Peek Season: Cape Regional Designer House Tour Offers a Look Inside Some of the Island’s Most Exclusive Properties
The Pebbles
“House tour day is one of my favorite summer days,” says my sister-in-law, Lynn, part of my crew of family and friends who have turned the Cape Regional Designer House Tour into a summer tradition.
Each year we pile into my sand-strewn minivan and embark on a mission to explore some of the most beautiful homes we’ve ever seen. We stroll and marvel at the style, artistry, creativity, luxury, and hidden vistas that only this day reveals to us.
We make friends with fellow house tour enthusiasts, debate our favorite houses, and then change our minds when the next house is even more breathtaking than the one before.
Lynn describes it best: “The journey of following the map and finding the houses is a treasure hunt itself. I love the social aspect of going with a group. I love exploring the houses, enjoying the interior design, the views, and beautiful art. I always come away feeling happy and inspired with new ideas.”
This year our treasure hunt will happen on Saturday Aug. 12, when the 16th Annual Cape Regional Designer House Tour runs from 11am to 4pm. Making the day even more special is knowing that it supports a great cause.
“The funds raised by the house tour will go directly to support equipment for Cape Regional Hospital’s new state-of-the-art Radiology Suite and nine new bays for our Emergency Department,” explains Ellen Kravet Burke, chairman of the board of the Cape Regional Foundation and member of the Cape Regional Board of Trustees. “We are very grateful to our generous homeowners for opening their homes to support the needs of our community. The money raised stays in our local hospital in Cape May County, as we all realize the importance of having a strong community hospital here.”
Kravet Burke is particularly excited for people to see the nine homes on this year’s tour. “They are all big houses,” she says. “Each one is different and the interior design is so creative.”
So, if you’ve never been on the Cape Regional Designer House Tour, come join the fun. If you’ve been on the tour before, prepare to be wowed all over again by the 2023 homes. From bayfront to oceanfront, the homes differ in style but share a core of exquisite luxury and individual flair. Together, they showcase the absolute best in today’s home trends, craftsmanship, style, design, landscaping, and architecture.
Here is a sneak peek at these nine amazing homes.
Guard House
As soon as the bright orange front door swings open, you realize this is not your average beach house. You note the floating staircase airily commanding attention, as your gaze is drawn through the clear sight line to the backyard pool. A mid-century modern table in the foyer announces a sleek, sophisticated vibe, while the basket of shells atop it quietly says you’re still at the shore.
The newly built Guard House is the result of two years of teamwork, planning, design, and construction inspired by the vision of homeowner and interior designer Judy Betlyon, who aspired to create a revitalized version of a mid-century classic Avalon house.
With a lot situated on a prominent corner across from the Avalon lifeguard house and the beach, Betylon wanted to build a house that “embraced the corner and blurred the lines between inside and outside,” she says.
Mission accomplished. Blending mid-century modern and Australian coastal styles, Guard House is a masterclass in architecture, building, and design.
With floor to ceiling windows and massive sliding glass doors dominating nearly every exterior wall of the house, wraparound porches are simply extensions of the interior; the soothing color palette and styling of inside and outside flowing seamlessly together. The first-floor living room practically spills onto the front porches, as the landscaping is as much outdoor feature as indoor décor. On the second floor, glass walls make the great room almost feel like it’s floating, while a soaring white beamed ceiling follows the roofline, adding angles and interest to the view.
Throughout each room, the interior design is as inventive and unique as the architecture. With bold choices, Betlyon created a vibe that is modern and vintage, earthy and glamourous.
Wide-open spaces are warmed with texture, midcentury modern furnishings, and cool white upholstery. Bursts of color come from light fixtures, fabrics, accessories, and built-in cabinetry throughout the home. Orange accents invigorate the first floor, while pops of bold red and powder blue offer a purely contemporary twist on nautical upstairs. Slim Aarons’ photography adorns walls throughout the house, offering lively, color-soaked vintage scenes from a bygone era, when even a pool party was an enchanting occasion.
The minimalist design of the kitchen is a study in edges and curves. As flat front cabinets and open shelving easily mix into the mid-century décor, the rounded island, globe pendant lights, tubular range hood, and wavy backsplash keep things playful and fun.
The third floor features a sky-high deck with luxurious chaises and views of dune and shore stretching down the coastline. The primary bedroom wraps around the space with hushed white décor creating a cozy retreat.
