By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — It’s hard to decide on the best part of the traditional-style home at 63 Spruce Road — not because there are few options, but because there are so many great things worth note.
Real estate agent Emily Wilkins thinks it’s the neighborhood, which she called “ultra-residential,” and its proximity to the water.
Located in the exclusive Riviera section of the city — which is close to the bay and tucked quietly away from the hustle and bustle of the largely tourist areas of the resort — the home is within a short walk, bike ride or drive from the beach, boardwalk and everything else one of the East Coast’s favorite family-friendly beach towns has to offer.
“Hop on a golf cart to the beach, shopping, dining, parks, the community center and downtown,” Wilkins said.
The Riviera stretches from 16th Street to Tennessee Avenue and includes many lagoons and bayous with sheltered anchorages offering access to Great Egg Harbor Bay. Most of the homes have water views or are just a clam shell’s throw away from one.
This home is no exception, with views of South Harbor from the porch and front-facing rooms on two floors. Natural light glimmers off the water each evening as the sun sets on another great day at the shore, while the sheltered lagoons provide a safer place for people-powered vessels than out in the bay, where there is much more boating traffic.
Wilkins’ assistant Ava Mumman, who coincidentally lives in the house with her parents and two sisters, thinks the best part is the layout of the home, which offers multiple areas for fun family gatherings as well as private places when you’ve had enough of others.
The home includes a formal dining room, office/sixth bedroom, den, powder room, large living room and eat-in kitchen on the first floor, as well as five bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. There also is a front porch and two rear decks, so the home is terrific for entertaining.
I like how the design and functionality of the house. Its layout is so fluid, with each room connecting to multiple other rooms. This design reaches its full potential in the two-sided granite bar between the den and living room that has a sliding barn door that can be opened for large events or closed for more intimacy.
Built in 1964, the home has undergone multiple upgrades and renovations and shows no signs of its age.
Wilkins calls it a “meticulous completely renovated single-family home.”
Out front, a concrete walk splits the grassy lawn on its way to the covered front porch. The exterior features stacked stone on the porch and a light gray cedar-impression vinyl siding on the rest.
Mulched beds with mature shrubs and ornamental trees flank the stairs and wrap around the corner to the right.
A concrete walks leads past a side door into the laundry and an enclosed outside shower en route to the alley, where there is access to the one-car attached garage and backyard.
Wilkins said there is room for a swimming pool, which would be a nice addition to the composite-decked porches — one at ground level and another off the master bedroom on the second floor. A 5-foot vinyl fence creates privacy and keeps children and pets from wandering off.
Back out front, slate steps lead up to the porch, where a solid-wood door opens into a tiled foyer. Wooden stairs ascend to the second floor alongside a coat closet, while the formal dining room is to the left and the step-down office/bedroom is to the right.
Wilkins said the owner added a door to this space, which has narrow-plank hardwood flooring, a handsome brick wood-burning fireplace and access to the powder room, kitchen, laundry and side door, so that it could be used as a guest suite.
Moving counterclockwise through the house, the office flows into the laundry room, which has a tile floor, full-size Maytag washer and dryer and a utility sink.
The powder room to the left has a tile floor, bead board wainscoting and a pedestal sink beneath a wood plank ceiling.
“There’s a lot of room here to customize,” Wilkins said.
Off the laundry room is the den, where two sofas provide a cozy place to relax and watch some television on the occasional day when it rains in America’s Greatest Family Resort. The room has wood wainscoting and hardwood. A door in this room opens onto the garage, which is plenty large enough for a car but now filled with bicycles and beach gear.
Along the left wall of the den, a granite-topped bar offers seating on both sides with the barn door between them.
On the other side is the living room, which is the best room in the house. Its cathedral ceiling slopes down toward the rear wall, where double windows flank a sliding glass door. More windows on the left add to the abundant natural light in this space, which has a couple of sofas atop an area rug. The walls are paneled to appear like vertical planks.
Like much of the 3,200-square-foot house, the kitchen has original hardwood flooring with white Thomasville cabinets along two walls.
“The tastefully done kitchen boasts granite countertops, a tiled backsplash, center island and new stainless-steel appliances,” Wilkins said.
Appliances include a six-burner NXR gas oven/range set in the countertop with a hood above, a two-door refrigerator with bottom freezer drawer, a dishwasher to the left of the stainless-steel sink and a microwave.
There also is a center island with seating and storage, as well as a long window seat with more cabinet space.
But perhaps the neatest aspect of the kitchen is the pantry door, which was reclaimed from a businesses in Philadelphia. It still has the mail slot and visible reminders of where its hinges used to be.
Adding to the open design of the house, there’s a large cutout in the wall between the kitchen and living room, as well as a door to the office/bedroom.
Back in the front, the dining room has three sets of double windows overlooking the yard with views of the lagoon. A long wood table sits atop hardwood beneath a hanging lamp. Wilkins said the furnishings are negotiable but not the chandelier, which is a favorite piece of the owner.
Upstairs, Wilkins said there is custom tile work with granite-topped vanities in the bathrooms and custom closet build-outs in the bedrooms.
The second floor is divided into two sections, with one bedroom and the master suite to the right and the other three bedrooms and a bathroom to the left.
Located in the front corner, the first bedroom has the best lagoon view in the house. It has hardwood flooring and a closet with double swinging doors.
A long hall with his and hers closets connects to the master bedroom, which has a peaked ceiling with exposed rafters. Clerestory windows on two sides provide natural light, while the recessed high-hats do the job at night after some relaxing time on the sun deck just outside.
“I love the size of this room,” Wilkins said during a recent tour.
The master bath has a tile floor, granite-topped vanity and a shower tiled to the ceiling with a swinging glass door.
Out back, a spiral staircase connects the upper and lower decks, while a brick area to the side is perfect for a grill or smoker.
“Enjoy the beautiful covered front porch overlooking the manicured lawn and landscaping with magnificent lagoon views,” Wilkins said. “The home offers a new roof, new HVAC split systems throughout, gas instant hot water and more.”
The property is listed for $1.499 million with The Wilkins Team of Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty. Call Emily Wilkins at (609) 513-2029, Burt Wilkins at (609) 513-2500 or Burt Wilkins III at (609) 464-2571 for more information or to set up an appointment to tour this wonderful home.
