Narrow Escape

An oceanfront property in Bethany Beach embraces a long-and-lean lot with innovative layout solutions

Written by Kristen Hampshire
Photography by Dana Huff Photography

Ocean waves, salty breezes and the feel of dunescape sand feed Shari Ross Lahlou’s soul. There’s just something about the Eastern Shore—“I’m a beach girl,” she says.

The waterfront is Shari’s happy place, and for decades, her Washington, D.C. family stole away and summered in a South Bethany Beach home in Cat Hill. But Shari always had an eye on finding property even closer to the water, if not oceanfront.

“It was always a dream,” she relates. “I’d look for houses through the years, on and off, during certain periods with more seriousness than others. In 2020, renewing that search, we found this lot, for lack of a better word.”

On the slim property stood a cottage with charm but a floor plan and features that were “pretty original,” as in Formica countertops, three cramped bedrooms, and a bath and a half.

“At first, we thought, ‘How can we work with this?’” says Shari, of taking on some basic upgrades—cosmetic, mostly.

Then the time came to tear down and rebuild so the family could maximize a trailing, 9,600-square-foot lot that pours into the ocean and that is just 17½ feet wide. Shari enlisted in Marnie Homes to leverage the lot’s potential, design workarounds to inherent challenges—setback limitations and stringent zoning—and carve out as much practical space with views as possible.

The project was quite literally a tall order. Building up was a necessity. An innovative layout that essentially connects a main home and cottage house to a central pool deck delivered the format and features on Shari’s wish list.

Leaning In
Shari realized the home needed to be long and lean but wanted to avoid a “shotgun to the ocean” tunnel feel. “We wanted to create a space that felt airy and light and comfortable while maximizing ocean views,” she says. “We didn’t want it to feel claustrophobic in any way.”

When the zoning board denied a request to build two separate structures on the property, “this got the juices flowing and was the genesis of the style,” Shari relates. The result is a street-facing pool and guest house with bedrooms and recreational space, and an oceanfront main home where main living spaces include a great room, dining area, kitchen, primary suite and two additional bedrooms.

All told, the 4,370-square-foot home includes six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and two powder rooms.
To abide by the zoning rule that buildings must be a “connected house,” the guest house and main home are bridged by an expansive weather-ready Ipe pool deck with outdoor seating. Every room has a view—even those in the street-facing guest house since walls of windows in the main home offer unobstructed vistas. You can see right through the house.

Breezy Living
There was no getting around a galley kitchen, but Shari points to this classic layout’s utility. To open up the space, she opted for a counter-height island with a sink and open storage—another move to maintain a sense of lightness. It extends into a dining table equipped with stools.

Shari relied on designer Sarah Kahn Turner to guide kitchen selections while collaborating on details. Clean-lined white cabinetry is appointed with unlacquered brass hardware that will develop a patina over time. Light fixtures from Visual Comfort are also unlacquered brass and resemble seagrass.
On one end, sliding glass doors open completely, leading to the pool deck. On the other, the kitchen flows into an oceanfront living area with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Borrowing from the seascape’s aesthetic, a stacked stone fireplace introduces sandy texture while maintaining a sleek finish. Rattan lounge chairs infuse an organic element into the space and are joined by a contemporary creamy white sofa. C-style end tables feature graphic abalone tops.

“The house has a very modern overture, which I like to mix and soften with texture,” Shari says. “Pure modern can feel cold and I wanted something that’s very comfortable.”

Coastal Cues
“I wanted an ode to the coastal nature of the house, but I didn’t want it to be in-your-face cliché coastal,” Shari relates.

While she mixes texture, nature notes and contemporary lines, she also loves to punctuate spaces with a pop of glam—gusto pieces, mainly light fixtures, that speak to coastal colors and shapes while introducing an element of surprise.

In the master suite with its pitched, shiplap ceiling, Shari had lots of headroom to consider when selecting lighting. She went for a dramatic recycled sea-glass chandelier in waves of blues by Currey & Company. In the ensuite, a Sputnik-style chandelier is adorned with glass that resembles tiny, translucent silver dollars.

In a guest suite, a Dale Chihuly-inspired spiraling glass fixture in blue hues dangles from the ceiling almost as if someone uncorked a party popper full of streamers. “This fixture was chosen to have something long and big with impact—maybe something you can see from outside the home,” says Shari. “It adds a focal point and visual interest apart from the otherwise fairly clean aesthetic.”

Fixtures were sourced from Visual Comfort.

Details, Details
Bath and powder rooms afford creative space to step outside a home’s overall aesthetic and have a little fun giving each its own personality. Sometimes, inspiration starts with a piece of art, a tile pattern or, in the case of one powder room, a must-have sink.

The bowl sink by Native Trails has a swirl of abalone within the vessel. Shari couldn’t resist. “I found the sink and we designed everything around it,” she says. A brass mirror mimics the shape.

Her daughter’s ensuite is a classic Mediterranean design with blue-and-white mosaic tile. Her son, on the other hand, opted for a sleek black-and-white color palette.

In the master ensuite, Shari points to the shower’s imported Italian porcelain slabs that resemble stone. “I literally study it when I’m in the shower,” she says of its wave-like veining.

From the home’s finishes to its layout, every design detail was considered for an outcome that Shari and her family wholly embrace. “It’s a sanctuary,” she says. “I love looking at the water and smelling the air. The light that enters the home is phenomenal, and it changes throughout the year. It’s a dream to wake up and see that every day.” CS

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