With six bedrooms, two family rooms, two bar areas, a coffee bar, pizza station, reading nook, luxurious backyard pool, office nook, bunk room, and spa-level bathrooms, Guard House accommodates Betlyon’s big gatherings of family and friends, and quiet moments of pure relaxation.
Betlyon is especially grateful for the talented team of professionals who brought her vision to fruition. “I’m really proud of the end product,” she says. “Everybody who worked on the job, and all the people from D.L. Miner, especially Liz Hoesly, who led the project and made it happen. This house is a great reflection of teamwork.”
And a one-of-a-kind stop on the 2023 Cape Regional Designer House Tour.
Happy Place
Walking through Happy Place feels like sipping an ice-cold lemonade on a bright, hot summer day. It’s crisp, vibrant, and refreshing.
“Happy, happy, happy” is how Megan Gorelick, the owner of Megan Gorelick Interiors, describes this five-bedroom, seven-bath home that she renovated for a family with four young daughters. “This is a house full of girls, so we got to do our fun girly colors like yellow, blue, green, and of course, pink.”
While it might be a house that celebrates these young ladies, Happy Place does not lack in sophistication. A huge foyer leads into a first-floor great room that’s as fresh as a bouquet of spring flowers. White walls frame a wall of windows overlooking the pool and landscaping. An expansive soft-blue sectional is punctuated by colorful, patterned pillows and surrounds a lemon-hued double ottoman that invites you to put your feet up and linger. In addition to a yellow vinyl banquette below a wall of fun family photos, the room contains every child’s dream feature; a decked-out bar that serves (wait for it) …candy.
“We nicknamed this room the candy bar room,” says Gorelick. “It’s so fun for the girls.”
The crisp white candy bar with pearly stools is adorned with gleaming round tiles and backed by open white shelves that hold a variety of candy and candy-colored items, including a lamp base filled with paper dots. Clearly, no detail was overlooked in this joy-fueled renovation.
In fact, the candy-bar room is also dotted with “poufs.” These low-slung seats covered in happy fabrics are tucked below accent tables and sprinkle the room with extra whimsical seating.
There are so many design details, secret nooks, and personalized touches in Happy Place, it will be hard for house tour patrons to pick their favorite spot. It could be the pink-infused bunk room, or the large playroom/sleepover room with the customized pingpong table, air hockey game, and oversized daybeds fit for a princess … and a bunch of her sisters.
For those drawn to serenity, the primary bedroom will be a calming oasis, down the hall from the sprawling second-floor great room, containing the dining room, second family room, kitchen, and a bright blue pantry, wrapped in gorgeous wallpaper that demands to be seen.
Walls throughout Happy Place are covered in custom wallpaper or sprinkled with colorful, custom artwork, including bright, personalized surfboards. Every element of Megan Gorelick Interior’s design works together to create a home that is as unique and fun-loving as the four little girls who call it their summer home.
The Pebbles
What’s old is new again at The Pebbles, a freshly restored home that was built in 1909 and has remained one of Stone Harbor’s most grand homes for over a century. Originally built on 3,000 pilings, the home once featured a secret staircase for servants, and a mirror-lined dining room for the Victorian era guests to enjoy.
Today, that formality has been replaced by up-to-date spaces and décor designed to welcome the large, multigenerational extended family of Larry Berran, who bought the home in 2020, after it had served as a popular guest house for decades. Berran and a team from D.L. Miner Construction spared no effort in lifting the house to meet current codes and revitalizing every space from the spacious wraparound porches to the new exterior that still retains the grace and style of days gone by.
Beamed ceilings and thick molding surround windows and doorways and highlight the ample windows, crisp cabinetry, and spacious rooms that link the best of the home’s past and present. The Pebbles is an excellent example of a modern restoration that turned an old classic into a new classic.
Szafara House
After owning a little bungalow that was one of the original homes on the Stone Harbor basin for 20 years, the homeowners decided that a complete renovation was in order. The result is a brand-new home that accommodates them, their now-adult children, and their love of entertaining.
A team from Brandywine Builders led by Matt Pappas helped make their vision a reality. Highlights of the home include the inside-out design of the first floor that allows air and guests to flow freely from kitchen to pool to boat and back. The private outdoor shower in the second-floor primary bedroom is a rare treat that will likely become a hot new trend. And don’t miss the custom-built pantry door by Brandywine Builders that was designed to mimic a door from an Anthropologie store.
