She saw potential in a 'shack'

Three hours after she first saw it, Elyse Perweiler signed on the dotted line for a West Cape May "Coast Guard shack," as the bungalow she bought in 2000 is affectionately known.

Though precise information is scant, these "shacks," vintage 1960 and undeniably humble, once housed Coast Guard trainees or their families. Because of severe beach erosion, several were moved onto lots in West Cape May; some were demolished.

Perweiler's find, purchased from the cottage's second owner, appealed to her because of its simplicity - and its potential.

"It was 800 square feet, and I knew from the beginning that it needed plenty of work, and that I would expand it. But I loved its character, and also the rural quality of West Cape May itself."

Not a typical "beach town," the area located at Exit 0 - the extreme southern end of the Garden State Parkway - has small cafes, galleries and, yes, grass and trees. "But I can still hear the ocean from my house, so I know I'm at the seashore," says Perweiler, director of the New Jersey Area Health Education Center Program and associate director of planning, development, and public policy for the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, based at the University of Medicine and Dentistry's Stratford branch.

The bungalow that captured her fancy tapped into her passion for design and decorating. Then there's her unswerving commitment to do-it-yourself carpentry, painting, caulking, limited plumbing, and almost any enterprise connected to improving her beloved Shore home.

"I got occupancy of the house in October 2000, and was determined to have the first phase of interior work done by early spring so that I could begin on the outside work."

The "I" is literal. Perweiler, perfectly coiffed and chic, has been known to don overalls and work clothes to tackle the messiest jobs, occasionally with the help of friends, but often alone.

Her determination paid off: the first phase of renovation was on budget and on schedule, and a second phase, mostly in 2004, finished the job.

She has doubled the size of the house, adding a 600-square-foot great room, renovating the spartan bathrooms, putting in a new kitchen, replacing all windows and fencing, and installing a deck, a Jacuzzi, and an outdoor shower complete with luxury hotel-type soap and shampoo dispensers.

Beyond all that, Perweiler has cultivated a garden that blooms with healthy shrubs and flowers, replaced the roof (not a DIY effort), and created an interior with a nod to her Francophile bent (she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and was in a French study program at Middlebury College). She affectionately calls her home "mon petit chateau."

"I love color," she says, and that's evident here. Visitors step past a cozy porch area into a sitting room with walls in two tones of blue, then pass through a kitchen and bar with cheery red walls and white cabinetry with glass fronts. Tiffany-style ceiling fixtures keep the feeling warm and welcoming.

Spread out beyond is the great room, with walls painted the kind of deep, rich gold that mellows into bronze at twilight. It's a room anchored by comfortable upholstered furniture, including a king-size chair that's difficult to leave, a corner fireplace with a pecky-cypress mantle, and an overall kick-back feeling that's perfect for the Shore.

Furniture that looks high-end often isn't pricey. This is a woman who will tell you proudly that she loves bargains, and often finds them.

Off the sitting room is what could have been a boring narrow hallway leading to the bedroom area. But Perweiler isn't a fan of dull. So she designed discreet sectors in that hallway with moldings, then splashed Caribbean colors on the walls - mango and turquoise dominate - and found a painting that carries those colors in its palette. Boredom vanquished.

Each of the three bedrooms might be found in a well-appointed country inn. The master bedroom is done in apple green, with a handsome patchwork quilt as a centerpiece. One guest room surprises by combining burgundy and caramel walls with a bed dressed in another striking quilt; the other is done in soft green tones with a more feminine air.

For Perweiler, the fun is in the details. Accessories range from a collection of whimsical cows - she has been seeking and finding them for years - to signs such as "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History," a reminder, perhaps, that Perweiler has long been a national advocate for the rights and dignity of the elderly.

No space is ignored or ordinary. A plate rack is filled with colorful specimens; windows are jauntily dressed in curtains, from seersucker to gingham, almost all fashioned by Perweiler: "Although I enjoy buying things for this house, I actually enjoy making the things around me even more."

A seasoned host in her main home in Sicklerville, Perweiler does even more entertaining at her "petit chateau." "I have friends and colleagues from around the country, and they're always welcome to visit - and stay."

Perhaps the final delight in a property brimming with them is a hammock stretched between two trees near her white bungalow, with its green shutters and windowboxes filled with flowers.

Taking it all in - the picket fence, the grass and trees, and the sound of that ocean nearby, Perweiler sums it up succinctly:

"The minute I open the door here, I'm just where I want to be."