Noticing Bahama shutters at the Jersey Shore

We are back from the beach and I just wanted to share some of our highlights and some inspiration with you. You are most likely wondering what the title is about, aren’t you? Since we don’t vacation at a tropical beach, I didn’t know that Bahama shutters existed. I started noticing them on a lot of new homes in the past two years during our 7-mile island vacations though and just had to share this trending home exterior look with you while also sharing some of our vacation photos and highlights.

(If you are new to my blog then you can see some of my other posts about my love for Jersey Shore homes HERE and HERE)

Bahama shutters

If you are like me and don’t really know what Bahama shutters are then let me explain. Bahama shutters or Bahama hurricane shutters are hinged at the top of the windows and not the sides like standard shutters. They are propped open at a 45-degree angle from the bottom. Like the name Bahama hurricane shutters already suggests they are supposed to protect the glass windows from storms that can pop up rather quickly in certain climates and make it a lot easier to close faster and efficiently.

While the Jersey Shore has had a couple of run ins with leftover hurricanes coming from the South, I don’t think their main function is to protect the windows on the beautiful big beach homes at the Jersey Shore. A lot of the beach homes in Stone Harbor, Avalon New Jersey, and other beach towns are very close together and the Bahama shutters give an extra layer of privacy while looking rather beachy and stylish.

Let me show you what I’m talking about…

The below beautiful house is right on the bay and doesn’t have any Bahama shutters on the sides that have a gorgeous view but…

… below you can see it from the street and that there are black Bahama shutters towards the neighbor’s house.

There are quite a few homes featuring these types of shutters but I wanted to show you guys my new favorite home in Stone Harbor that popped up in the last year. I went back several times to look at it. It was just finished and nobody had moved in yet.

It is a 4500 square foot stunner right off the beach and dunes on 88th Street designed by Asher Architects. and built by Brandywine Developers Custom Homes. I love that it looks so different to all the other homes but is still classic in a modern way. I can’t wait to see how all the beautiful wood will age.

Above is a view from the side street and you can see that the one entire wall is almost filled with wooden Bahama shutters while the other windows are not.

Here is the view of the other street side. The bottom garage doesn’t have the shutters but the top does. The side that is facing the neighbor’s home barely has any windows, so there is no need for more privacy.

The modern stunner actually is next to the below beautiful old Victorian home and I love the contrast of the architecture. Both beach homes are beautiful in their own way. (update: Unfortunately the beautiful old home was torn down by a developer and replaced with another modern new home. Such a shame!)

The modern stunner is several lots big and takes up the entire beach block. It runs along the entire street towards the dunes and beach.

The wooden fence and door lead to an amazing pool area and pool bar.

The metal fence on the left has the dunes and beach right behind it.

So can you imagine the view from the upper deck and windows which obviously don’t have the Bahama shutters to keep the view open but should this home be standing somewhere tropical, those windows would most likely have Bahama shutters to protect them from flying debris during a storm.

I can’t even tell you how much I would love to take a peek inside this home and see all the amazing details the owners added. Oh and I would love to know who built this stunner as well 😉

So what do you think? Do you like the idea of adding these shutters to your home for added privacy? I sure do love it a lot.

And if you are interested in seeing other designer homes I’ve visited then you can check out the HGTV Dream Home on Martha’s Vineyard, the Southern Living Idea House on Bald Head Island, the Philadelphia Magazine’s Design Home, or the fun Upside Down House in Wertheim Germany.

And I just wanted to share some quick highlights with you guys before ending this post.

We went crabbing in the bay on the Miss Avalon.

This pool float that escaped was fun to watch. The bayside homes are just so incredibly beautiful too. And a lot of them have pools on top of having the ocean and bay to swim in. Hey if you got the money then you spend it on every bit of imaginable luxury I guess, right?

And there is nothing like the bayside sunsets. I shared one of them last year with you guys already too but couldn’t resist sharing one again.

A little crab with a smiley face that my daughter found in an ocean puddle. Look close! And of course, we let all the critters go again.

If you think our vacations are always filled with happy family memories then I have to remind you that the bickering and fighting is nonstop between these two. Drives me crazy and has me completely exhausted after the summer is over.

Unfortunately in the above photo, she is mouthing the “sssshhhh” for “shut up”… ugh it upsets me and drives me crazy.

My daughter actually threw his sunglasses in the sand on another day while they were fighting because he was sitting in her chair. Some jerk ended up just taking them.
Just keeping it real my friends.

Besides all of that, I’m glad that I have found a craft that is relaxing to me in macrame. I’m sometimes getting stressed out knowing that I have to write a blog tutorial about something which is kind of sad. I’ve decided to not write tutorials about large pieces because there are so many on youTube already and it would be overkill. It is simply wonderful to make something and not to have to take pictures along the way or to think about how to describe certain steps.

I finished another piece that is dark gray and features my favorite dark gray local seashells and some tassels.

I also shared the above light piece with you two weeks ago when I shared my macrame earring tutorial.

Enjoy your summer. I’m heading to Germany this weekend with the kiddos and to be honest, I’m rather tired of traveling already. I can’t stop yawning! But I’m looking forward to seeing my family again.