Couple’s 25th-anniversary gift to each other has become a permanent home in Cape May County

When Thom Piecara and Nanci Brogan-Piecara first spotted the crumbling rancher in the Town Bank section of Cape May in 2012, they envisioned a charming cottage where they could enjoy glorious sunsets with friends and family. Their decade-long renovation journey now complete, their home lives up to its name, “Happy Ours.”

“It was a 25th anniversary gift to each other,” said Thom, a Realtor with Cape Resorts Realty and member of the cocktail jazz band Innuenduo. The couple met in 1986 while performing on Broadway together. Thom was a singer and Nanci a dancer.

When they first saw the house, it was “decrepit,” Thom recalled. “It had an in-ground pool that looked like the Black Lagoon, but the good news was it was holding water.”

Though it was clear the house had been vacant for several years, it was just a few houses off the bay beach on a double wide property, with two full bathrooms and a large back room. Thom had been coming to Town Bank since he was 7 years old and loved the area.

The couple, who lived in Medford at the time, wanted to get the house in good enough shape to enjoy it that summer.

“We were sleeping on air mattresses, working nights and weekends to rip out carpets, put in flooring, paint and revamp the kitchen,” recalled Nanci, a mortgage loan officer with Greentree Mortgage.

Then, three years ago, they decided to sell their Medford home and move to Town Bank permanently. Architect Pamela Fine and FX Custom Builders renovated the cottage into their 1,950-square-foot dream house with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and welcoming outdoor spaces. A colorful palette, including pale yellow, Caribbean blue and lime green, can be found inside and outside the home.

“At the beach you’re allowed to have a sense of whimsy and fun, and the house should make you smile when you roll up,” Thom said. “So color was a huge part of it. We also wanted unique architectural details.”

Those details are found in three types of siding — board and batten, Hardie shingle, and clapboard vinyl — two different roofing materials, and several bump outs designed to gain space. Rafter tails, reminiscent of homes in Key West, and palm tree-shaped cutouts in the railings add character. All of the custom windows roll out to welcome breezes, even on rainy days.

The front of the house, which had been a fishing shack from the 1930s, couldn’t be salvaged. The rebuilt space, with a 20-foot vaulted ceiling, now houses the kitchen. An avid cook, Nanci installed an oven into the cabinets below a five-burner cooktop.

“Cooking is the thing I enjoy the most,” she said.

The couple created a new second floor for their primary suite, with exposed beams, a dark floor, fireplace, ceiling fan and grass cloth wallpaper. They wanted more of a warm, Tommy Bahama vibe than the rest of the home’s beachy feel. Three sets of French doors open out to the balcony.

“On beautiful evenings those French doors are wide open, and we have breezes blowing in,” Thom said.

The laundry room features a walk-in dog shower for Jazz, their 3-year-old Wheaten terrier/poodle mix from a shelter.

Outdoor spaces include the pool, a small deck with a seating area around a fire table, and a blue-stone patio with an overhead pergola for dining. That’s where they spend most of their time, often entertaining. The smart home’s lights and music are controlled from a phone app.

“After sunset, we’ll often come back to the house for dinner al fresco,” Thom said. “I’ll dim the lights over the pergola, and I’ll put a misting fan on to keep the bugs away.”

Their favorite spot is their tin-roofed homemade beach bar, built out of a shed that was left on the property. Thom finished it with 80% recycled materials from Habitat for Humanity and moved 20 tons of sand — “one wheelbarrow at a time” — to make it a true beach bar, he said.

Now living in Town Bank full time, the pair are enjoying all the town has to offer, including 17 miles of open water, uninterrupted natural beaches, and spectacular sunsets.

“One of the things that’s so lovely about Town Bank is that there are trees, and it’s not totally built out,” Nanci said. “It’s really warm and welcoming.”

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