House of the Week: Bayside Beauty

When I moved to the Eastern Shore, I first rented apartments until I was ready for house hunting. I began my search in Claiborne and was immediately charmed by this small village near the mouth of the Eastern Bay.  Its rich history includes being a busy destination for the passenger and ferry service from the late 19th century until the Bay Bridge’s opening in 1952 and the home of the “Miracle House” that was founded in 1913 as a summer vacation for children who had been exposed to tuberculosis. Maple Hall, now a private residence, was one of inns that served vacationers arriving by ferry.  

Even though I eventually bought a house in a nearby village, I still enjoy driving over to the former ferry landing to marvel at the panoramic view of the water and the view to the shoreline of the Western Shore on the distant horizon. This property has the same view and except for one lone cypress at the rip rapped shoreline, the house has an unobstructed view of the Bay. A circular gravel driveway leads to the house that is set back deep from the road. The berm landscaped with roses not only offers a pleasant vista from the house but also  provides screening of the rear yards of houses across the road. 

The front elevation of the two-story, three bay house shows the classic simplicity of its farmhouse style with single windows arranged around the front door in the center, white lap siding and black paneled shutters. A one-story shed roof addition includes a mud room and screened porch at the corner of the house for maximum water views and summer breezes.  At the rear of house, an exterior door leads to a small deck that could become part of a series of decks to a new pool nearer the water since the rear yard setback is 216 feet, according to the listing information.

Luckily for the next owners, the site and house underwent an extensive renovation. The house was lifted up and reset onto a new and higher foundation wall, fill dirt was added along the foundation wall for proper drainage away from the foundation and a French drain was installed as an extra precaution.  The shoreline was rip rapped and the pier was rebuilt.  Concrete was added to the crawl space and the house’s exterior walls were gutted, foam insulation was added along with new finishes, windows, HVAC, electrical and plumbing.  

When I opened the door, there was a clear view to the rear wall’s French door and windows to the water.  As I began my tour, the compact floor plan began to reveal itself with the “service” areas of bathroom and laundry at one front corner of the house and the kitchen and mud room on the opposite front corner.  This results in an “L” shaped open plan waterside kitchen-dining-living room. The rear wall of the living-dining area is virtually all glass with pairs of four-unit windows between the exterior French door.  Along with the double unit window at the side wall of the dining area, the open plan feels like a sunroom with diagonal views of the water.  One wall of the living area has a fireplace beside the TV for total relaxation and I especially liked how the wall color of the living room picked up one of the colors of the rustic stone fireplace surround.

The spacious kitchen has both an “L” shaped arrangement with an island and a bar counter with chairs on both sides to separate the kitchen from the dining area.  The bar is finished with white vertical boards and the island has a black distressed finish in contrast with the white cabinetry and stainless steel appliances in the rest of the kitchen. The stair run that begins at the rear of the house left space at its end for bar cabinetry recessed into the stairwell facing the kitchen. The bar cabinetry is finished to match the island and since the sink is located on the opposite side of the wide island, the circulation space in front of the bar cabinetry makes a great spot for setting out drinks and food for entertaining.  Next to the dining area is a screened porch with diagonal views of the water.  Access to the screened porch is both from the door between the dining area and kitchen and from the mud room off the kitchen.

If a main floor primary bedroom suite is desired, the house could possibly be expanded since there is already a full bath next to the laundry area.   The second floor’s four bedrooms are located at each corner of the house. Each bedroom has at least two windows on opposite walls for sunlight throughout the day and the rear two bedrooms have bird’s eye views of the water.  The extra hall space at the top of the stairs under a window could be a great office/homework area by a slight shift of the door to the adjacent front bedroom. The one bath on this floor could be rearranged and enlarged to eliminate the corner shower and replace it with a tub/shower to better accommodate a family with young children.

Breathtaking waterfront site in one of my favorite villages in Talbot County, a charming house renovated and ready for the next owner with possibilities for a main floor primary suite or a waterside pool-great property!

 For more information about this property, contact Cornelia Heckenbach at Long and Foster Real Estate Inc., 410-745-0283 (v), 410-310-1229 (c) or [email protected], “Equal Housing Opportunity”. For more photographs and pricing visit www.stmichaelsmdwaterfront.com ,  “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by HomeVisit, https://www.homevisit.com/, 703-953-3866

House Design by Residential Designer Lars Erikson, East Bay Construction Services LLC, 410-745-0644

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.