The aerial view of this thirty-six plus acre site with south and west exposures on one of Talbot County’s premier points of land shows a complex of a stunning main house, detached three-car garage, guest house, pool and an English greenhouse overlooking flower and vegetable gardens. The fortuitous lack of trees along the rip-rapped shoreline gives panoramic views of Harris Creek, the Choptank River and the distant Chesapeake Bay. The house dominates the view from the water and was meticulously detailed by a talented architect and constructed by a team of exceptional craftsmen.
The massing of the front elevation is broken down by a center wing that projects slightly at front and back of the “ELL” connections to two end wings that give the footprint a “C” shape. Crisp classic detailing of cedar shake roofing, white lap siding, corner boards, cornices and window trim, 2/2 windows and black shutters combine in perfect proportion and symmetry. The rear elevation opens to the water and offers a variety of open and enclosed spaces to extend the living spaces from hardscaped surfaces that wrap around the rear of the house, porches on the main floor, another porch on the second floor, a second floor deck, pergola and a sunroom. The upper deck and porch handrails are detailed in the beautiful Chippendale pattern and the low sloped roofs of the porches are covered with metal roofing in contrast to the cedar shakes.
On either side of the entrance hall enfilades with arched openings with wide moldings and capstones fill the wall openings and the paneled white wainscot of the side walls perfectly intersects the windows at the half point of the lower windowpanes. Pale walls, wood floors covered with rugs and pendant lighting create a gracious progression from room to room. The stair design has three runs and at the top of the second run the landing also accesses an overlook with a window complete with a telescope and comfortable chair for gazing at the constellations.
A wide wall opening opposite the front door leads to the living room which has three pairs of French doors leading to a waterside porch. Deep moldings outline the ceiling plane and built-in millwork and a niche for the TV flank the fireplace. The dining room is located at an outside corner of the house with the antique dining table and chairs centered on the fireplace.
Being a bibliophile, my favorite room was the exquisite library that could have been a PBS set with wood paneled walls, wood coffered ceiling and wood fireplace surround. The rear wall was covered with floor to ceiling book filled millwork placed between the windows. My passion other than books is wine, especially Italian wine, so I was quite envious of the wine room. The kitchen with its creamy palette of cabinetry and countertops and informal dining area with wrap-around windows was a space one would enjoy lingering over that second cup of coffee after breakfast or for an informal family meal.
One could not possibly tire of the view from the second floor deck of endless water and the distant horizon beyond that would be the perfect spot to relax and watch the sun set.
The exteriors and the interiors of every room of this exceptional house were carefully thought out and magnificently detailed -kudos to the architect’s design and construction team!
For more information about this property, contact Tom Crouch with Benson and Mangold Real Estate at 410-745-0720 (o), 410-310-8916 (c) or [email protected], “Equal Housing Opportunity” Architecture by Christine M. Dayton, Architect, PA, 410-822-3130, [email protected], www.cdaytonarchitect.com.
Spy House of the Week is an ongoing series that selects a different home each week. The Spy’s Habitat editor Jennifer Martella makes these selections based exclusively on her experience as a architect.
Jennifer Martella has pursued her dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. Her award winning work has ranged from revitalization projects to a collaboration with the Maya Lin Studio for the Children’s Defense Fund’s corporate retreat in her home state of Tennessee.
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