This four-story colonial house has all of the classic features one expects from this style-red brick, black shutters, white windows and trim, red brick stoop with black iron handrail leading up to the black six panel front door with its graceful elliptical fanlight, sidelights and arched roof. The one-story sunroom with its shed roof is clad in white lap siding. Between the house and the detached garage off the side street is a fenced yard that has both hardscaped and landscaped areas with mature trees to shade the brick patio, gardens and raised vegetable beds.

The floor plan functions very well.  Wide wall openings on each side of the central foyer lead to both the living room and dining room.  The living room with a fireplace spans the full depth of the house and has direct light from the front and rear windows and indirect light from the adjacent sunroom.  The sunroom has brick floors and the windows’ solar orientation bring sunlight throughout the day.  The corner dining room is a sunny space with windows at both the front and side walls and is open to the kitchen.  I loved the kitchen with the wood floors, wood free-standing island with an overhang for bar stools, black cabinets, white countertops, white subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances.  The rear French door leads to the terrace for easy entertaining.

The second floor master bedroom is located over the living room with the walk-in closet over the foyer. The bath is accessible from both the master bedroom and the stair hall. The bath’s white octagonal tile flooring with its black accent tile is perfectly scaled for the space and the white fixtures including a pedestal lavatory opposite the window create an appealing space. The master closet could become a second bath by extending the stair hall and adding replacement closets at the rear of the master bedroom.  The other two bedrooms are located at the opposite corners of the house. There is also a third level with windows at each gable end wall and a full basement with a family room, storage and laundry.

Classic Colonial style and four floors of space with off-street parking plus a garage-just one block from Idlewild Park and nearby is the YMCA the shops and entertainment areas of downtown Easton.

For more information about this property contact Janet Larson with Benson and Mangold at 410-822-6665 (o), 410-310-1797 (c) or jlarson@bensonandmangold.com. For more photographs and pricing visit  www.shoremove.com,  “Equal Housing Opportunity”.  Photography by Janelle Stroop, 845-744-2758, Janelle@Thruthelensphotos.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.

Having spent one delightful sojourn at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts’ summer program for student architects, artist and musicians, I came away with a keen appreciation for French country houses we students discovered during our weekend explorations. This house with its French influences has a wonderful curb appeal with an array of earth toned materials and textures that blend into the landscape.  Sandy colored stone (that began its life in a Pennsylvania quarry and was reclaimed to enhance the facades of this house), brown wood shake roofing, board and batten siding at the main wing and lap siding at the garage wing complement each other to create a delightful composition.  The front elevation is further articulated with a porch and box bay windows that cast shadows onto the stone and accents of deep red shutters. 

The floor plan is oriented very well to the landscape with the rear rooms having a view down the fairway of the Inn at Perry Cabin’s 18th hole, the last of three holes designed by the legendary golf course architect Pete Dye.  The stone terrace off the living room, decks that wrap around the dining room’s corner and connect to a sunroom off the kitchen provide many opportunities for entertaining or endless entertainment for golf enthusiasts.

The foyer detailed with wainscoting opens to a vista of the dramatic two-story living room with its pitched ceiling, two front windows and a side wall of a box bay with floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors with transoms separated by a spandrel for structural support. Opposite the window wall, the stone chimney rises to the underside of the pitched ceiling.  The dining room is open to the living room and has the same window wall design at both exterior corners for a luxurious dining space with wood parquet flooring. The ceiling drops down over the adjacent kitchen and the wide wall opening above the base cabinets at the dining room partial height wall continues the open plan.   

The spacious kitchen offers great views for the cook-the range is opposite the dining room’s window wall and the sink is opposite the sunroom’s views to the landscape.  The “L” shape and island layout, plus an additional row of cabinets on the opposite wall with underlighting below the upper cabinets, the color scheme of white cabinets, white countertops, and the accent of the island’s granite countertop would inspire any cook. A French door leads to the sunroom and to the garage for easy access of unloading the car after a day of errands. The porch has a flat area that creates a balcony for the second floor rear bedroom and sloped glazed panels beyond the flat area cast sunlight deeper into the sunroom.

The main floor master suite is located at the front corner of the main wing for privacy. The front elevation’s tall box bay window brings sunlight into the master bedroom and the mirrored closet doors reflect the light into the room. The suite also contains an office between the bedroom and his and hers baths. The second floor hall has overlooks to both the foyer and the corner of the living/dining rooms’ intersection for interesting interior architecture with sunlight from the box bay window at the stair landing and the living and dining rooms’ window walls. Two bedrooms, one with an office, and a bath accessed both from the rear bedroom and the hall complete the floor plan. The rear balcony offers a front row seat to the golf course and pastoral views of the beautifully landscaped grounds. 

Great convenient location in the popular Martingham neighborhood, great curb appeal of house and mature landscaping, great floor plan layout for relaxing with family and friends and minutes to the attractions of St. Michaels. Une charmante maison!

For more information about this property, contact Larry Brennan with Benson and Mangold Real Estate at 410-745-0415 (o), 410-443-3659 (c) or Larry@TalbotMDHomes.com. For more photographs and pricing, visit https://talbotmdhomes.com/h20/  , “Equal Housing Opportunity

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.

