C’mon In! Cape Regional’s 2017 Designer House Tour
Cedar by the Sea
What do you get when you combine four generations of a family in a shore house that fuses family heirlooms and 21st century practicality, with a crisp nautical palette? You get “Cedar by the Sea,” one of the spectacular homes featured on Cape Regional Medical Center’s 2017 Designer House Tour.
The home is a collaborative effort to create a family-friendly beach home for a family that spans vast age ranges and includes the homeowners, their four children, their first grandchild, the homeowners’ parents and, last but not least, two very big dogs. Interior designer Christina Smith, owner of The Summer House Design Group, worked with a team including the architect, David Bennett, the builder, Winfield Developers, and the homeowners to create a home that is a vintage modern masterpiece.
From the moment you step onto the expansive front porch of the gray-shingled home and approach the wide mahogany door, you are greeted by a feeling of warmth and welcome. The entryway sets the tone with dazzling white shiplap walls that wrap around the two-story entry way and extend to the white beamed ceiling above. The beautiful white staircase is punctuated by a huge colorful painting. “The big visual is the art,” Smith says. “The artist is amazing. It’s a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece.”
The staircase leads to the main living space on the second floor, with an open floor plan for the dining room, living room and kitchen. Though the sprawling space is filled with antique pieces, and richly textured rugs brought from a former family home, the blue and white color scheme keeps the space light and airy. Every aspect of the design was intended to honor the family’s past, while being practical for the present, and open to the future. For example, Smith chose to use two tables in the dining room, rather than one large one. “We’re using a pair of large-scale tables that can be pushed together or brought apart,” she says. “That was to accommodate a large head count and not make it feel like a boardroom. We thought, why not break it up and have more of a restaurant feel and put eight people and eight people. But you can still hold 16 people and have them all together.”
Down from the dining room, a long hallway reveals an exquisite powder room featuring an illuminated vanity top that allows the rare blue onyx countertop and sink to literally glow. “At night when you’re entertaining, it’s a nice introduction to let the light glow,” says Smith. “It’s fun with the illumination.”
As you travel down the hallway toward the master bedroom, area rugs line the path of the hardwood floor and reveal another thoughtful design detail with a nod to the many generations sharing the space. “The homeowner made the request that all area rugs be tacked down permanently,” Smith says. “You can’t put a value on somebody’s safety.”
At the end of the hallway, the master bedroom continues the blue, white and vintage theme with family heirloom lamps outfitted with bright white lampshades on either side of the bed, antiqued blue glass doors to conceal the closet, and a family-favorite chaise covered in new blue fabric.
A trip down the stairs to the first floor reveals more family-friendly spaces, including a quiet space under the stairs built as a little den for the family’s beloved dogs. In fact, the adjacent pool bath, which features canine-themed wallpaper, includes a shower specifically designed to accommodate the dogs, with dog-shaped hooks to hold their leashes while they’re getting washed.
There are more bedrooms on this floor, each including built-in beds and en-suite bathrooms. A cozy nursery nook is attached to one of the bedrooms and another
bedroom is a teen-dream room designed specifically for the family’s teenage daughter with built-in bunk beds and a plethora of turquoise accents. The first-floor family room leads out to a large pool, cabana area, and a covered gathering space surrounding a wood-burning fireplace.
“Cedar by the Sea” satisfies the needs of every family member from the baby to the grandparents to the teenager and even the dogs, without sacrificing an ounce of style along the way. Smith is more than happy with the result. “It’s a very family-oriented family,” she notes, “and a very family-oriented home.”
Home is, of course, the theme of the Designer House Tour, for which the owners of Cedar by the Sea as well as eight other homeowners will generously open their doors in support of the Cape Regional Medical Center on Aug. 12 from 11am to 4pm. The tour will be held in conjunction with the 7 Mile Island Home and Health show, which is held at Avalon Elementary School from 9am to 2pm. The Home and Health show is free. Designer House Tour tickets are $30 and can be purchased the day of the house tour at Avalon Elementary School, through the Cape Regional Foundation office (609-463-4040), or at the Avalon Chamber of Commerce.
In its 13th year, the Designer House Tour has become more than just a fundraiser. “I think our Designer House Tour is a premier event for the summer,” says Ellen Kravet Burke, chairman of the board of trustees for Cape Regional Medical Center and the event chair for the house tour. “We have people coming from the Philadelphia area, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia just for the weekend for our house tour, which is really a wonderful thing. And they know it supports the hospital, so that’s very exciting for us.”
Past Designer House Tours have helped raise funds to purchase items like the Varian TrueBeam radiotherapy system, which provides state-of-the-art radiation therapy for leading-edge cancer care for patients. This year’s proceeds will benefit cancer services at the Thomas and Claire Brodesser Jr. Cancer Center, as well as surgical services.
As a major fundraiser, the Designer House Tour provides the designers with a unique way to give back. “We seek out the opportunity to help the community in which we live, work and celebrate life,” says Allison Valtri, the owner of Allison Valtri Interiors, and Shutters to Shades, and the designer for three of the houses on the tour. “With the house tour, there is the added excitement of raising funds for such a worthy cause that it boosts your energy and drives your ambition to get every detail perfect. That’s part of what makes it so exciting, to not only place homeowners in their homes, but to share it with the broader community.”
From an aesthetic perspective, the house tour is also an incredible showcase for the island’s talented architects, builders, interior designers, landscapers, artisans, cabinet-makers, and artists. Every single one of the homes on the tour displays the highest level of workmanship, style, and creativity.
