CAPE MAY POINT — Few places on Earth combine natural beauty, gentle quiet and scenic beaches like the borough of Cape May Point.
Few houses are poised to take advantage of every beautiful attribute quite like the home at 205 Coral Ave.
Built in 2017, this home has vintage charm with every modern comfort imaginable. Being offered fully furnished, the buttercup-yellow cottage is ready to welcome someone new to the prettiest little place on the Eastern Seaboard.
Starting from the street level, one can’t help but notice the ocean is only a few doors down Coral Avenue. Four homes stand between 205 Coral and the windswept, zig-zagging, shrub-lined path over the dunes to the beach below.
This stretch of the Point has the Cape May Point Arts and Science Center and the Cape May Lighthouse as neighbors, meaning not only are there beautiful surprises from every vantage point, but this little neighborhood is almost completely surrounded by bird sanctuaries to the east and freshwater ponds to the north. If a new resident hasn’t already taken up birding, photography or painting by the time they move in, they likely will — it’s just a matter of time.
The home welcomes one in by a curved brick drive leading up to the stairs that access the screened-in front porch. Many a beautiful spring evening could be spent listening to the peepers and the sound of waves from the safe, bug-free environs of this porch.
The craftsman-style front door has been painted a vibrant blue to contrast the soft yellow siding, and is flanked by old-fashioned glass lanterns and has sidelights along one side, adding a bit of interest and variety to the usual cookie-cutter shapes of some recent builds.
Once inside, the foyer features old-fashioned touches such as molding and a carved newel-post, and has a gleaming deep-toned hardwood floor that continues up the staircase treads. Somehow this design keeps the graceful lines of a vintage home without the clutter.
The center hall leads past a closet to the great room at the back of the home, combining a living room, dining room and kitchen in one wide space.
This arrangement is roomy enough that each distinct area has its own space without feeling cramped. The coffered ceiling grounds what would otherwise feel like a huge blank canvas above, creating a comfortable scale for each zone.
The living area has a corner fireplace with a high hearth under an angled “V” of the ceiling: this creates a new focal point just steps from the sliding glass doors that give way to the back deck.
The dining area has its own double window overlooking the trees of the backyard: from this height above the ground, there’s both privacy and light.
The kitchen is large, with breakfast seating and plenty of storage. Pendant lights above the island set the quartzite countertops to shine, creating a cozy little spot for late-night chats or brightening very early mornings.
Stainless steel appliances gleam next to a tiled backsplash and the subtle striations in the otherwise bright-white quartzite counters. A wine cooler hides in that island, and the dishwasher is subtly hidden from casual view but conveniently placed next to the sink, which has the classic view of the backyard.
In many ways, this home personifies the ideal collection of attributes everyone enjoyed in classic old homes and all the modern touches people do not want to live without, from the gas fireplace to the microwave to the central air conditioning. This kitchen makes it all look effortless.
Double doors on the left hide the laundry room, and a short hallway completes the loop to the front of the home, passing a small powder room on its way to a first-floor bedroom suite.
The bedroom looks out over the front porch and Coral Avenue. The closet is carved out of secret space behind the laundry room, creating surprisingly useful storage out of an angled corner. The ensuite bath is sparkling and bright, with two curved mirrors over a double vanity with a quartz countertop and a large walk-in shower.
The lovely old-fashioned staircase leads to three more bedrooms, bringing the total to four. There is also a large landing space with a half-round window overlooking Coral Avenue that is currently used as a home office. The same deep-toned wood flooring found downstairs continues into these rooms as well.
The primary bedroom suite occupies the enormous central gable with a high half-round window at the peak. This room offers a dramatic getaway with cathedral ceilings and an ensuite bath with custom tile in the shower.
Double doors open to the hall, where the other two bedrooms and a shared bath are located. This fourth and final bathroom has a wide granite vanity and a bathtub under the shower.
As lovely as it is indoors, no one moves to the Point to stay inside. The sliding glass doors of the living room lead to a deck out back, and from there the backyard beckons.
The required outdoor shower is back here, as well as a paving-stone patio surrounded by garden beds and a few swaths of green grass for games or kids’ playthings. This is backed by a storage shed in matching yellow siding with room for kayaks, bikes or a hideaway in summer.
This space is perfect for entertaining throughout most of the year, with space for a grill and table.
It seems nothing can beat this home’s location: surrounded by beauty, with beaches on three sides and that magical feeling of having escaped the world the moment one enters Cape May Point.
Although this has only been a family home, the owner could expect about $6,000 per week in the season as a rental.
As a family home? It’s honestly priceless, as every day the new tenants could wake up to sunrise on the beach, afternoons snoozing on the porch and all the simple joys readily available when one lives in the Point.
