King George III is known for both losing the American colonies and for the architectural style named in his honor that has long outlasted his reign. Characteristics of this Georgian style are rigid symmetry in building mass, window and door placement; gable end walls, decorative window headers, entrance enhancements such as porches with columns and proportion and balance in walls and windows. In the US, the style became known as Colonial Revival and is still popular today.
As I approached this house for my tour, I admired the center two and a half story wing flanked by two wings. The left one-story wing contains a main floor master suite and the right wing is a deep two-story wing connecting to the three-car garage wing with the garage doors at the side elevation. The serene exterior color scheme of reddish brick foundation, light gray shake siding, white trim, and deep slate blue shutters was quite “pleasant”. In addition to writing my weekly Spy column, I write the bi-monthly blog “Tango Funhouse” for Bohl Architects, where I am a Project Architect. One of my recent posts was named “Ten Pet Peeves of Architects.” I was not peeved to see that this house has side facing garage doors, not front facing and I was very impressed that this house also had custom wood shutters in correct widths!
The house has a private setting set far back from the road on its 2.08 acre property along Broad Creek. The deep lot has ample room for outdoor spaces of a brick terrace, pool and lawn area facing the water. The white picket fence along the front of the house encloses a spacious area for small children and pets to play with colorful plantings along the front of the house. I walked up brick steps to the front porch detailed with white columns and a decorative railing around the low slope roof.
The front door opens into a welcoming and gracious foyer between an office on the right and the living room on the left and has a clear vista to the rear wall of the kitchen and to the water beyond. The foyer’s finishes of beautiful wood floors and white paneled wainscot introduce the detailing of the main floor rooms. I could well imagine making the office a library/music room for my books and my baby grand piano.
The spacious living room has a fireplace on the interior wall that sets up a comfortable seating area for conversation and views through the dining room framed by short walls that also frame an angled bay window at the rear wall for water views. Next to the dining room is the open plan kitchen-breakfast room-family room.
I admired the kitchen’s creamy white cabinets, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances and I especially liked the two rows of upper cabinets with glass fronts for transparency. The “L” shape arrangement with an island, along with another row of cabinets at the interior wall provides ample storage so the rear wall above the sink cabinets is a wall of glass with a center picture window and operable units at each side for views of the lawn and water. The island’s bar stools and the wood breakfast table with Windsor chairs offer options for a quick snack or brunch. French doors and full sidelights lead to the brick terrace and the in-ground pool.
The family room’s fireplace and corner TV armoire are visible from both the breakfast area and kitchen. The family room projects beyond the rear wall of the house that creates a cozy sunroom that is open to the second floor sitting area above. Like the breakfast area, the rear wall is infilled with a pair of French doors with full height windows and transoms for water views. The remainder of the main floor is the well-designed “service” area of powder room, coat closet and mud room with deep slate blue walls above crisp white bead board wainscot. Off the living room is the main floor bedroom suite with a pair of French doors with full windows for expansive views of the landscape and water, the four-piece bath and walk-in closet.
As I climbed the stairs to the second floor, I appreciated how the “L” shaped stairs end at a landing that is an overlook to the foyer below and then onto a hall with sunlight from the high windows in the foyer.
The second primary suite is located above the living room and main floor primary suite that creates not only a spacious bedroom, a bath with both shower and tub and walk-in closets but also a room at the side wall that spans the full depth of the house that could be a private sitting area. The rear wall of the bedroom has an angled bay window with a tall center picture window and two tall operable units.
Past bedrooms and baths on either side of the hall is my favorite room, the sitting area furnished with large club chairs with exquisite upholstery of multicolored sails on a yellow green background that I coveted. The chairs have a direct view of the large picture window and side windows above the family room below. The window unit resembled a giant TV screen with views across the water to the opposite shore. The hall ends in a huge space that is divided into two areas by the walk-in closet that could be a bed-sit for a teen or a shared bedroom. The end gable wall and side dormer windows create a sunny and quiet retreat.
The third floor also has knee walls and sloped ceilings that follow the angle and the open plan layout can easily accommodate a sectional sofa, TV, and games.
More than “pleasant” family home in a quiet neighborhood minutes from St. Michaels, classic architecture, completely renovated with Old English toffee colored floors, paneled buttercream walls and white wainscot. The gourmet kitchen combined with the breakfast and family room is the heart of the home and steps away from the brick terrace, in ground pool. Launch your kayak from the dock or cruise in your boat towards open waters throughout the Bay.
For more information, contact Cornelia Heckenbach of Long and Foster Real Estate at 410-745-0283 (o), 410-310-1229 (c), or [email protected]. For more pictures and pricing, visit www.StMichaelsMdWaterfront.com, Equal Housing Opportunity.
Aerial and twilight photography by Robert Thayer
House photography by Home Visit
Jennifer Martella is an architect with Bohl Architects’ Annapolis office and a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Jennifer is an integral part of Bohl Architects’ design team for projects she brings to the firm. She is also the writer of Bohl’s website’s bi-monthly blog “Tango Funhouse” where she highlights the firm’s vision and other fun aspects of life by design. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday.