CAPE MAY POINT — Nostalgia can be dangerous when it blinds us to the present. All this love of retro, vintage, yesteryear: it’s all a comforting fairytale in which we know the ending before we even open the book, and can rest our minds from worrying about all the what-ifs and maybes.
It helps to quiet the kids but is especially soporific for adults, who most need the break from worry.
Then again, there are some times in life when knowing exactly what to expect is absolutely crucial, such as when buying a house.
Before one makes a big investment, for example, one might like to be sure that the neighborhood is beautiful, friendly, comfortable and has a long history of making residents sublimely happy.
It might help to notice how the sound of waves move through the quiet streets every night, how gardens bloom throughout the year, how apparently half the birds in North America choose to stop by.
Yes, for all these reasons, and the stunning visuals, proximity to shopping, nightlife and the rest of the world just an hour or two away (not too close, but not impossible to reach, either), one location might seem like a sure bet. In this fairy tale, Cape May Point is the enchanted village of the most fortunate people (and birds, can’t forget them) in the Mid Atlantic, possibly the entire East Coast.
Its bewitching mixture of small town and coastal wilderness seems like a recipe for success.
There is the house at 601 Seagrove Ave., just at the intersection where Lighthouse Avenue sheers straight south past Lake Lily on its way to the Cape May Lighthouse and Delaware Bay, and Seagrove begins its long wild detour around the preserved lands and lakes of Cape May Point State Park.
Not only does this 1955 barn-red classic home look the part of an escapist daydream getaway, it has the history to prove it can deliver. No lesser judge of Americana at its best than Norman Rockwell approved the place, staying there in 1962 and presumably bringing his paints with him.
The lines of this home suggest a certain mid-century splendor, but oh, no! Who wants to deal with updating a mid-century roof or kitchen? Oh, here it comes: the rude awakening!
Never fear: in this story, everything has already been taken care of. The roof? Brand new in 2019. The HVAC has been recently updated, and works hand in hand with the design of the roof for maximum efficiency. All the electrical systems, plumbing, the kitchen: it’s all been taken care of.
When one opens the door, there’s no nightmare lurking behind the facade of richly stained wood floors, white walls reaching up overhead to a vaulted ceiling and the glowing hearth of the natural gas fireplace at one end of the long living room.
The same family has owned this home since 1992 — nearly half its life — and they’ve maintained it in the sturdy style of responsible beachcombers and studious types who want to get away from it all. The fact that the end result looks wildly romantic to the rest of the world is mere happenstance.
From the street, the home resembles a Christmas card (or a Norman Rockwell painting, which is a little suspicious). The fence is genuine white picket, exactly the kind people copied, mocked, rejected and then brought right back again.
The long red rambler isn’t actually a rancher, but it appears to be a single-story home from the curb, with the front door squarely placed under the low eaves of the roof, atop a simple stoop.
Privacy is paramount on this large 104 x 105 foot lot, potentially subdividiable, perched on the edge of protected lands with only the seabirds to watch. There’s an even larger lot attached, 121 x 101 feet, offering a wild buffer to keep this stretch of Cape May Point intact and give residents and guests that perfect feeling of breathing room.
Although it looks like a small beach cottage from the curb, the home has 1,396 square feet of living space including four bedrooms and two baths. Since the perfect day on the cape inevitably ends with sandy or muddy paws, there is a hot and cold outdoor shower as well.
The interior of the home is spruce and cozy but not cramped or particularly modern, even with the new lighting and fresh fixtures. The design ethic seems to have been a mix of “know when to leave well enough alone” and “if it ain’t broke …”.
Simplicity is allowed to rule, with white walls, clean lines and spacious rooms. The staircase winds up to three of the four bedrooms and is half enclosed and half overlooking the living room.
The kitchen is a tidy horseshoe of rich wood-stained cabinets and fresh composite countertops in a well-sized square alcove just behind the dining area. A counter with seating separates the two spaces, with work on one side and seating and dining on the other.
The first bedroom is on this main floor, a short distance from the great room in the front, past a tidy bath and storage space just under the stairs.
Upstairs, a central hall connects the second bath, a small bedroom under the eaves and two large bedrooms — one of which has access to a balcony overlooking the backyard.
Only back there can one guess the true size of this home. The balcony has stairs to serve as a secondary entrance, and is a great space to sit and paint or just enjoy the morning coffee with a loftier view.
Should a lower view be desired, there are options for that, too: a patio and rather large lit gazebo with room for dining sits just behind the home’s secret breezeway, hidden in the front by lattice, that connects the main house to the spacious two-car garage.
An irrigation system waits for summer garden beds to begin the long blooming season in this sheltered corner of Cape May Point.
The comfortable genius of mid-century design has been left unaltered here, in this seemingly remote spot only a few minutes’ walk to the beach and directly across the street from the preserved habitat of the state park.
