Beach House II

by Bruce Palmer Interior Design

“We don’t want a typical beach house filled with seashells” was the first request made by the home owner of this beautiful waterfront home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The home includes an attractive pool area with multi-purpose spraying fountain art and glass water line tile. The pool area continues with a barbecue grill area, separate pool house that imitates a tiki hut, and an over-sized hot tub. Travertine stone, gas tiki torches and the flame of a fireplace appoint a mood for night time entertaining.
Inside the home you’ll find a mix of contemporary and traditional furnishings. Rugs from Persia and Tibet fill the hallways and space with an occasional cowhide lying around. You’ll discover countertops made of onyx and pewter, a bed imported from Indonesia, antique doors from Morocco, and mid-century chairs dispersed throughout.
A raw organic theme has been applied to elements in the house using natural materials. Entering the foyer you are greeted with a console table filled with river rock. The same river rock is incorporated into the flooring creating a border that frames the tray ceiling above. The front entry doors are fashioned with bronze hardware made to look like twigs. Grid paneled walls set the tone for walking up an upside down staircase. The fireplace incorporates local river rock, driftwood from the beach and natural stone for the hearth. Pecky Cyprus ceilings, walnut slab countertops, Macassar ebony floors and woodwork, zebra wood, rock crystal accessories and lighting, mesquite wood tile, granites, marbles, hemp and linen fabrics also encourage the organic theme.
The master bedroom boasts a leather wrapped bed frame with a rosewood veneer head board. Flanking the bed are nightstands with crystal spheres that emulate sea bubbles. In the dining room, you’ll find a table with solid claro walnut that ended up being hoisted through the window by a commercial grade crane. The accompanying chairs have embossed leather that resembles shagreen. The round motif is again repeated in the embroidered circle window treatments that can be closed off to soften the sun over the ocean.
Contrast was infused throughout with white walls and dark hand-scraped Wenge flooring. Various techniques were also applied to create interior brick walls, leather wrapped door hardware, built in bookcases and headboards, and paneled grass cloth walls and ceilings.