My childhood home’s street in East Tennessee followed the ridgeline of a high hill named Chestnut Ridge that overlooked my hometown in the valley below. At the end of the street was a large log cabin-style house whose black painted logs and white chinking fascinated me as most of the other houses were ranchers. When I saw this house, it reminded me of that log styled structure but this stunning site is completely different with its very private location on a narrow peninsula. The house is positioned parallel to the water on an east-west axis that takes maximum advantage of the water views in both directions. You can watch the sunrise from one side of the house then move to the other side as the sun sets!
The two-story house is zoned very well with a main wing with hyphens on either side that connect to the master suite wing on one end and to the kitchen and breakfast room wing on the other end. The deck off the latter wing leads to the free-standing screened gazebo next to the lap style pool at the water’s edge. The simple geometry of the elevations is enhanced by gable dormers at the second floor and other gables with triangular transoms over the front door that is aligned with the triangular bay with French doors on the other side. The gables for the second floor bedrooms have French doors on one side and four-unit windows on the other side for water views. The house blends into its surrounding landscape due to the color palette of deep russet colored logs fitted tightly together without chinking and green roofing shingles. The signature detailing of the stacked logs at the notched corners accentuates the corners.
The interior materials maintain the lodge look with oak or pine hardwood floors, knotty pine shiplap walls laid horizontally and exposed pine beams in the dining room for a variety of textures, all stained in a warm honey brown finish. The great room that spans one side of the main wing has seating grouped around the stone fireplace and TV above at one end and the pool table at the other end of the room. On either side of the French doors, two window units consisting of a large picture window side operable units provide water views.
One of the owners is Finnish so I wasn’t surprised to discover a sauna in the master suite. I was delighted to recognize the poster on the wall of the adjacent exercise area as “The Doors of Ireland” that I had chosen for my college dormitory room. The main floor master suite contains a spacious bedroom, master bath, exercise room next to the sauna and office. As tempting as this suite was, I preferred the second floor bedrooms tucked under the roof structure. The mix of shiplap siding surrounding the French door dormers with exposed roof joists and decking that extends to the point where the gable dormer meets the end wall finished in drywall is beautifully detailed.
Spectacular 6.2 acres of a private peninsula located near the confluence of Broad, Edge and San Domingo Creeks, deep water dock, narrow house site for maximum relationship of house to water, a lodge-styled house with all the modern conveniences, two-bedroom guest house, detached garage, screened gazebo for relaxation after a dip in the pool or an afternoon on the water-what a list for halcyon bliss!
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 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.
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