Living

Second To None

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The Blazers turned to Bruce Mears to construct their second home, in Bethany Beach and bring their modern Scott Edmonston design to life

Written by Joe Willey
Photography by Krista Valiant

Gliding through the small coastal town of Bethany Beach, popular and ubiquitous sites of a beach resort crowd the eye. But near the restaurants, shops and rows of beach cottages standing together in a line is a unique home designed with a stylish intention of how to enjoy the town’s gentle, simple charms.

Bethany Beach provides the relaxed beach-living appeal that quickly drew in the Blazers and brought back a flood of memories. Kiera Blazer visited Bethany Beach during summers when she was a girl, and her family vacationed there when her sons were younger. But three years ago, when one of her sons visited a friend who had a house in downtown Bethany, she realized this was the ideal spot for their second home. Within three weeks of the eventful visit with their son’s friend, the Blazers purchased a lot and began looking for an architect. After seeing a home that Scott Edmonston, AIA, of Sea Studio Architects, had designed, Kiera called him. “I went to him with a blank sheet of paper,” she recalled. He listened intently and understood instinctively what they were looking for in a second home.

The attention to detail that both the Blazers and Edmonston required would demand a builder who shared the same precise standards. One builder’s name was continually mentioned in various circles. It was the name Bruce Mears. Mears designs most of the homes he builds, but ironically had always wanted to work with Edmonston. After reviewing the plans, he knew the project would be a challenge, but he admittedly likes that. “With all the steel in this house, it was like a science project,” Mears said, almost gleefully.

The house is clean, open and welcoming. It is modern and angular, but somehow cottage-like. Immediately noticeable is the wall of windows at the front of the house. Though the bank of glass allows onlookers a glance into the home, it also lets in something much more precious: daylight. 

When it came to what she likes best about the house, Kiera found it difficult to suggest that she favors any of the many beautiful details over the others. But after a thoughtful pause, and with a chuckle, she gave it a shot. “I love the clean lines and the modern decor, all of the windows, too,” she said. The home also provides bedrooms that will sleep a lot of family friends. It is the benefit of beginning a home project with a blank sheet of paper and an architect who translates a family’s ideas into gleaming reality.

The Blazer home has undoubtedly made a visual impact in Bethany Beach, with passing cars, pedestrians and children on bicycles slowing to get a better look at this work of art. Those who once wondered what the impressive structure rising during construction would look like no longer have to guess at the owner’s intention. They have designed their piece of Bethany from the ground up, to enjoy the beach in their own way.

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