvd., where the Black Duck restaurant once sat like a queen over the intersection of Broadway in West Cape May, are definitely in the thick of things. Luckily, both units 2 and 3 have been crafted to protect some private moments above the fray; with luxurious finishes and a floor plan that creates multiple discrete zones throughout the home.
From the street, the new Black Duck Residences presents an imposing facade: woodwork that completely ignores the old-fashioned concept of mere gingerbread trim is instead festooned in wide panels across the three floors. The base is dark, an almost coffee-black color, and the carved wood a slightly lighter shade — but only slightly lighter.
This building wants to be noticed, and it certainly gets what it wants. The lowest floor is now a spa called The Rise, and to think this building is actually a mixed-use concept. No one pictures this elegant citadel when discussing “mixed-use” developments, but maybe they should start.
Both units have easy ways to come and go: an elevator reaches the same entry hall as the interior stairs on the east side of the building.
The utility closet is also found right off this entryway, which does suggest that one could have work done to the working bits of the house without disturbing any of the rest of it.
The floor plan of both units begins at this protected interior door, and then branches off a well-planned central hall. Each of the three bedrooms requires one to travel a bit away from the others to access.
The top floor unit, number 3 in most systems of nomenclature but here tagged the Black Duck Nest (as opposed to the Black Duck Landing downstairs), supposedly has 40 additional square feet, although that might turn out to be an extra closet in the entryway, made possible by the fact that there are no stairs heading higher than this top unit.
The two units are strikingly similar in every respect except the views, privacy and more storage. This similarity makes sense because it’s hard to improve perfection: every inch of these units has been carefully planned out, with simple luxury and clean sight lines, the movement of the sun creating new highlights across the birchwood floors and gleaming spaces.
The color scheme is carefully reflected throughout the kitchen and 3.5 baths: the quartz countertops have subtle veins of black and gold, and while the stunning assortment of kitchen cabinets is white with gold accents, the cabinets of the coffee bar just next to it are black with gold highlights.
The most noticeable difference between the two kitchens is that the lower unit’s has a pillar, just next to the carefully coordinated island. This narrow architectural detail offers no impediment, it’s just the building’s graceful way of nodding to the laws of physics.
The appliances are all top-of-the-line but not showy; it is worth noting that nothing in these units is showy, nothing shouts “please notice my price tag” even though there are strong hints in the overall luxurious vibe.
It could be that when one lives above a spa, the spa vibes travel upward; but again, this does not happen by accident, someone chose subtlety over flash.
The calm aesthetic choices reach their peak in the three full ensuite baths in each unit. While the powder room for guests has a vanity of the same black-coffee color as the exterior and the bar cabinets, the ensuite baths are all textured variations of cream and white shades.
The primary bedroom, the largest of the three located at the very front of the home, has the largest bathroom, with a double vanity over an old-fashioned cream-colored sideboard. It looks more like furniture than a built-in. The cream shades are picked up by the stone tile in the shower.
The other two baths are lighter riffs on the chord, with white tile in the one with a bathtub, and a river rock look to the tile in the second standing shower. These bathrooms are smaller but still calm and bright.
The bedrooms offer three distinct experiences in each unit. The front, primary bedroom is set up so nothing interrupts the view from the bed. This is for good reason, especially inside the Nest: glimpses of the wide blue water just a few blocks away offer a great start to the morning. The bathroom and closets are found behind the partition wall, a bit like walking off stage.
The next bedroom is possibly the most private, accessed through a small hallway all the way back by the entry, with views over West Cape May.
The third is accessible through a smaller room that serves as a home office, den or gym with a hallway entrance. This is in the very back of the house, with views over the rest of the property, large enough to reach from Sunset to McCullough.
The back of this property is also carefully planned and decorated, with an elegant private entrance surrounded by small garden beds, and a driveway and lot covered in dark crushed stone. This is remarkably private being on the island.
Although a bit west of the center of town, this neighborhood is at the center of a decision tree of sorts: people going to the beach by the Cove, which is especially popular with surfers; people heading out to the Point or Sunset Beach, searching for restaurants and shopping all along the two arterials of Sunset and Broadway, and all the foot traffic attracted by coffee shops, boutiques, Wilbraham Park and the small-town goings-on of West Cape May immediately behind this block.
The glass-enclosed front rooms of these units should allow some very high-quality people-watching. Should one want to join them, the beach is only a 5-minute walk away, while the center of the Historic District is probably double that
Each unit also has two dedicated parking spots, plus access to a private outdoor shower near the entrance, and a gift from the owners: a huge rugged farmhouse dining table to offer a natural counterpoint to the sleek kitchen surfaces.
However one decides to arrange the living and dining areas, the front room with an entire wall of windows is a great spot to entertain or unwind from the busy days waiting just downstairs.
Black Duck Landing and Black Duck Nest will not be empty for long, so don’t be a goose.
