On the day I drove to preview this house, I left the traffic of Dover Rd. behind as I turned down a road that eventually became a dead end at a farm with fields on either side of the road. As I turned onto the lane that led to this property, the pastoral setting was reinforced by a pond across from the driveway to the house. I drove a short distance along the driveway through woods that led to the clearing for the house. The front elevation faces farm fields and the rear elevation faces the road along a waterfront property so there is a view of the Choptank River from the house’s rear windows and deck.
I first walked around the house and observed how the house had once been a rancher with the door in the middle of the front elevation. The transformation of the front elevation began with the front door’s being moved to face the driveway covered by a new front porch created by an extension of the roof. The living room was expanded by a gable bay projection and infilled with a wall of windows and rows of transoms that rise to the underside of the roof. The final change was the addition of a wing perpendicular to the original house that added a primary suite and laundry. At the front of this wing, a smaller bay projection with a triple window arrangement and single transom echoes the living room’s wall of windows and transoms. The “L” shaped rear elevation has sliding doors from the primary suite, family room and dining room to a deck overlooking the rear yard and the water view on the horizon.
When I opened the door, the beautiful honey colored wood floors and pale yellow walls were bathed in sunlight from the living room’s window wall. At the side wall is a fireplace set into a recess so one could add built-in millwork or bookcases. The fireplace is clad in red brick with the top bricks corbeled out to form a mantel. Recessed lighting was added in the alcove and in the gambrel shaped main ceiling that has a gambrel shape. Other alcoves with recessed lighting define the foyer and the transition from the living room’s high ceiling to the dining room.
Wall openings at both the living and dining room walls connect these rooms to the kitchen next to the family room. The kitchen’s wood cabinets are stained darker than the wood floors with darker countertops and stainless steel appliances. The kitchen sink’s window overlooks the rear yard and the distant water view through the trees in the rear yard. The kitchen is open to the family room and sliding doors lead to the deck for al-fresco meals. The base cabinet on an angled wall sets up the seating arrangement for watching TV with a higher double unit window at the front wall to easily accommodate furniture.
The house is zoned well for privacy with the primary suite at one end of the house and the two guest rooms and bath at the opposite end. A short hall containing the washer dryer closet connects the primary bedroom at the rear of its wing with the primary bath at the front wall. Like the living room, the primary bedroom has a gambrel shaped ceiling and at the rear wall, dual closets project into the room to create a box bay with a triple window and transom that would be a perfect spot for a seat underneath the windows. The single windows at the side wall are spaced to accommodate any size bed. The bedroom’s corner location is filled with sunlight from the side windows, bay window and the sliding doors to the deck. The triple window and transom at the primary bath is above the soaking tub with the half tiled, half glass walled shower between the tub and the lavatory cabinets. The guest bedrooms are located at the front and rear corners so both rooms have windows on two exterior walls for sunlight. The guest bath has dual lavatories and a tub/shower combination.
Total exterior and interior renovation with an open plan living-dining-kitchen-family area between the primary bedroom suite and the guest bedrooms in a peaceful rural setting.
For more information about this property, contact Joan Wetmore with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-6702 (o), 410-924-2432 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing visit www.meredithfineproperties.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.
Photography by True Place, (301) 972-3201, www.go.truplace.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.
Leona Schmidt says
Address and price??