CAPE MAY — When is an upside-down house not an upside-down house? When it’s the supremely well-situated home at 209 Pittsburgh Ave. in Cape May, just two blocks from the beach.
Surrounded by open land and covered in porches, the property is set up to enjoy the views and breezes while making the most of privacy.
Although the front entrance is graced by garden beds around the stairs and in the center of the wide circular drive, it’s the rugged views of untouched coastal meadows that set this home apart — quite literally, as it has no neighbors nearby to interrupt the sights.
This fantastically lucky spot on the eastern end of the busy island of Cape May offers a personal refuge that’s still very close to all the fun. The driveway is a wide U-shape, so wide it’s almost a circle, that can fit several cars off-street.
The first of four porches leads to the front door, which opens into a bright entryway. The stairs at the end lead up to the living room and kitchen on the second floor, a rare example of the living spaces being situated in the middle of the house.
On this first level are three bedrooms and a full bath, all of them simple and spacious with large windows and closets. There is also a laundry room large enough for a big family, or a pack of guests, to clean up without necessitating the drying bathing suits and towels to spill out on railings and shower rods; for once there’s ample space in here to keep things tidy elsewhere.
A short flight of stairs leads to the back door, where the backyard awaits. Amazingly, this little nook which isn’t quite a vestibule offers storage space under the main staircase and can hold boots, bikes, toys, leashes — whatever one might need when venturing outdoors, all in a spot that’s out of the way when company comes.
This back entrance leads to an outdoor shower and a small cleared lawn at the edge of the meadows. The current owners wisely kept this space a barrier just wide enough to offer useful, critter-free living space around the home, but didn’t go crazy destroying what is unique about the location just to show off a large swath of useless grass. The result is glorious views from almost every window in the home, but especially toward the back of the house, of the unspoiled meadows and coastal forest around and within the large lot. (It’s 60 feet by 125 feet but feels immense precisely because it joins seamlessly with the meadows around it.)
Moving up to the second floor, we find the living room in the sunny spot behind the second front porch, situated around the gas fireplace with a very old-fashioned mantel and a small closet for games and hobbies just to the right.
The landing at the top of the staircase connects this living area to a small powder room and the kitchen and dining area. The color scheme is simple but bold, with broad strokes of cobalt blue in the half-bath, the window treatments and on the kitchen counters, energizing what is essentially a cool white space with views of the rest of the island to the west and south.
Although there is a dining area adjacent to the kitchen, there is also a secondary entrance to the front porch, where there’s another dining area. Shade cloths in the same blue can be used to block the light of a slow summer sunset if it gets too intense; the only risk of having a table face due west.
This will obviously help with energy bills, simple as it may be, when the hottest days of summer come; the home’s central air conditioning will take care of everyone’s comfort but it still makes sense to block some of the hottest rays.
Back in the kitchen, there’s plenty of storage that stays low so the views are not interrupted. The kitchen is almost a complete square of blue countertops, with one open spot for entry, of course, and a comfortable distance for the work triangle between them.
A window above the sink looks out over the eastern side of the island: the U.S. Coast Guard base, the little peaks and turrets of some of the hideaways tucked between the green spaces at this end of Cape May, small trees and birds and the sparkle of the ocean beyond.
Pittsburgh Avenue is right at the first knuckle of the island’s “thumb,” and this wild stretch is always a delight to see, even though it’s become slightly more developed over time, with beach clubs and mini-castles scattered in the green. There’s even more opportunity to view all of that upstairs, from the home’s top floor.
Once more the staircase doubles back and reaches another landing, this time at the top floor, which is one vast primary bedroom suite. A private sitting room occupies the spot right above the living room, opening to yet another west-facing porch (there are three equal porches on the front of the home, making the facade a tower of porches) and a bonus fourth private deck looking east and south, where the ocean waves are less than two blocks away and the long thumb of the island looks quite vulnerable against the Atlantic.
A large bedroom, the fourth and final one, occupies the space to the right of the stairs, with a private ensuite bath and multiple closets behind that.
This eyrie is high above the street level, quietly perched above the noise with views of the entire island. With 2,604 square feet of space, it seems luxurious to dedicate the entire top floor to one primary suite, but that space goes fast when one is staring slack-jawed at the views.
All of this has been well cared for by the owners for 26 years, making it hard to believe this home was built in 1999. It has never been rented as it was a family home. With four bedrooms and three baths, it has potential as a rental that’s very easy to get to, since Pittsburgh Avenue is a main thoroughfare, but feels a world away from the hectic center of town.
The location is a jewel for more reasons than convenience, though, as is plain to see when looking at the surrounding greenery, fulfilling its necessary water-regulating task while looking ruggedly mysterious.
There is nothing else like this for views, for simplicity and for a unique marriage with the surroundings — something one can’t help but wish more Cape May builders would start doing.
