In Store | Delaware Today Magazine | September 2006
Beach Homes Leave the Beach Outdoors
"Caffeine Society" might not be what you expect from a decorating company in a resort town like Rehoboth Beach. The wall painting, which is a mix of 1930s pin-up fashion and 1960s pop art, might be a better fit in an urban art gallery. It certainly doesn't scream "traditional beach house."
But turning cliches inside-out is what design is to Michael Cusumano and Ed Albers. Their shop, the Design Center of Rehoboth (112 Atlantic Ave., Rehoboth Beach. 227-9341), is dedicated to doing just that. Even the showroom, which is designed as a functional living space, is unexpected.
That funky flair is something that Design Center of Rehoboth customers seek out. "Customers are going for a much more sophisticated look," Cusumano says. "It's almost an urbane look."
For Cusumano and Albers that means simplicity. Tchotchkes do not cover shelves or tables. It's about simple lines with unique accents. "Most of our customers are people who are downsizing," he says. "They have sold their large homes and are moving into a smaller space." And of those people, Cusumano estimates that less than half want the look of a traditional beach home.
Though the weathered wood is gone-and there are certainly no old fishing nets anywhere-some marine-inspired relics remain. "They are looking for a couple accessories that may mean beach," Alberts says. "But that's it."
