Haven: Cape May house looks older than its years

Just past the signs for Cape May's beaches, past some of the downtown area, a house comes into view that seems perfect for its setting.

It's hard to imagine this three-story Federal-style home wasn't always nestled among the abundant trees and plants here. But it was built on a vacant lot in the resort town's Historic District in 1997, not several centuries ago.

For Alberto and Nancy Trombino, the place they call home year-round is a sanctuary from the outside world - its extensive soundproofing quite literally blocks it out, as does the environment they've created with love and fidelity to the past.

"When you downsize, as we did," says Al, "you focus on the things that really matter. And the things that passed that test are the things we live with now."

The Trombinos grew up in Harrisburg, about five blocks from each other. They had friends in common, it turned out, but they never met until they were working for a state agency shortly after Al, now 65, had ended an early marriage.

"I thought he was adorable and charming," says Nancy, now 61, "and we became good friends."

"I think I fell in love with Nancy from the moment I walked into her office," recalls Al, who trained as a psychologist and is now the CEO of a health-care consulting company. "It was five years until we married, but this time I got it right."

The couple initially stayed in the Harrisburg/Hershey area, where his two daughters grew up, but it was always his dream to return to a place of remembered childhood joy, the Wildwood/Cape May area. His family had spent summers there, and a small address sign at the entrance to the current house is an homage to that Wildwood home of his youth.

The Trombinos spent the years from 1980 to 1993 in Cape May, then returned briefly to Hershey for business reasons. But they missed the Shore town.

In 1997, they found their current lot in the Historic District and began a full-year building process. Construction there meant adhering to strict limitations, which made the project challenging, but in the end, they got the house they'd dreamed of.

Attention has been paid to every detail, for comfort's sake. Central to the home is a living room/great room with rosy pink walls and overstuffed chairs and couches. Just beyond, in an open design, is the dining area, and beyond that a kitchen/breakfast area into which sunshine splashes.

Also off the great room is a space filled with a hefty organ and other instruments reflecting Al's lifelong passion for music and vocalizing. He still performs in local clubs and does a mean Dean Martin imitation.

Nancy plays keyboard occasionally, but along with working as chief financial officer for her husband's company, her main passion now is art. Her paintings and design and decor touches are everywhere in the house.

"I sometimes start and am not sure where I'll end," she says with a smile. "But I do have fun."

One of Nancy's most impressive projects is a full-wall mural in the master bath depicting the iconic Cape May Lighthouse. Those same bathroom walls wear a glazed faux-paint finish that might be found in Tuscany.

Her artistry in the kitchen is a lavish "bouquet" of handpainted flowers bordering several walls. What appears to be professional stenciling is her freehand work.

For Al, woodworking is a passion and a gift. He created the farmhouse table in the dining room, as well as an open hutch that stands against the back wall of the kitchen's eating area and looks to be straight out of a high-end designer's showroom.

Much of the couple's furniture has its own history. An antique secretary desk in the great room was handed down from Al's great-grandparents and holds two striking antique vases, also with a long family history. A restored copper kettle has origins that reach back to the Prohibition, when it was used to make whiskey.

Resting against another wall is an English church vestibule piece that dates back 270 years and was the gift of a friend who had no place for it.

Many objects are illuminated by Tiffany-style lamps and fixtures. A leaded-glass wall hanging that replicates the window of a New York synagogue has shards of brilliant blues, and is a special favorite of Nancy's.

Outdoors, the Trombinos have planted more than 70 trees and shrubs in their front and side yards, where birds are frequent and welcome visitors.

"This is exactly where we want to be," says Al, looking around at the house that links his past and present.

Near the front door is a reminder of the familiar quote attributed to Julius Caesar. Printed in Latin, it translates to: "I came; I saw; I conquered."