While California designer (and former Jersey boy) Joe Lucas was designing his sister's home in Mantoloking, New Jersey, he had a running joke with his family, who held firm ideas on what a beach house should look like. "I just kept going, 'Okay, it's not a theme park; it's your house,'" he says of their stereotypical choices. "They love anything nautical."
But before he could enact any aesthetic changes, he had to ensure the bayfront property could withstand the now-regular tidal flooding. Working with Daniel Lynch of B.L.D.G. Architecture, Lucas raised the main house an entire level and created a new ground level below, with a screened-in porch, mudroom, powder room, and garage. He also added a loggia with outdoor entertaining spaces that can take on water. Now hoisted, the elevated former ground level offers more expansive views of the bay from larger and brighter living and dining areas. Lucas converted a screened-in porch into a sunroom, moved the fireplace, and shifted the kitchen eight feet, gaining space for a custom home bar, pantry, and beer refrigerator.
Structural elements set, he then went for a less-literal take on the coastal design style than navy-stripe tropes. A palette of watercolor grays and blues—built on Farrow & Ball Dimpse, De Nimes, and Parma Gray—keeps the waves in focus, while touches like copper lanterns over the kitchen island subtly reference the family’s beloved 1982 Fortier 26 boat, Banter. Natural textures, including a nubby sisal rug in the living room, speak to the shore's reeds and grasses. "We already know we're on the water," Lucas says. "It's little bits here and there without hitting everybody over the head."
Exterior
To give the house charming shore Colonial–style cladding, Lucas redid the original brick in cedar shingles. Simple landscaping choices, like hydrangeas and crepe myrtle, stand up to heat and humidity.
Stairway
An earthy Nina Freudenberger for Lulu and Georgia rug marries the floor's deep wood tones with the hazy blues of the walls and trim. Lighting: Visual Comfort & Co. Chairs: Woven.
Living Room
Lithographs of birds native to the Jersey Shore line the walls. The Frame TV by Samsung over the mantel blends right in. Sofa: custom, in Ferrick Mason fabric. Coffee table: Four Hands. Rug: Marc Phillips.
Kitchen
The teak-and-holly bar nods to boat interiors. Paint: Mizzle, Farrow & Ball (cabinets) and Slate Blue, Benjamin Moore (island). Stools: Bliss Studio in Perennials fabric. Pendants: vintage, from Santa Ynez General.
Dining Room
Brass details on the Woven chairs and The Urban Electric Co. chandelier set a refined, old-world maritime mood. Table: custom, Harbinger. Rug: Marc Phillips.
Sunroom
"It's like a jewel box," Lucas says. The beadboard ceiling painted in Farrow & Ball Parma Gray recalls a dinghy's hull. Roman shades: custom, in James Dunlop Textiles fabric. Coffee table: Palecek.
Deck