“Bayfront Paradise,” another home on the tour, is a superb example of this level of high-quality work. Featuring a very contemporary style, the home was built to maximize stunning bay views while creating a fun, functional space for large gatherings of family and friends.
Since the homeowner’s primary residence in Connecticut is a colonial-style home on a very wooded lot, the homeowner wanted sleek and bright at the shore. “When we came here, we wanted as much light and as much view of the bay as possible,” the homeowner says. The team of interior designer Maria Toczylowski (Beach Dwellings Design), Bob Miller (Logic Builders) and kitchen designer Sandy Aromando (Euro Line Designe) made their summer dream home a reality.
The gigantic wooden “pivot” door on the first floor opens to reveal an expansive family-room space featuring an entire wall of glass doors that allow the bay to be the star. Though the room contains fun features like a pingpong table and wet bar, the modern, minimalist design and muted tones of the interior allow the eye to continually be drawn to the show that Mother Nature is putting on outside.
A walk down the first-floor hallway leads to several bedrooms and baths. “Downstairs is for the kids,” says the homeowner, who has two grown children and a teenage daughter. “They invite so many friends down here. My 16-year-old will invite her entire volleyball team. We built it to sleep a lot of kids.” And she means it. The bunk room in the back of the first floor houses no fewer than eight built-in bunk beds and its adjoining bath, concealed by a bright coral barn door, has two showers. “We added two showers so that if there’s eight kids down here, at least two can shower at a time,” she says.
The second floor features another wall of windows and contains the main living space with an open concept great room and a kitchen designed by Euro Line Designe that manages to combine minimalism and warmth. With cream-colored tile floors throughout the house, white and cream furnishings and woodwork, the space is punctuated by the incredible bay views that provide an ever-changing palette of color from sunrise to sundown.
The second floor also has a junior master suite and one of the home’s two “wet rooms” in which large showers are set behind a single glass wall with the floor area flush with the rest of the room; the water drains through a subtle outlet in the floor and the tub is contained within the showering space.
The third floor is home to the master bedroom. And it is a showstopper. This room boasts not one, but two entire walls of windows that provide a panoramic view of the bay and surrounding inlets and wetlands. It is breathtaking. A large mirror hangs on the wall above the headboard of the bed and is part of a little design magic by Toczylowski. She came up with the idea for the one-way mirror that actually becomes a window in the master bath, on the other side of the wall. The window allows you to see the bay view from inside the master bath and also reflects the view into the master-bath mirror. The result is a spectacular view from every angle of the master bedroom and the master bath. It truly has to be seen to be believed.
Also on the third floor is another wet bar area that leads to the third-floor deck, one of the many deck areas of the home, all outfitted with ipe cable railings for a streamlined look. The third-floor deck is complete with a full-sized hot tub, fire pit and seemingly acres of bay-facing bar stools. Back inside, there is a loft area that is open to the great room below and yet another deck off the loft space with both bay and ocean views.
While “Bayfront Paradise” and “Cedar by the Sea” have contrasting styles, they are unified in their family-oriented nature. Both were built and designed with family gatherings, friendly visits and making memories at the forefront.
But these are only two of the island homes that will be open to participants of the Designer House Tour this year. The seven other houses on the tour have families, and styles, and tales of their own to tell. These houses include:
A 6,500-square-foot, new bayfront home, built by D.L. Miner, that is a graceful reinterpretation of the elegant homes of old Stone Harbor.
A completely renovated beach-block condo that illustrates that smaller spaces can still be exquisite.
A large bayfront home that combines a chic aesthetic and modern sensibility with rustic charm.
A new home that shows how thoughtful design and details can make a prefab home uniquely stylish.
A beach-block home that underwent a major renovation to update the interior and highlight the colors and textures of its spectacular scenery.
A large, family-friendly bayfront jewel with exceptional interior detail and a patriotic color scheme.
A contemporary beauty built to minimize environmental impact and maximize its beautiful environment by the collaborative team of D.L. Miner (builder), Asher Associates (architect), Euro Line Designe (kitchen design) and Summer House design (interior design).
From the work of the designers and home builders, to the generosity of the homeowners who open their doors for the cause, to the volunteers who make the day run smoothly, the Designer House Tour showcases some of the best of what this area can offer. It is an event for the community, by the community, that celebrates the community.
The Home and Health Show
The Designer House Tour is just one part of Cape Regional Health System’s incredible day on Aug. 12. The Home and Health Show from 9am to 2pm at Avalon Elementary School is a free event that features home-building and renovation vendors.
In addition, Cape Regional physicians and staff are available to answer questions, provide information, and offer many free screenings. Balance and sleep disorders, blood pressure, bone density, cholesterol, glucose, pulmonary function, vision and skin cancer screenings are just a few of the options available.
The popular program, “The Doctor Is In,” is returning to the Home and Health show for the sixth year. “We have more than 20 doctors who come to speak on their specialty,” says Ellen Kravet Burke, chairman of the board of trustees for Cape Regional Medical Center. “There is no fee and if you have a question, you can walk right up to the doctor and discuss it.”
The Home and Health Show showcases the area health-care community in much the same way that the Designer House Tour highlights homes. And it is also a collaborative project. The executive director of the Cape Regional Foundation, Tom Piratzky, is grateful and proud of the effort. “I’d like to thank the many, many volunteers, physicians, and team members who help put this together to benefit the health-care needs of our community,” he says. “What we do is just so significant. We give out so many health screenings that day. Everything is geared toward supporting health care here in Cape May County for our residents and visitors as well.”
