This Well-Traveled Delaware Beach House Is Designed to Gather and Inspire
Several years ago, one of Mona Hajj’s long-term clients purchased a condo in Bethany Beach for the whole family to vacation together, but it didn’t take long before they outgrew the place. After 20 years of working closely with the client on multiple homes, it was time to take on a ground-up project that would become the ultimate retreat for their busy, growing family that’s now spread across both coasts. They struck gold by finding a spectacular beachfront lot in the same neighborhood as their condominium building, and it was time to hit the ground running.
“The client just really wanted more space so that all the grandkids could come, as she has kids living in California and wanted to create a place where everyone could gather together and spend quality time with each other,” says Hajj. “They like things that are both pleasing and extremely comfortable, which is what they were really looking to have in this house.”
Hajj was involved in nearly every step of the process, ensuring the home would be built to welcome as much natural light as possible, establishing picture-perfect views outside of living room windows and selecting light woods and other materials that felt contextual to the home's natural surroundings. It was also important to Hajj that she create a layout that was full of intimate corners instead of an open floor plan that would allow for too much togetherness. Creating cozy nooks and private spaces was necessary to ensure that family members have time to retreat away to recharge with a good book, catch up on work emails, or simply enjoy some peace and quiet between the board game nights and swim sessions.
The designer says the hardest part of this project was working with the property’s constraints, as it needed to be a certain distance from the water and is surrounded by dunes. Beyond respecting the land, the area has seasonal restrictions where building isn’t allowed for certain times of the year, so construction took longer than anticipated, but she says it has been worth every minute to see how much the family has enjoyed the home.
“The property itself is very inspiring,” Hajj says. “It’s right on the water, it’s calm, and it’s a second home for the clients, so things could be more forgiving. Inspiration came from the land itself—the colors of the water and the views.”
However, once it was time to finally fill the home with beautiful things, the designer did so in her signature style: artfully blending Eastern and Western aesthetics to create a home that feels as well-traveled as its owners. Needless to say, this is not your traditional beach house.
There are antique Moorish Arabesque tiles Hajj found in Spain, Romanian kilim rugs and Venetian mirrors from the mid-1800s, antique Syrian lanterns, Louis XV furnishings—the list goes on and on. And yet, the house still manages to feel at home on Bethany Beach, full of soothing blue hues, antique seascapes, and an understated sensibility that is perfectly suited for a family’s vacation home.
“We didn’t want it to be a typical beach house with the same sort of ideas you always see,” says Hajj. “[The client] is very well-traveled, so it was easy for me to work accordingly, as they were open to styles and ideas from different cultures. The mix of European, Middle Eastern, and Asian elements was actually preferable to them.”
In order to ensure that this house would remain the right size for this growing family, Hajj dedicated much of the square footage to bedrooms, each with their own personality, collections of antiques, and dreamy blue walls. Extra insurance comes from the darling bunk room that features custom beds to make the room as efficient as it is beautiful. That theme rings true throughout the home, as every piece is selected for more than just its beauty—it had to be comfortable, inviting, and not too precious for enduring many a multi-generational getaway.
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