Several of my friends live in this neighborhood and it is easy to understand why with its boundaries of Goldsborough St., Calvert, Lomax and Parris Lane and close proximity to The Country School, Rails to Trails and shopping centers east of Ocean Highway. There is a mix of housing types from single family houses between the bookends of the Cannery Square apartment complex and the townhouses along one side of Calvert Street. This Colonial style story and a half house is located on a wide street with ample room for guest parking and is shaded by towering trees. Some streets have alleys for parking access but this house’s single car garage at the rear of the property is a plus.
The modified Cape Cod style house’s rectangular footprint is enhanced by the dynamic of the living room’s wide bay window next to the recessed entry and the addition of the screened porch with its elliptical arched headers. The three dormer windows aligned over the double unit windows at each end of the house and the bay window create pleasing symmetry and the screened porch offset from the front wall and its lower roof ridge creates an appealing massing. The color palette of white lap siding, light blue shutters and the charcoal gray architectural roofing shingles create a serene look against the foreground and background of green trees.
On the day I visited, I walked through the front door opposite a vista of an arched opening to the stairs that gracefully spilled out with winders into the living room. I admired the cross vista that opens the house up through the wide cased opening to the dining room and sliding doors to the screened porch. When I turned in the opposite direction to the living room, I was immediately drawn to the artwork over the fireplace of a close up view of a boat’s bow and stern next to each other. The owner told me she had purchased it from an art sale of student work so I made a mental note to attend more sales. The other distinctive feature in the room was the barn-style door that slides to reveal the hall to the rear bedrooms and bath to define public and private spaces. Next to the living room was a third bedroom that is currently used as a study with another barn-style sliding door to the rear corner bedroom to create a primary suite.
The dining room has corner cabinets flanking the sliding doors to the porch and a chair rail for decoration. As we walked into the kitchen the Owner explained how the house had been fully renovated just two years ago. I admired the upper cabinets’ vertical paneling for texture that echoed the accent wall at the exterior wall and the playful alternating concave and convex edges along the bottom of each door. The spacious eat-in kitchen has off-white cabinets and solid surface countertops, stainless steel appliances with one window overlooking the patio and the other overlooking the courtyard. I also liked the open shelves next to the range for easy access for the cook. From the kitchen a short hall leads to the garage past the laundry/mud room. One half-French entry door leads from the door to the landscaped courtyard with a vista of a mature fig tree. Opposite the entry door is the laundry/powder room for clean ups after an afternoon of gardening in the cleverly shaped “U” raised bed with high edges for seating that are out of reach of curious rabbits.
The second floor bedrooms are at the opposite corners of the house and have my favorite interior architecture of knee walls, sloped ceilings, deep dormer windows and double windows at the side gable walls.
After such a recent renovation I had to ask the owner why she was leaving this charming house. She smilingly picked up a picture of a toddler who was her grandson and I concurred he is the best reason for a move! The next owners will benefit from the well-done renovation in this quiet neighborhood close to so many of Easton’s amenities.
For more information about this property, contact Joan Wetmore with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-6702 (o), 410-924-2432 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing visit www.meredithfineproperties.com , “Equal Housing Opportunity”.
Photography by True Place, (301) 972-3201, www.go.truplace.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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