A few weeks ago we introduced the latest Seabrook contest to find out what your dreams of an “Ultimate Beach Home” are. We’ve received many responses of how you imagine you perfect beach house and are looking forward to many more entries in the next couple weeks (just drop us a comment below to enter).
In the meantime, we sat down with our Sales team and asked them how they picture their “Ultimate Beach Home”. Here is what they had to say:
Jennifer Lampe
“My ideal beach home is a cottage that sits up high on a hill overlooking the ocean. There is a winding path through a meadow of tall grasses and wildflowers welcoming you to the brightly painted front door and garden full of flowers. There are lots of windows in my little sea cottage and the home is bright and cheery even when it is rainy and windy outside. A huge river-rock fireplace makes the family room cozy a stormy day and it is the perfect place for a quiet conversation or to enjoy a game of backgammon in the evening. The kitchen is always full of delicious smells and the laughter of many meals shared with family or friends.
Although it is light and airy, this cottage is like a boat – even the stairwell has storage nooks to display books, shells, and precious beach-finds. On a lazy, sunny afternoon, big comfy pillows offer the perfect place to lounge while enjoying the fresh salty air blowing inside. Down the hallway, the bedrooms are tucked into the eaves with colorful quilts and crisp white linens – and there is always an extra bed for guests to stay the night!
Darci Roloff Keefer
“Here is my ultimate beach town to have a beach house in:
- The glow of the oyster shell paths on a beautiful moonlit evenings….
- The smell of someone who has a fire lit in their fireplace….
- The smell of bacon throughout the town on Sunday mornings…..
- The sounds of smoke detectors following the bacon cooking…..
- Walking home from work and smelling someone’s wonderful dinner and hoping like heck, it’s coming from my house!
- Falling asleep to the sound of the amazing frogs outside my bedroom window each night…..
- Watching my children grow up with the many wonderful neighborhood children and being thankful their parents are my very best friends.
And finally, knowing that someday our children will understand what a gift it truly is to be surrounded by people who love them, from family to our lovely neighbors and friends.
Holly Emerson
“When I think of my ultimate beach house, the first thing that comes to mind is having a large enough space to surround myself with friends and family.
The kitchen could never be big enough — a large island in the middle for everyone to lend a hand, or just hang out while meals are prepared. Open concept is a must, with one room flowing into another….although cozy built in reading nooks for stormy afternoons would be well used.
It’s all about the outdoor space for me — I have to have a wrap-around porch to enjoy late afternoon and evenings chatting with passersby. Also, a great area to BBQ and dine outdoors on summer nights.
The beach is much used by both people and dogs, so an outdoor shower is a must after a walk, surf, or bonfire on the beach.”
Robyn Roloff
“The Ultimate would be simple! It would be where our grandchildren would rather sit and watch the sea birds and waves than play with their games. There would be great music playing from nowhere with the sound of the ocean as background music. The flower boxes on the outside of the weathered shingle siding would be filled with trailing posies.
The front door would be white with little glass panes. The curtains would be gauze and wave when the windows are open. The smell of Laura’s carrot cake baking in the oven would permeate the kitchen. We would sit at the dining room table and play games. There would be a bunk room where twin beds would line the wall and all the children could sleep in the same room.
We would welcome our friends and family to share our precious hours….The evening would come, the lights would be dim and the evening sun would be streaming through the front windows. Grandpa and I would be sitting on the front porch holding hands…”
While our Sales team may be creative, this contest is all about you and your ideas! So what are you waiting for? Share your “ultimate beach sanctuary” with us in the comment section below and win free tickets to tour the 2010 Coastal Living Magazine Ultimate Beach House plus other goodies like an individual tour of the idea house and 2 Seabrook glass floats!
You have until July 10 to submit your dream home with the winner announced right here on the Seabrook Blog on July 16 – the opening day of the Coastal Living Magazine Ultimate Beach House!
Thank you for participating and good luck!
All glass facing the ocean, lots of french doors that can be opened. Skylights. Lots of light.
