Visit a US Interior Designer’s Beautiful Long Beach Island House

Watch and read how Karen Wolf created a relaxing family getaway with a durable coastal style

Mitchell Parker 31 July 2021

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.

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Interior designer Karen Wolf spent her childhood visiting Long Beach Island, New Jersey, USA, with her family. Now with children of her own, she’s been keeping up the tradition. “It has a really soft spot in my heart,” she says.

To ensure the nostalgic destination stays in the family, she recently designed a relaxing new beach house retreat for everyone to use, including her parents. She embraced local coastal colours such as sandy beiges, watery blues and creamy whites to give the vacation home a soothing ambience. She then turned to durable materials such as porcelain and glass, which can hold up to beach life. A cohesive colour palette, layers of organic textures and timeless details create a welcoming getaway for generations to come.

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Wolf says she always starts a design project from the ground up. “Even if I was just doing a bedroom I’d start with the rug,” she says.

For this home, that meant beginning with the flooring. She chose wide-plank, hand-scraped white-oak boards that have some rough markings to them. “I think it just adds to the character of the house and makes you feel like when you come in with sandy feet, that’s OK.”

In the kitchen, Wolf was going for an overall light and airy feeling with natural tones that reminded her of sand.

She created a custom colour mix of Blissful Blue by Sherwin-Williams for the watery island base. She used the colour again on the backs of the glass-front cabinets.

Wolf put the sink in the island bench so she wouldn’t have her back to family and guests when prepping meals.

Watch now: Go inside this beautiful beach house getaway on Houzz TV

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

For the perimeter countertops, Wolf used a wood-look porcelain that coordinates with the wood flooring. “That was my ‘aha’ moment for this kitchen,” she says.

The island benchtop is porcelain that mimics the look of Bianco Lasa marble. “It has a really dreamy kind of wave movement,” says Wolf.

Glass tiles in varying blue tones are set in a herringbone pattern for the splashback. “Glass is easy to clean,” says Wolf. “It’s a great material for a beach house because you can just wipe it down.”

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k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Oversize clear-glass pendants hang above the island. “I’m a huge fan of over-scaled lighting,” says Wolf. “I think lighting in general is what defines a house.”

The kitchen opens to a dining area on the right and living room to the left.

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

In the living room, trusses and beams help draw attention to the shiplapped ceiling. “I feel like shiplap is like subway tile,” says Wolf. “It’s not going anywhere. I think it has longevity.”

She hired a faux finisher to match the pine beams and trusses to the look of the wood floors.

She also carried blues throughout the living room furnishings for design cohesion. She colour-matched the blue from the island for the linen-wrapped console table behind the white sofa. She then used blue tie-dye fabric for two custom chairs.

Watch now: Tour the rest of this coastal retreat

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Because there are a lot of patterns in the room, Wolf chose a subtle light-grey pattern for the concrete encaustic tile on the fireplace surrounds. “It’s just enough punch to pull everything together,” she says.

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Wolf commissioned a local artist to create pieces for this space. A painting of a Montserrat leaf hangs over a rustic console.

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

Wolf wanted nothing but relaxing luxury in the home. “We selected the best mattresses, the best bedding, the most comfortable experiences you could possibly have,” she says.

In a bedroom she designed for her parents, a four-poster canopy bed highlights the height of the space. “It brings the room up and makes it feel bigger than it actually is,” she says.

A jute rug and grasscloth wallpaper bring in layers of texture.

k+co LIVING - Interiors by Karen B Wolf

On a covered deck that Wolf refers to as a lanai, garage-style roll-up doors recede to connect the space to a pool and patio area.

She spent a lot of time on styling the open shelves behind the outdoor sectional. “Shelves are tough, even for designers,” she says. “It’s a lot of trial and error. And a lot of it is about scale.”

Wolf stuck to creams and sandy tones and organic textures. “The more white space the better in a shelf,” she says.

Watch now: Visit this beach getaway on Houzz TV