From House To Home

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Bobbie Fusco carried a home around in her head for 39 years. She and her husband, Bob, dreamed of a beach home ever since they married. Two years ago, with the help of an architect who captured their vision and a builder who made it real, the Fuscos moved into their three-story, upside down, custom home on a quiet coastal street in Brigantine.

Directly across the Absecon Channel from Atlantic City and surrounded by wind, water, and sky, the primary goal was to maximize the incredible views. To access the dramatic natural beauty there are a total of seven outdoor decks. But inside the home—windows, angles, and height are the critical building blocks.

Architect Paul Kiss, AIA, a principle of Olivieri, Shousky & Kiss in Collingswood, New Jersey, remembers the initial meetings with Bobbie and her husband. Bobbie’s giant folder, full of magazine clippings and sketches, helped Kiss understand the project, while visits to the site helped him decide exactly how to position the home.

Builder Ralph Busco, owner of Alisonpaul Builders, Inc., in Brigantine, was tapped to manage the actual construction. The entire team worked together to bring Bobbie’s dream home to life.

Coastal property almost always demands special consideration—and this was no exception. Building codes have height restrictions, which, in turn, dictate the scale of each room. Since the Fuscos wanted an open floor plan and 360-degree views, Kiss designed the home with an elaborate steel framework, which helped eliminate the need for interior walls or support columns and opened up the spaces for better views.

The blueprint also called for the main living areas to have high ceilings. But high ceilings mean a taller roofline; the heating and cooling ducts were built with minimal offsets, so the square footage of each room could be maximized.
Beginning from the three-story entrance foyer, the dramatic scale is obvious. A beautiful, maple staircase winds through the center. The core of the home on the second level has angled walls and stacked windows that reach full height. Twin turrets on either side help create intricate interiors.

The open floor plan incorporates the dining areas, the kitchen, and a huge family room with a custom-built, oak fireplace mantel with an arched enclosure that hides the television from view. This combination of livability and attention to detail gives the home a comfortable elegance while still capturing the kaleidoscope of sun and sky.

A combination of creams and corals establishes the decorative palette but Bobbie says outfitting her home with just the right pieces will be an ongoing process. Decorator Jean Conti-Speckmann of Designer’s Touch in Glassboro got the ball rolling; and kitchen designer John LeBude worked out the details. LeBude co-owns Maple Shade Cabinet Co. & Linwood Custom Cabinetry, Inc., with partner Al Cerasoli. Wood-Mode brand cabinets in Galleria door style are maple with an eggshell wash. The countertops are Avanza quartz, an innovative product that combines the beauty of granite with an impenetrable stone polymer that is heat, scratch, and stain resistant. The 8-foot by 4-foot working island adds plenty of surface space, along with an ice maker for fresh ice, a trash compactor, and a 62-bottle wine refrigerator.

The three bedrooms are actually, more accurately, three private suites. The master, at the top of the home, incorporates huge closets, an exercise room, a sauna, and a steam room (along with access to its own deck). On the second floor, the guest room also has its own deck and access to all the accommodations. On the first floor, after construction had already begun, the family room got smaller and the guest room got bigger—because the Fuscos found out they were going to be grandparents.

“We didn’t have any grandbabies when we started building,” explains Bobbie. But since breaking ground two years ago, they have been blessed with three grandchildren. In fact, the mud room on the first floor was originally designed with a doggy shower; but with its short retaining wall and moving head, the shower has been pressed into service many times when the children come in from playing outside in the sand.

Despite the demands of the blueprint and the extensive details of the interior, the builder enjoyed the entire process. “They were fantastic people to work for,” says Busco of his clients. “They asked for input and accepted it; but they also knew what they wanted, which made it very easy for me.” He says that building a spectacular home on a beachfront lot was no easy task. “This is one of the few projects that actually goes the distance in terms of the views, the materials, and the design,” he explains. “We had to make the dream happen in 61 feet by 100 feet, and that’s without setbacks.”

But the dream home the Fuscos imagined since the time they were newlyweds is now a reality. And as they fill the rooms with visits from a growing family, their friends, and social events for their favorite charities, they can enjoy the change of seasons from every room.