Tracy Mitchell Griggs is a freelance writer based on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Six years ago, when he purchased a 1920s oceanfront cottage in Dewey Beach, Delaware, Washington attorney-turned-restaurateur Alex Pires began a renovation journey that took him back to his childhood. His hometown of North Easton, Massachusetts, is known for its collection of build-ings designed by the renowned 19th-century architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Inspired by this solid New England architecture, Pires remodeled his beach cottage twice, looking to achieve Richardson’s signature shingle style for his home.

On the oceanfront of Dewey Beach, Delaware, the shingle- style house built by Alex Pires and Diane Cooley emulates the gabled roofs, multi-paned windows and turrets of the historic New England homes designed by late19th- century architect Henry Hobson Richardson.

Not entirely satisfied with the renovations, he ultimately decided to tear down the existing home in order to build a new residence on the oceanfront site. “At the point my wife Diane and I made the decision to start over, we were willing to take the time to build the house we envisioned,” says Pires. “One of the most appealing things to me about the shingle style is its organic form. I really wanted a house that looked like it had been around awhile.” Long-time friend, architect David Jones of the Washington, DC, firm David Jones Architects, was enlisted to design the new house—his first oceanfront project.

A wrap-around porch faces the ocean to the east. The second-floor porch provides a covered outdoor space off the master bedroom.

The goal of both owner and architect was to create a design statement amidst nondescript cottages built by developers along this popular stretch of the Delaware coast. Trained as a modernist, Jones has grown over his career to embrace historic architecture, so the idea of creating a shingle-style dwelling held great appeal. “This project was challenging for a number of reasons,” he says. “Alex brought us a lot of ideas, which we needed to edit to create the final design and we also had to consider height restrictions, as the style demands a certain level of verticality.”

On the north side of the house, a lighthouse-inspired newel post graces the staircase leading to the entrance.

Jones and Pires pored through books on shingle style, convinced that the design was ideally suited for the site. Determined to get the details right, Pires and his wife, Diane Cooley, raveled to Newport, Rhode Island, to tour the seaside “cottages” that were designed by pioneers of the shingle style as summer homes for wealthy families. The style had its genesis in the Boston area during the 1880s and is named for the unpainted, wooden shingles applied to the building exteriors. Although popularized during the Victorian period, it eschews the era’s fussiness in favor of unembellished surfaces, “honesty” of form and purity of line. Practitioners of the style opened up the interiors of their houses, creating fewer but larger rooms that permitted sunlight to penetrate the interiors.

The porcelain lamp and cut-velvet and linen pillows extend the blue and cream color scheme found throughout the house.

 Pires compiled photos of historic homes from the couple’s trips to New England and selected the most noteworthy architectural details as the foundation for their corner house. Richardson’s William Watts Sherman house in Newport, for example, led to small, multi-paned windows. The Isaac Bell House, a Newport landmark designed by the New York firm McKim, Mead and White, inspired a turret on the north face of the home.

Homeowners Diane Cooley and Alex Pires with their dog Biscuit

Jones incorporated these elements to create two different façades: a broad gable with a deep porch addresses the ocean to the east, while a more vertical gable faces the street and beach path on the north side of the house. Trim bands in forest green contrast with the sand-colored façades of cedar shingles and, in a nod to the beachfront setting, exterior details reflect nautical motifs. A lighthouse-shaped newel post, for example, marks the base of the steps leading to the home’s front entrance.

To allow for ocean surges during hurricanes, the main floor of the house is raised on pilings, with the lowest level serving as garage and storage. Around this base, the architect designed “breakaway” walls that will collapse under the pressure from a surge and allow water to flow beneath the house. “Without this element, a storm is much more likely to take down the entire house,” he says. “The design is both functional and aesthetic—so many beach houses that just sit on pilings look stranded.”

where Andy Warhol’s silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe hangs above the TV. The Maitland-Smith leather-topped desk is from a local furniture showroom, Mark Showell Interiors.