Decks on all levels, facing the water. A widows walk you can access from the master bedroom, which would take up the whole top floor.
A big whirl pool tub & a raindrop shower in the master bath.
Big kitchen. Granite countertops. Sub zero fridge. Clear front cabinets.
Hardwood floors throughout…makes sand cleanup easier.
Outdoor kitchen. Mud room with lockers for guest stuff.
Soft ocean colors everywhere, light woods. Mirrors, but no paintings.
Can you tell I think about this a lot?
My Ideal Beach House would be some where that the surf could be heard and the waves could be seen. It would have easy access to the beach, but be walking distance to town. It would have lots of windows, so there were plenty of oppourtunity to use natural lighting.
The main floor would include a flowing open area that contain living, eating, and kitchen areas that would be perfect for entertaining, but take advantage of the view of the shore too. There would also be a guest bedroom and mud/utility room and a 1/2 bath. The second floor would have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large sitting room with a huge picture window to watch the surf, somewhere that could be used for reading or crafts,with big comfy chairs. The 3rd floor would have a media room that would also have plenty of windows, and sleeper sofas for times when the guest room just isn’t enough. There would also be a 3/4 bathroom. The interior of the house would feature a peaceful beachy decorating scheme to compliment the views from the window.
Outside of the house there would a wrap-around porch accessed from french doors off of the living room. There would be lots of adriondack chairs, a hammock, and a stone fireplace so that the outdoors could still be enjoyed in our cooler NW weather. There would also be a covered outdoor BBQ. A hot tub and outdoor shower, and covered walkway from the garage to the house would complete the amenities. The yard would be low maintenance with native vegetation.
Sounds alot like a house that could easy be found right there at Seabrook, doesn’t It?
The ultimate ideal for a beach house for me is lots of open space, places for everything, little nooks and crannies, with warm inviting spaces, with style! A place of serenity and simple elegance. A lot of open space for outside with an out building for extended family and beach guests. i love the idea of lots of spaces to ride bikes nearby and of course decorated with natural materials incorporating use of the landscape into the inside spaces. Decorating with glass balls and other beach items such as surf boards, even monogramed beach bags. Taking that theme into all aspects of the ultimate beach home experience!
Lots of space for entertaining and relaxing inside and out and a full kitchen area outside and inside. I would use lots of windows as well and seamless beach collection making the home seem almost an extension of the outside. Of course using more natural and green products in building would be preferable.
The perfect ultimate beach house would be one that could ease the stress of the real life you leave behind once you reach it. You could smell the sweet salty air and maybe even see the frothy waves breaking on the wet sand and your shoulders,they all of a sudden relax as you take in the breaths of the sea. Once you enter your home it could be airy and full of light, great spaces with cozy furniture and shells on every window sill would make you want to immediately run to your room and don your flip flops and beachwear..
The smell from the kitchen/deck could be anything from barbecue to babybacks, bacon and eggs or a good merlot. Its a place where you can be your original self surrounded by the ones you love, and where memories to last a lifetime can be made.
A wonderous, magical, place..
In my ultimate beach home, everything would blend together.
First, the outdoors and the indoors would blend in color, sound, and smell. The ocean surf, the breeze and the views would come right inside the house. The living spaces would be outside as much as possible, even during the winter rains.
Second, my family and friends would blend all together where I couldn’t tell them apart in the ultra comfortable living spaces with soft cushions. The kitchen would have a blend of as many spices as there are friends and family feasting on local delicacies and wines.
Third, time would blend and bend throughout the day. The course of the day would be noted by the warmth on windowsills and the shadows from vases filled with wildflowers. Time would drift through the waterfront windows as if marking the seasonal hours like Stonehenge. Morning would blend into afternoon, and the afternoon would reluctantly bow to the evening sunset.
Fourth, my corporeal body would blend into the spiritual space which I would call home, served up by the sea and sand.
[...] Magazine Idea House and all the other homes around Seabrook. We even had our sales team drop by and provide an inspiration with their creative [...]