Back to the Beach: A Re-Build of Phoenix-Like Proportions

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When the nightmare scenario that no homeowner wants to imagine, fire, struck the vacation home of an Annapolis-area resident, the grandmother of 17 quickly counted her blessings and committed to building back as soon as possible; not wanting her family to miss one precious summer of quality time with her on the beach in Dewey, Delaware.

JoAnn DeCesaris and her large family, which includes five daughters, had been enjoying their previous summer residence located just a short distance from neighboring Rehoboth Beach since the early 2000s, until a fire reduced it to ashes in 2018.

Understandably heartbroken, the family soon rallied and resolved to re-build; the sublime location of the lot with its 80-feet of ocean waterfront and back views to Silver Lake would not be replicated any place else. 

Smarter Design

Having the opportunity to better accommodate her ever-growing family definitely gave DeCesaris the bright side she was looking for as she envisioned what her new home would look like and how it would work. 

To help further this vision, DeCesaris reached out to someone she had heard about in the beach-home building space; Marnie Oursler of Marnie’s Custom Homes of Bethany Beach, Delaware. 

Oursler remarks about what those early meetings were like. Little by little, she says, she would get to meet most of the family because all of DeCesaris’s five daughters and their families live on the same street in their neighborhood in Davidsonville.

“So, it was a fun build for me, because I got to know everybody, and they all would have their own room at the (new) house,” Oursler says. “Getting to know the family well always makes for a better build because it’s more personal.”

Oursler would also get to know that DeCesaris was going to be a decisive client, who understood what she had before, what she wanted to keep, and what might be advantageous for her to change.

While the new, 6,100-square-foot house did not grow larger than its predecessor in size, it would grow smarter in design and utility. 

“I wanted to keep the basic layout and size of the house…and I knew how I wanted it laid out because I loved the layout of the old house,” DeCesaris explains. “But we did change quite a few things. The main level stayed pretty much the same, but I took out a fireplace and put the bar area in because we didn’t really use the fireplace.” 

Bigger changes would be made upstairs for overnight visitors. “I made a couple of the bedrooms a little smaller, so that I could make five bedrooms up there.”

The home would be completed with a total of nine bedrooms—and each of those would have its own bath.

With 17 grandkids, you may be thinking the math still does not work out. However, Oursler had some answers. Three charming bunk rooms would be crafted on the main level to accommodate several sleepers at a time. And these rooms were created specifically for the siblings of each family so they could all stay together in their own personal space. 

One of the bunk rooms, designed to look like you’re in the cabin of a ship with porthole windows, has a custom, four-berth bed. The lower bunks are connected to the upper bunks on either side by sets of stairs that efficiently double as drawers for clothing storage.

Sweeter Dreams

And if you’re thinking that after all that customization, it is only fitting that the matriarch of this special family would have a distinctive space all her own to retire and recharge, you would be right. 

Pure sand beach and ocean water can be seen from the wall of windows and sliders in DeCesaris primary suite; the sliders providing access to the private third-floor deck. As is featured throughout the home, the ceiling has a unique treatment. In this room, there’s a pillowy white, pitched ceiling of shiplap boards and then white beams set on the diagonal to converge in the center. A nostalgic vintage style Gyro fan light by Minka-Aire polishes off the calming, coastal vibe. 

In her adjoining private bath, a swirled palette of pastel blues converges with tile to provide all the comfort and verve of a spa in a free-flowing bath and shower room. This part of the bath is a spacious walk-in with a sand-colored, crosshatch patterned luxury tile floor running underfoot and throughout the third level. 

DeCesaris says her daughters helped her with all the home’s tile selections, including the two styles on the walls of what she describes as the primary bath’s wet room with its free-standing soaking tub and overhead rainfall shower system.

“I just thought it was a cool idea and I could do it there. So, I did. I just wanted it all open,” she says. Marnie did ask, ‘Don’t you want to put a glass wall here?’ And I said, ‘No, that’s just more to clean. I’m just fine.’”

There’s another relaxing soak to be had just one level above on the primary suite’s open-air rooftop deck. DeCesaris loves the unobstructed view of Dewey Beach and the ocean from the propitiously placed hot tub on that level, providing another well-deserved respite for the busy matriarch.

Better When They’re Together

This new home build needed to connect the DeCesaris family with a renewed sense of normalcy, and this beachfront has always been a particularly well-suited location for how this family likes to spend its time. 

“We’re so fortunate on the ocean. The kids can go out in the evening and play lacrosse, or throw lacrosse balls around, or whatever they want to do,” DeCesaris says.

Outside activity notwithstanding, re-creating the home inside the four walls, and more specifically its main level living area would take what was already a good thing, and just make it better.

To start with, DeCesaris chose a beachy-white porcelain “Isla” tile from the Charm collection. It flows throughout the main level, connecting all the living spaces with an easy-to-keep-clean option that mimics the look of hardwood beautifully. 

The great room, which runs perpendicular to the shoreline and is easily seen through two sets of floor-to-ceiling windows with sliders, melds a coastal-infused conversation area with an adjoining space for streaming movies or watching the big game. The two areas are visually separated by a mere color factor on the ceiling, where Marnie suggested the most subtle of ocean-inspired blues to offset the space and distinguish its individuality.

An accent wall that adorns the conversation area now presents as an attractive bar with an intriguing application of Blue Ombre mosaic tile with hints of brass from Fan Club on the backsplash. The comfy, oversized upholstered swivel chairs are favorites of DeCesaris and were re-sourced from the same craftsperson to replace the ones lost in the fire. The chunky iron and wood table is a staple from the DeCesaris family collection; retrieved from her primary home in Davidsonville. 

The extra elongated couch was a cushion-less, custom design of DeCesaris vision that she commissioned a decorator to have made. “I wanted a couch that didn’t have a bunch of pillows. They all end up on the floor,” she says.

The kitchen, too, presented a few opportunities to just tweak some details leaving the highly functional space with the familiar flow in which DeCesaris works best. Two faucets at the main sink became a reality—and having five grown daughters and many other hands and feet a-foot, that second faucet actually becomes a necessity.

Originally, DeCesaris says, she had an idea to paint the bottom cabinets in a light blue. “But the color didn’t turn out, so we ended up with all white, which I love. I love the kitchen. So, I did a blue stove, instead.”

To that she added two, blue dishwashers. And above the stove, the view to the lake would be obstructed with a standard hood vent, so Oursler suggested going with a flush, integrated ceiling range vent.

A wall of smart and stylish integration keeps the rest of the room looking streamlined and low maintenance. Inside, however, behind all those doors much organization is going on with places for all the essential daily appliances, dishes, and glassware. A pantry, which her previous home did not have, was custom-built for additional food storage. Casual meals, DeCesaris says, are often enjoyed on the screened-in side porch just steps from the kitchen.

In fact, much family time happens on that porch, she says, with its proximity to the water, taking in the breeze and the view. And at the end of the day, when the summer sun sets on this coastal home with the pretty fuchsia front door, it leaves the family inside grateful for what they have been able to re-envision, and for another day back at the beach.