Once Jones completed his architectural drawings, Pires set out to find a builder—not an easy task, as it turned out. “There was so much detail in the design that three companies turned down the project,” the homeowner says with a laugh. Continuing his search, he spotted an impressive home in Lewes, Delaware, and tracked down the builder, Bob Purcell, who accepted the job based on the high level of architectural detail. Purcell also liked Jones’s idea of building the design entirely in wood, a rarity nowadays when most waterfront homes are constructed of synthetic materials.

In the kitchen, wood paneling hides the appliances. The blue granite for the countertops was purchased two years before the installation.

For the rooms of the house, Pires and Cooley sought the help of Pinehurst, North Carolina-based designer Brenda Lyne after seeing her interiors of the Bellmoor Inn, a luxury hotel opened in nearby Rehoboth Beach in 2002. “Diane and Alex expressed they wanted a ‘kick off your shoes’ casual lifestyle here, but I sensed that they also had an appreciation of sophisticated, fine furnishings,” says Lyne. Cooley says that initially she had envisioned something a little less elegant in style than the Inn but is grateful she trusted the designer’s instincts. “Brenda came up with great choices that addressed my need for furniture and accessories that would take a beating—this is a beach house after all.”

The master suite extends into the turret on the home’s north face with comfortable armchairs aimed at the waterfront view.

The backdrop for the casually elegant furnishings throughout the home is a light neutral palette complemented by Australian cypress flooring and simple painted wood paneling in white applied to the walls. Jones adds that the architectural details inside are lighter than those found in shingle-style period homes. “It was always our intention that the interior of the house reflect a style suited to contemporary life,” he says.

One end of the covered, wrap-around porch is furnished with a tiled Tuscan table for two, wicker rockers and a hot tub.

On the main level, a large living-dining room runs the breadth of the house facing the beachfront, with an open kitchen behind. A favored hangout, it is furnished with two large sofas and armchairs slipcovered in white linen. Asian-themed accent furniture and accessories in blue tones provide a soothing touch without detracting from ocean views. A glossy black baby grand piano sits off to the south side of the room and contemporary artwork by local artists was selected by the couple to complete the space. The wrap-around, screened-in porch adjacent to the living room on the east side features comfortable couches, chaises and a hot tub that offer unobstructed views of the Atlantic Ocean.

The bedroom for Pires'€™s teenage daughter is dressed up with a deco-inspired vanity and bedside table.

Just behind the living room, an open kitchen features a beadboard-covered island and cream-painted wood cabinets concealing all of the appliances. “I really wanted a streamlined, efficient kitchen. It isn’t large, but it is very functional,” says Cooley. “We purchased the blue Bahia granite countertops two years before the kitchen was installed. I loved the color and variegation of the material, but the supplier informed us that the granite is quarried in limited supply, so we went ahead and bought it.” Finishing details include pendant lighting over the island, dark metal pulls on the cabinetry, and blue and cream-toned accessories that echo the color scheme from the adjacent living room.

 A hallway by the home’s entrance on the north street-side connects the living room to Pires’s office in the rear. From here, the former mayor of this beachside community runs the operations of his popular restaurants, the Bottle & Cork and the Rusty Rudder.  In contrast to the breezy, coastal air of the rest of the house, this gentleman’s room features dark walnut paneling, plantation shutters and built-in library shelving. Pires accessorized the office with a collection of prized boxing memorabilia and artwork.

 On the second floor, an open office-sitting area is outfitted with a computer and comfortable chairs for guests. The sitting area suite and adjacent porch connect to a guest room, a bedroom for a teenage daughter and a large master bedroom that offers seating with ocean views from the turret space.

 “Anyone can build a big house, but to build a well-designed and crafted home is a different story,” says Pires. “We borrowed from the past and in doing so, we’ve not only honored a piece of American architectural history, but created something we love that is built to last.”