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‘The Bunker’ transformed

A second house was built atop the first, then both were torn down to make way for “Semper Mare.”

Thomas and Mary Anne Berry had only one requirement for their rebuilt Shore home in Harvey Cedars. It had to have a southeast-facing door, to catch the prevailing breeze off the Atlantic. (Sharon Gekoski / Staff Photographer)
Thomas and Mary Anne Berry had only one requirement for their rebuilt Shore home in Harvey Cedars. It had to have a southeast-facing door, to catch the prevailing breeze off the Atlantic. (Sharon Gekoski / Staff Photographer)Read more

StartTextThomas and Mary Anne Berry started the design of their Shore house in Harvey Cedars with one "must" in mind: a southeast-facing door.

"I've lived here a long time, and that's where the breeze comes in," said Thomas Berry, 65.

His family has owned this plot of land a half-block from the beach since 1953, when Thomas Berry's grandfather bought "The Bunker," a one-story cinder-block house with a flat roof that doubled as a deck.

Before that, the Bunker had been an artist's studio, so it had plenty of windows to let in natural light - but little pizzazz. A painting covered the spot where a potbelly stove once was connected to the chimney. The floor was just a concrete slab.

"It wasn't much of a place to live, but when you're a kid, you don't know," Thomas Berry said.

Still, it was a sturdy place: The house survived a three-day nor'easter in 1962 with barely a dent, though it looked as if it had been replanted on a dune because of all the sand pushed ashore.

In 1955, the Bunker was passed on to Thomas Berry's father, who in 1969 added another house on top of it - literally - by driving pilings into the ground. An outdoor staircase connected the two houses.

In summer, Thomas Berry, his wife, and their two sons lived downstairs; his parents lived upstairs. They shared a stove.

"My wife developed a reputation in the neighborhood as a person who could prepare any type of tasty, hot meal using only an electric frying pan, a hot plate, and a charcoal grill," he said.

Eventually, the Berrys, who also own a home in Malvern and are now retired, decided to renovate again. The Bunker was showing its age. Because it was shaded by the house upstairs, mold crept in.

"It was an ugly basement at that point," said Thomas Berry, always full of spiders and caterpillars when they returned every spring.

So in 1996, the Berrys knocked the entire structure down. In its place, over five months, Thomas J. Keller Building Contractor, of Surf City, built their dream home: a two-story dwelling with plenty of decks and sleeping space for 10 people - 11 if you count the hammock.

The Berrys created the basic floor plan themselves, and William C. Tagland of Studio Tagland Architecture, a Harvey Cedars firm, rounded out their concept.

The house that resulted has a reverse-living design: The living room and kitchen, along with the master suite, are on the second floor.

Plus, there is that mandatory southeast-facing door, which leads out to a deck that is attached to the kitchen and master suite and makes the most of ocean breezes to cool the house naturally.

The food-prep, living, and eating areas all meld into one, another must for Mary Anne Berry: "Otherwise, you miss out on a lot. Now, I'm always in the middle of everything." The wide, bright, breezy space has soft-white walls hung with Thomas Berry's framed photographs.

Off the side of the second floor, the Berrys added what they call the "Rum Deck" - "because rum is the summer drink around here," Mary Anne Berry said.

Unlike the previous structures that stood here, this house has cathedral ceilings and slanted roofs, which eliminated standing water and leak problems.

The first floor, eight feet off the ground in case of flooding, has guest rooms for their two sons, both married, and two grandchildren. It has its own living area as well, for which the Berrys were grateful when they first built the new house - their sons were in their mid-20s then and single, and always invited their friends over.

The space is carpeted to accommodate children's feet and whatever dirt and sand they bring in. (The second story has hardwood floors.)

There is a deck downstairs, too, wrapping around the north, east, and south sides of the house. One of Mary Anne Berry's favorite sights is her grandsons, 4 and 2, "riding their little tricycles down it," she said.

The Berrys had to raise their land four feet when they built the new house, which created a difference in level between them and their backyard neighbors. A retaining wall was built with "neighbor steps" so the families can walk back and forth between each other's homes without leaping a wall.

Mary Anne Berry has a small garden in the backyard and shares plants with other friends on the island.

All that's left of the old house is a painting that hangs in the stairway, believed to have been done by the artist that first used the Bunker. (It was left behind for Thomas Berry's grandfather.)

From March through Thanksgiving, the Berrys live in Harvey Cedars, then close up for the winter.

They call their still-new Shore house "Semper Mare," which literally means "Always Sea." It also reflects Thomas Berry's service in the Marine Corps and his wife's nickname.

Tell us about your haven by e-mail (and send some digital photographs) at properties@phillynews.com.

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