September 28, 2026 · INSABELLADESIGN
A Bay Head beach house, rebuilt in 150 days
The Bay Head summer home INSABELLADESIGN redesigned with Peter Dorne Architects on a 150-day schedule, as covered by Monmouth Health & Life in April 2024.
A family wanted their Bay Head summer home ready for Memorial Day. The project was a complete demolition, reconstruction, and redesign, and Monmouth Health & Life reported in April 2024 that the firm and Peter Dorne Architects completed it in 150 days.
The new house is a colonial-style beach house with a third-floor addition. Fixtures and furniture from the previous house were salvaged and reused where they fit. The interior uses a palette of blues, corals, and sandy neutrals, indoor-outdoor fabrics, and wide-plank maple flooring, with kitchen features, custom furniture, specialty flooring, and bedrooms and baths planned room by room with the family.
Large windows carry ocean-to-bay views through the house, and the front porch and private balconies are part of how the rooms are used.
What the project shows
A short schedule does not have to mean fewer decisions. It means the decisions are made in order and early, with the architect, the builder, and the family working from the same drawings.