Just like most residents of the New Jersey shore, our dear friends Peggy and Ken almost lost their family's entire beach home in the Ship Bottom section of Long Beach Island, when last October's superstorm Sandy blew through.
“I would estimate 80 to 90 percent of the borough
had 3-5 feet of water above the street level, so all low lying homes are damaged”
~ Ship Bottom Mayor William Huelsenbeck.
(One week after Sandy.)
Their darling bungalow is only two blocks from both the ocean and the bay, so it took a major hit in the way of flood damage. But thanks to a lot of hard work and ingenuity, this two bedroom, one bath beach home is on the mend and is already better than before!
As soon as homeowners were allowed back on the island, Ken and his father immediately got to work gutting the home's interior in order to remove all of the damaged contents. Walls and carpets, sub-flooring, furnishings and so on had to come out, including all traces of the mold which had begun to grow on the wet frame of the house after the storm.
"There is a chance we are getting a nor'easter early
next week. Until we see what happens with that we
are holding off on letting people back."
~ Mayor Huelsenbeck
Once the house passed it's mold test, new sheet rock was installed along with new flooring throughout. Existing walls and half walls between the living and kitchen areas were omitted in the new floor plan, thus making the main living area much more spacious In addition to the structural changes of the house, every built-in storage area, appliance, and all of the furnishings had to be replaced.
Peggy really liked the idea of the kitchen being done over with crisp white cabinetry and appliances. To keep a high end look for the counter tops without the extra expense, Peggy opted for a sturdy Formica in a faux marble pattern.
The walls of the entire home are bathed in a neutral tan and the ceilings are accented with a soft blue. The white trim of the doors and base boards, along with the new crown molding, work beautifully in framing out the walls. Contemporary ceiling fans in a brushed nickel replaced the dated light fixtures in the kitchen, living room and the master bedroom. Durable Pergo flooring was installed throughout the house, perfect to handle the sand and water which is traipsed in from the outside.
In keeping with the beachy theme of their home, Ken decided to create a surf board inspired table top for the new dining table. This beautiful top was made by staining the top in both walnut and neutral shades to obtain its very cool look, and then the top was placed on the existing base of an old table. The top's surface was finished off with 5 coats of a protective high gloss polyurethane. Eventually Ken wants to raise the table to counter top height, this way the table can also serve as a kitchen island for entertaining. Bar stools can then be added as seating for the table.
Another creation by Ken was the transformation of a $10 dresser the couple picked up at a local thrift shop, into this adorable piece for their son Trevor's room. The entire piece was painted white and then a turquoise blue was panted on front of the top drawers. An adorable nautical wave pattern was applied to the two
lower drawers in complimenting colors using a stencil which Ken made himself. Again this piece was coated with a high gloss polyurethane to protect the wood from the salty sea air of the shore environment. Trevor's room features two bunk beds which sleep 4 very comfortably
My friend Peggy is a huge fan of red, yellow and of course orange, so she added pops of these colors in their cozy main living space. The chair and entertainment cabinet were both Home Goods finds, and the two yellow pillows Peggy purchased for just under $18 during one of our shopping sprees to Hobby Lobby.
Also see the pillow on the turquoise directors chair? It has a starfish and shell print...my sister Kim picked it up for only $5 during one of her Saturday morning yard sale adventures. She definitely had Peggy in mind!
Isn't that surfboard in the corner a darling touch? And it is the perfect color!
Today their delightful bungalow exudes the charm of the New Jersey shore. For both Peggy and Ken, restoration of the beach home was a long and weary process, however very well worth it as Superstorm Sandy caused so much destruction in this quaint beach community. But it's homeowners like our dear friends who rallied by working hard almost every weekend since the storm, to make their family's little piece of the Jersey shore even more beautiful than ever!!!
XO
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