I always enjoy featuring the houses in Easton’s Historic District and this charming house on a corner lot has features of the Colonial Revival style-two and a half stories with a hipped roof, full front porch, center gable and single window at the attic floor, full two and a half story side gable wall inset at the first floor for the bay-shaped dining room and symmetrical window arrangement of the original front elevation. From the offset in the front elevation’s wall and the connection to the side gable wall, I believe the porch at one time wrapped around the house to meet the dining room so its bay-shaped wall would have been fully exposed. Many of the houses from this period had this arrangement and there would have been a door from the dining room to the porch. Now the side of the porch has been infilled to make a sunroom/study and a second bath at the upper floor. The windows in the sunroom/study are double units which is a pleasant contrast to the single windows in the rest of the house.
Brick steps with thin black iron railings lead up from the sidewalk to the front door at the far right of the house. Lattice panels infill the crawl space between the brick piers that support the columns above between wood railings that surround the porch. The most popular color in the world is blue and as I write this, I look out my home office window to my neighbor’s blue house and another across the street in a lighter shade of blue! Ergo, very deep blue was the perfect choice for this house’s lap siding and combined with the crisp white trim creates great curb appeal. I also like the paneled front door with an upper multi-paned glass panel above two middle panels and the single panel below in an “X” pattern, framed in crisp black.
The front door opens into the spacious living room that spans the full width of the house with focal points of a fireplace in one corner and the lower run of the stairs to the second floor at the opposite corner. The room has both direct and indirect sunlight from the side windows and the front windows overlooking the front porch. The stairs to the second floor are cleverly accessed from both the living room and the laundry and kitchen behind the stairs. The lower stair runs connect to the upper run at a bay shaped landing at the side wall. Beyond the living room’s fireplace is the sunroom/office with wrap-around windows with one angled wall behind floor to ceiling built-in millwork. The angled wall in the sunroom/office backs up to one of the segments that create the shape of the exquisite dining room’ elongated octagon with the center segments longer than the top and bottom segments. This unusual shape, the fireplace and the windows in the exterior portion of the octagon sets the scene for memorable meals with family and friends. I would be tempted to remove the built-ins in the sunroom and open up a cased opening between the dining room and the sunroom/office for better flow. The framing for the original exterior window is probably still there and this change would also fully restore daylight into the dining room and diagonal views through the sunroom/office windows.
Next to the dining room is the powder room and the “L” shaped kitchen with a center island supported by posts at one end to create knee space for chairs. The sleek white interior of cabinets, quartz countertops and white subway tiled full backsplash is accented by the stainless steel appliances and beautiful hardwood floors. The upper cabinets rise to the underside of the ceiling to emphasize the height of the space and windows at both the side and rear walls keep the space sunny and bright. The exterior door leads to a deck area with steps down to the fenced rear yard and the two-car garage to the alley.
All of the bedrooms and baths are located at the second floor. The upper run of the stairs opens into a square hall with doors to all four bedrooms with three of them located at the corners of the floor with windows on two exterior walls. The hall bath serves the three guest rooms and has been beautifully updated. The primary suite is located at the rear of the floor with the bedroom between a walk-in closet and the beautifully updated bathroom. The primary bath layout has a window between the large shower with glass walls and the partial privacy wall creating a toilet compartment. Next to another window are the dual lavatories separated by a base cabinet drawer unit with round surface mounted mirrors above and the stylish tile floor as a delightful accent.
The attic area is an airy space with its interior architecture defined by the windows in each of the two gables in the roof at the side and rear of the space, knee walls around the perimeter and high sloped ceilings. The white walls reflect the light and the carpet on the floors alleviates sound transmission below that offers a finished space ready for multiple uses. There is also a partially finished basement ideal for storage or a home gym with an exterior stair up the rear and side yards. The shed at the rear of the yard facing the alley can accommodate a full size car.
The lack of furnishings allows one to imagine decorating the large living room into two seating groups, one by the gas fireplace; curling up with a good book in the cozy sunroom/study under the wrap-around windows; dining in the octagon shaped dining room by the warmth of another fire; preparing meals in the chef’s kitchen or grilling on the deck overlooking the yard as children and pets play in the fenced yard; or for me, relaxing on the front porch’s swing and chatting with neighbors on their daily strolls-knowing all the restoration has been done and one can truly relax!
For more information about this property contact Chuck Mangold with Benson and Mangold Real Estate at 410-822-6665 (o), 410-924-8832 (c) or [email protected] , For more pictures and pricing, visit https://www.chuckmangold.com ,“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.
Peggy Moser says
Thank you for highlighting this beautifully updated home. I grew up in this house and my father lived there his entire life. He was born there in 1905 and bought the house from his parents when he married. Here are a few things I remember about the house. You are right that the porch originally wrapped around on the side. My parents enclosed it at some point making a sun room. I never heard that there was a door from the dining room to the sunroom but it’s possible there was one. We had a passthrough window in that location where our party line telephone sat. The brick front steps were added in the early ‘50s to replace the original wooden steps, and the front half of the basement was finished sometime after that. The attic was a dark, creaky place used for storage in those days, so it was a bit of an adventure when we went up there.