East Beach Idea House Tour

My mom lives in a beautiful seaside community in Norfolk, VA on the Chesapeake Bay. We love spending time on the beach there and at her gorgeous home. A few miles down the beach from her is a neighborhood called East Beach. It has been a favorite location for many Home-a-rama home shows and twice has been the location for the Coastal Living Idea House. Living in this area, I had the opportunity to tour the home in 2011, but for some crazy reason didn’t blog about it! Well I’ve been craving warm weather and the beach and thought you all might want to take a tour of this gorgeous home.

East Beach is a neighborhood made up of many young professional families. The streets are all pedestrian friendly with beautiful brick sidewalks. The homes are a mix of Victorian and Craftsman styled architecture.

The 2011 Coastal Living Idea house is a 3000 sq. ft., 3 bedroom Victorian with an attached carriage house at the back.

The family room has wrap around window providing tons of natural light and sea breezes. This room has beautiful grayish-white washed bead board ceilings that resemble the shades of driftwood, as does the reclaimed wood coffee table. Plenty of extra seating is provided by comfy window seats. Colors are kept simple and cheerful in classic nautical navy blue, sunny yellow, and white board and batten walls which are topped with just a whisper of sea glass blue (Hesperia by Pratt & Lambert).

Coastal decorating combines natural fibers and elements to layer on textures. Sea grass rugs, baskets, and rattan and slipcovered chairs are seen throughout the home. Natural cotton, denim, canvas, and linen upholstered furniture and drapes keep the look soft, breezy and relaxed. Glass floats and glass accessories give the right amount of sparkle to each room without obstructing views.

The wide planked oak floors have the same gray washed weathered treatment as seen in the family room ceiling. The lower cabinets are kept natural and the upper white cabinets soar to the ceiling providing plenty of storage. Recycled ceramic subway tiles in a beautiful watery blue comprise the back splash.

Beach living involves a lot of sandy, wet, salt covered kiddos! There’s no need to worry about wet suits after a  morning at the beach, because this cozy kitchen banquette seating is covered with waterproof indoor/outdoor fabric!

You could always choose to eat outside in one of the home’s two charming courtyard areas surrounded by flowering raspberry colored crepe myrtle trees.

The master bedroom keeps the color pallet quiet with soft hues of sea foam.  The mix of textures are kept in balance between the grass cloth walls, sisal rug and the smooth and sleek lacquered side tables, shiny mirrors and glass balustrade lamps.

 

Just look at the views from the master bedroom! Wouldn’t you love to wake up to that each morning? We have fun at my mom’s house, seeing all the Navy ships come in and out of port or the Seals do their training exercises out in the bay, through a telescope. Norfolk hosts the largest Naval base in the world.

Watch the moon rise over the water on a private deck off the master. The decks are made from maintenance free Azek. The shingles and siding are Hardee lap which is a cement siding, and the shutters are all functional, which is important in our community which experiences many Nor’easters and hurricanes each year.

Many of the homes in East Beach have carriage houses. Sometimes the lower level is used as garage space, but the upper levels serve as efficiency apartments or in-law suites.

Many homes in our area, even inland, have steel roofs. These roofs deflect up to 90% of the summer sun’s rays, helping to keep cooling costs down. The home is 3000 feet but looks so much larger doesn’t it? Gorgeous!

All pics courtesy of Coastal Living.

See why I love living in coastal Virginia? Ready to move here?

You might also like this home tour of an award winning Homearama house I had the opportunity to work on!

Decorating a Dream Home Part 1 & Decorating a Dream Home Part 2

Kim

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