LOWER TOWNSHIP — The home at 23 Taylor Lane sits at the far end of a loop through a patchwork of scattered farm fields and luxury homes just south of the Cape May Canal.
While it is on Cape Island, it is part of Lower Township, which has some benefits in addition to all the perks of island life.
The home features a large lot that backs onto more trees and farm fields. From the curb, it keeps many of its finer attributes hidden inside. In fact, everything about this location guarantees privacy, but there are some surprisingly luxurious touches within.
The pale yellow home features multiple gables coalescing around a shaded front porch with an old-fashioned railing and posts. The front door has window glass for everything but the bottom third, and matching sidelights, but this airy touch reveals only the foyer.
Inside, tile floors lead to a wood staircase and down the hall past a formal dining room, a slightly sunken living room with a gas fireplace and a tall mantel flanked by windows with views of Taylor Lane, to the back of the home.
The ceilings are a little taller than is typical in a home built in 2001, allowing for some dramatically scaled lighting choices, but nothing too crazy distracts from the quiet simplicity.
These ceilings suddenly swoop upward to nearly the height of the entire house once one reaches the back, where another sitting/family room sits next to the kitchen.
A loft from the upper floor looks over this space, the narrow walkway connecting the center staircase to the upstairs area under the home’s tallest gable like a small bridge, forming a short hall between the foyer and the sitting area.
This space is grounded by another fireplace almost exactly in the center behind the “bridge,” creating a unique welcome to those who want to pass the formal dining room and get right to the heart of the house.
That heart is a kitchen with an outstanding presence. An L-shaped island defies the usual geometry and instead offers seating close to the sitting room before shifting on its axis, positioning the sink in the center of the room, with a bright view of the backyard through a giant picture window.
This window has seating built in, so theoretically the cook can keep an eye on everyone or enjoy a cozy break in the cushioned window seat while the kettle boils.
Behind the island, topped with deep-veined quartz counters and matching backsplash, is the rest of this dream kitchen, featuring a decorative hood and a pot filler faucet over the gas range, two ovens on the opposite wall to make entertaining a crowd at the holidays even easier, ample storage within crisp, white cabinetry, and a very large refrigerator next to a tidy coffee bar.
The dishwasher is tucked under the island, and everything is gleaming like new, practically begging to get to work.
The ground floor also features a primary suite hidden away behind the shared spaces. The large bedroom has views of the tree-lined backyard, the same hardwood floors found throughout the home and a really luxurious ensuite bath with sparkling custom tile work.
Every wall is covered in a gleaming marble tile in a herringbone pattern, subtle but exceptionally luxe, surrounding a double vanity under a self-lit mirror and a walk-in shower behind a pony wall of tile that grants more privacy without sacrificing the natural light coming in from high windows.
Between the capacious storage and the spa-like feel, this bathroom might very well be the sparkling retreat that draws in the home’s next owner. The suite doesn’t end there, however, as there is another bedroom (currently used as an office) and a window-lined sunroom just adjacent, in the position that was reserved for a nursery or private sewing room in much older houses, but here is used as a gym.
Up the stairs and across that narrow bridge overlooking both the entry and the family room, the second floor contains three bedrooms, bringing the total to five, and a shared bath, rounding up to two-and-a-half baths. One of the bedrooms has a large sunny deck, situated on the narrow side of the house where it has some privacy from the street as well as from the very busy backyard.
The back of this home is where all the actual living and entertaining clearly take place, which is astonishing given how much room there is to entertain and dine indoors.
A series of decks meanders down from the back door, cascading down the length of the house, bordered by dueling outdoor showers and leading to an enormous swimming pool, complete with multiple waterfalls from a decorative rock wall, surrounded by a patio ending in a fire pit.
The eye is drawn inexorably onward by this arrangement, offering one space after another in which to grill, dine, dance, play, swim, sunbathe or huddle around the fire on a cold night.
Despite all the material luxuries indoors, this proves the home is designed to help residents or guests take advantage of the beautiful location of this home, in a place near the beach but far from the crowds; where the bands of the Milky Way are sometimes visible overhead, and nature is at her most gorgeous regardless of season.
Although this home is off the beaten track, it’s really only a block off Seashore Road: it just happens to be a block no one but the people who live there tend to travel.
There is quite a lot more to describe in this home: it’s a massive place (3,334 square feet) on a surprisingly large lot (3.34 acres) with a three-car garage that has even more space above it for guests or a home-office.