With the homeowner’s talented sister and mother collaborating on the interior design, the home is an homage to personalized style, texture, color, and good times with loved ones.
Uncommon Digs
Expect the unexpected at Uncommon Digs. This super-customized home reflects the imagination of the homeowner and the talent of the team that made it possible, including the builder, D.L. Miner Construction. With three stories of living space, Uncommon Digs allows a ’70s bohemian-themed foyer to flourish inside the home’s clean lines. Kitchen cabinets offer a modern take on shiplap, and a soaring third-floor primary suite includes a home office, Scandinavian-styled bathroom, and a coffee bar. With every single element of the home personalized, you’ll see there is a lot to “dig” about this “uncommon” house.
Nine North
Don’t let the breathtaking 270-degree views distract you from the extraordinary features throughout this bayfront home. Situated at the northernmost tip of Pelican Drive, Nine North was designed to be a stunning backdrop to the majestic views from its wide windows, ample decks, and patios. While nearly every room of the home has bay-facing windows, look around the interior to appreciate how the light blue and green color scheme unifies the space through wallpaper, tile, and fabrics. Mushroom board, oak, and historic wood beams add warmth and depth while the line between indoor and outdoor seems to disappear through glass doors in the family and living rooms.
Sanssouci
Meaning “without worries,” Sanssouci is a sumptuous bayfront retreat. Featuring three stories of exquisite rooms, stunning gardens, and an infinity pool complete with cascading waterfalls, this home is a delight to the senses.
Eldon Builders left no item off the list when constructing Sanssouci. From the wine cellar tucked under the stairs, to the effortlessly open concept second-floor great room, the home breezily flows from one spectacular space to another. The roomy third floor, for example, is a sprawling primary retreat complete with a cozy fireplace, open gallery overlooking the second floor, home office, built-in blue bar for coffee breaks, views for miles, and a spa-like bathroom featuring a dazzling mosaic waterfall wall that was designed by the homeowner and created with materials from Avalon Flooring.
With neutral décor keeping the vibe luxurious and soothing, bay views cast a luminous glow all over Sanssouci.
A Whiter Shade of Pale
A nearly monochromatic palette sets the stage for the homeowner’s incredible art collection in this newly renovated home. With full exterior and interior changes, A Whiter Shade of Pale was taken down to the studs and reimagined with new rooflines, doors, windows, and siding.
Designed to meet the dual demands of a family with two young children and a growing art collection, A Whiter Shade of Pale is a triumph of design, lighting, ingenuity, family-friendly textiles, and subtlety mixed with bold choices.
As the outdoors creates an artful setting of its own, the lower outdoor space was designed for entertaining from sunrise to sunset to starry skies.
The One on 109th
In what they describe as a “wonderful collaboration between homeowner, architect, interior designer, and builder,” the homeowners of The One on 109th are thrilled with their brand-new oceanfront stunner. With Brandywine Builders’ Matt Pappas leading the construction, this is a traditional cape with every contemporary convenience and 180-degree views that stretch the coastline from Wildwood to Atlantic City. The incredible vistas take center stage with high ceilings raising sight lines, sliding doors connecting interiors and exteriors, and soft-toned decor setting a serene backdrop. While the second-floor deck offers unrivaled views and easy access to the pool, cabana, and gym, the main living room’s wood-burning fireplace lets you know this home is designed for year-round living.
Be sure to check out this oceanfront masterpiece, along with all the awe-inspiring homes that you can only see on the 2023 Cape Regional Designer House Tour. And Saturday, Aug. 12 will become one of the best days of your summer, too.
2023 Cape Regional Designer House Tour
What You Need to Know
Tickets are required for the self-guided tour. Proceeds benefit the Cape Regional Radiology Suite Expansion Project and the Emergency Department.
Date: Saturday, Aug. 12
Time: 11am to 4pm
Tickets: $45 per person
Where To Get Tickets Before Tour:
Avalon Chamber of Commerce, 2989 Ocean Drive (Available until 8/11)
Call Cape Regional Foundation office, 609-463-4042
Where To Get Tickets Day of Tour:
Avalon Elementary School 9am to 1pm (cash preferred)
At each of the houses on the tour.
Guidebook: To request a downloadable copy of the 2023 Guidebook and map, go to caperegional.com/designer-tour/.
For more information call: 609-463-4042
*Booties will be supplied at the entrance of each house and required for entry.
