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Motel-Inspired Vacation Home at the Jersey Shore

Designed by E/L STUDIO, the Jade Residence, of Wildwood, New Jersey, is quite unique. First, it’s built right next to the family business, a motel in the city’s doo-wop district, so part of its design was inspired by the original motel units. Second, the part of the design that does reference those motel units is the ground floor of the house which happens to be rental units that act as the foundation of the home. The family’s portion of the house are the upper floors. It’s even differentiated with the design on the exterior of the house.

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The concept of the residence is to do double duty – be a vacation home for now and be a retirement home that grows with the next generation.

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They integrated a geo-thermal system and passive ventilation to take the edge off of the heating/cooling load on most days.

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The exterior is clad in Fundermax panels to create a hurricane-resistant rain screen since the home is close to the beach.

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Rectangular windows sit at different heights for both adults and children to enjoy the ocean views.

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Oh hey, Austin-Healey, you’re my dream car.

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Moving to the inside, the family part of the home is super bright with white walls and light wood floors. To contrast the starkness, they brought in bold greens and yellows which makes the interior really pop.

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I love the green cabinets that they paired with black appliances, and then how they contrasted those with a white island.

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The ceiling opens up above the island and lets you peep the floors above. You also get the first hints of yellow.

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The other opening is situated above the living room helping the light move throughout all the levels.

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The yellow is painted in the alcoves on the ceiling that hold windows intensifying the sunlight that filters in.

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They continued the yellow by way of accent tiles in the black and white bathroom.

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Photos by Pepper Watkins.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.