I always welcome a chance to visit Oxford and this is only the second time I have featured a house that is not in the Historic District. Shortly before I reached the outskirts of Oxford, I turned left down a road that meandered past fields that soon blended into wooded areas until I reached the driveway for this house. The 2.76-acre site is tucked into a private setting surrounded by woods along Boone Creek. The house has undergone a major renovation since its construction in 1970 and the previous owner added the guest house. The story and a half main house has a linear plan parallel to the water and the front elevation consists of a center wing with two side wings that step down to the garage wing at the left and the primary suite on the right. One half of the center wing has a gable roof for the second-floor bedrooms and bath and the other half is offset to create space for a front porch with bluestone paving that extends into the front yard.
The gable roof wing façade is articulated with shake siding to contrast with the remainder of the house’s lap siding and the slate blue siding and white trim stand out against the wooded setting. On the other side of the driveway is a large pool surrounded by a wide expanse of bluestone for one to comfortably stretch out on a chaise after a dip in the pool. At one end of the pool is a one-story two-bedroom guest house with a pergola over the three sets of the guest house’s French doors.
The front door of the main house opens into a foyer with a delightful wallpaper ceiling of light blue circles on a white background that is perfectly scaled for the ceiling area and the blue picks up the color of the front door. The “T” shaped hall passes by a guest bedroom with another wallpaper accent of rows of sailboats gliding along a blue background behind a padded headboard of red/white/blue vertical rows. I love these touches of whimsy and I soon learned the imaginative interiors were the work of Dwelling and Design’s Fiona Weeks.
The vista from the front door frames the open plan breakfast-kitchen-family-dining/office area that wraps around one rear corner of the house. The spacious breakfast banquette is surrounded by a wallpaper accent wall with rows of prancing horses behind the white wood table with a mix of light blue cushioned seating and very dark blue leather Italian chairs. A pair of sliding doors and full height sidelights offer direct access to the rear deck with its retractable awning. The galley kitchen with a center island can accommodate a family of cooks and the wide picture window over the sink flanked by single operable windows offer broad views of the water. The white palette of the cabinets and solid surface countertops along with the stainless steel appliances create a sleek look. To tie the open plan together, the kitchen window valances match the drapery design in the breakfast and family area of vertical rows of large spheres bouncing on a white background.
The family area seating is grouped around the side wall’s fireplace and built-in millwork and another set of sliding doors with full height sidelights access the deck for a continuous flow for indoor-outdoor entertaining. Part of the deck is protected by the overhang of the gable roof wing that projects beyond the rear wall of the house. The colorful splash of the pink tufted ottoman and the blue sofa with pink accent pillows in the family room is balanced with the white side chairs. Next to the family seating area is a space currently used as a combo dining area/office. The deep roof overhang at the garage provides cover for the side exterior door that provides quick access to the garage’s exterior door for unloading the car.
I returned to the foyer to tour the primary suite with the bedroom that spans the full depth of this wing with both a sleeping area at the front and a pair of sliding doors with full sidelights to steps to grade to access to the rear deck at the breakfast-kitchen family areas. I admired the Mies van der Rohe lounge chair in cowhide for relaxing to enjoy the water views and the interior design touches of the rose red padded headboard and two rows of pink chain links down the white duvet. The best touch of whimsy is the wallpaper pattern in the dressing room and bathroom of oversized rabbits that reminded me of Bemelmans’s art. Fiona Weeks of Dwelling & Design confirmed the pattern was designed by another artist, Hunt Slonem.
The second floor bedrooms share both the hall bath at the top of the stairs and the cozy ceiling geometry of the sloped ceilings created by the roof’s framing. If I were lucky enough to be a guest, I would claim the spacious two-bedroom one bath guest house for an extended visit. The open plan living-dining-kitchen has “L” shaped kitchen cabinets around the dining table and chairs and a seating area opposite the pair of sliding doors with full sidelights to access a deck at the side wall. Another pair of French doors next to the corner fireplace in the sitting area leads to the pergola next to the pool. The other pairs of French doors are in the primary bedroom and another bedroom with twin beds for guests.
Beautifully renovated and well maintained house, great layout for easy flow among the main rooms, delightful interior design, two first floor bedrooms including the primary ensuite, open plan breakfast-kitchen-family area with sunset views, spacious waterside deck, private pier, floating dock and protected shoreline plus a spacious one-story guest house, all creating a private oasis yet minutes to Oxford’s shops and restaurants.
For more information about this property, contact Barb Watkins with Benson and Mangold at 410-822-1415 (o), 410-310-2021 (c), or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing, visit www.easternshorehomes.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity.”
Photography by Janelle Stroop, Thru the Lens Photography, 845-744-2758, [email protected]
Interior Design by Fiona Weeks of Dwelling and Design, (410) 822-2211,
https://dwellinganddesign.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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