One of my architectural clients christened their house “Bentley Hey” as they live  one street away from this house in the Bentley Hay neighborhood.  They love not only their location in Talbot County (no Town taxes) but also their shared boundary with St. Michaels’ Historic District and the close proximity to the restaurants, shopping and the St. Michaels YMCA.  What I liked best about this charmer on its corner lot is how the former one-car garage was seamlessly converted to a family room.  Too often, the renovation of a garage consists of simply taking off the garage door and adding windows or French doors  to fill up the former garage door opening. Here the double windows at the front and rear of the room and the triple windows at the side create a delightful family room/sunroom that completely erases any clue to its former use.

Sidewalks lead from the driveway to the front door and to the deck off the family room/sunroom connected to a hardscaped area and access to the detached shed. The front door is recessed to create a porch and the entry opens into the living room with a wide bow window at the front of the room and the side wall with a fireplace, brick surround and wood mantel with built-in millwork on either side. Beautiful hardwood floors throughout the house add warmth and the window seat below the bow window adds extra seating or the perfect place for pets waiting for their human companions to return home.

Opposite the living room is the spacious dining room with double windows and the open plan continues to the kitchen with white cabinets and white appliances.  The base cabinets wrap around to the dining area and become a buffet for al-fresco dining on the deck.  The adjacent family room/sunroom has both seating and informal dining areas and the wrap-around windows bring sunlight throughout the day.  I loved  the cedar chest used as a coffee table as it matches the one in my own living room and is great for storage. The French door leads to the deck and it is clearly the entertaining space with its indoor-outdoor furniture anchored by a colorful rug on the raised deck and the hardscape below waiting for dancing to begin in the moonlight.  The bedrooms are located at the rear of the house for privacy and have views of the yard.  

Charming one-level living house with its exterior color palette of light yellow shake siding, white trim and window boxes below the dining and kitchen windows waiting for the next owner to plant their favorite flowers!

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 tcrouch@bensonandmangold.com. For more photographs and pricing, visit  http://bensonandmangold.com/agents/tom-crouch/, “Equal Housing 

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.

Many of Talbot County’s late 19th century houses have rich histories but this house also has a unique link to Talbot County’s arts community.  Locust Lane Farm was once the home of renowned sculptor Lee Lawrie, who worked in the Art Deco style that was popular in the early 20th century. He best known nationally for his monumental bronze statue of the Greek Titan Atlas holding the armillary sphere that graces the entrance to New York City’s Rockefeller Center’s courtyard and promenade. He is known locally for his role in the founding of the Academy Art Museum in Easton. Locust Lane Farm is surrounded by a five acre pastoral setting with gently contoured lawns, mature trees and colorful plantings. The rural vernacular includes several outbuildings for gardening, games, animals, lawn care equipment and general storage.  

The 19th century floor plan holds up very well for today’s lifestyle. Two offset rectangles are connected by the wrap-around porch that leads to the front door and offers diagonal views of the peaceful landscape and sunset views. Connecting the two rectangles at the rear is a large free-form random slate terrace for al-fresco entertaining.  The front rectangle contains the entrance hall, living room and family room; the rear rectangle contains the kitchen, breakfast area, dining room and mud room on the main floor.  The second floor contains the master suite, two other bedrooms and baths and the third floor contains the guest suite. The charm of an earlier era has been carefully maintained with the high ceilings, long 2/2 windows, beautiful hardwood floors, the staircase detailing  and fireplaces in both the living and family rooms. 

The front door opens into the entrance hall with the original “L” shaped stair with white balusters, stained wood newel posts, cap rail and brackets. I loved the checkerboard pattern of the painted wood floors that flowed into the living and dining rooms. Between the living and dining rooms is a wide doorway with the original pocket doors. The dining room windows take advantage of its corner location to offer diagonal views of the terrace and landscape beyond.  The family room was once Lee Lawrie’s studio and has a dormer clerestory above the four-unit window for additional light.

A short hall connects the dining room to the spacious kitchen that would appeal to any cook.  Corner windows surround the breakfast area banquette seating and table. A separate work area with base cabinets, upper cabinets on either side of a double unit window and a knee well below is a great spot for the cook’s laptop for searching recipes and planning meals.  Pale sage green cabinetry, granite countertops, hardwood flooring and large windows add great appeal.  The adjacent mud room has storage for the family pet and another stair that leads to the second floor laundry.  

The second floor master suite spans the depth of the house with the bedroom at the front corner and the master bath at the rear corner connected by the short hall flanked by closets for a very efficient layout. The master bath has period pedestal lavatories and vintage surface mounted glass fronted medicine cabinets separated by a window. The two other bedrooms are on either side of the second bath.  As appealing as these spacious rooms are, if I were a guest, I would claim the third floor suite.  I loved  the interior architecture defined by the gable roofs outlined with stained wood trim at the outside edges of the gables.  Two window seats, one below the triple accent window in the front gable and the other below a small window beckon one to linger and relax. With sleeping area, sitting area and bath and bird’s eye views, how could one ever leave? 

If you prefer a historic house with great character, a vernacular farmhouse architectural style, a floor plan that flows well for today’s lifestyle, a classic exterior palette of pale yellow lap siding, white trim and black shutters set into a private and peaceful setting in the Longwoods community then this one is for you.  Who knows, you may be inspired by the spirt of Lee Lawrie to don an artist’s smock and turn the family room back into a studio to pursue your artistic endeavors! 

For more information about this property, contact  Anna Larkin with Benson and Mangold Real Estate at 410-770-9255 (o), 410-829-3549(c) or alarkin@bensonand  mangold.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”. For more photographs and pricing, visit bensonandmangold.com/idx/mls-mdta138106-28191_forest_landing_rd_easton_md_21601,  “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Truplace, www.go.truplace.com, 301-972-3201

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