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 [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing, visit https://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.
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