When I turned off highway 33 to preview today’s featured property, the approach soon cast a spell and I slowly began to relax from a hectic week. I passed by fields and soon a farm came into view. I pulled over to watch a flock of sheep who were oblivious to me as they serenely concentrated upon their evening grazing. As I watched them, I started humming one of my favorite Bach pieces, “Sheep May Safely Graze” and indeed they did as I continued on my way. After passing through alternating woods and fields, I turned onto the property and the drive emerged from the woods and followed the crest of a cove’s shoreline. After one more turn two brick piers signaled I had arrived at “Eagle’s Nest”. The drive then became circular and the house soon came into view.
Even though I am an architect, I must admit the water view first captured my attention. Who wouldn’t have been captivated by the endless vista of water from Tilghman Creek to the Miles River to the Eastern Bay ending at Queen Anne’s County with a water tank rising above Love Point on the far horizon. I arrived a bit early for my appointment to give me an opportunity to walk along the shoreline and around the traditional styled architecture with French touches while I listened to the sounds of nature. I was impressed that the woods surrounding the house had been meticulously cleared of any underbrush to increase the vistas through the woods.
As I began my tour with the listing agent, she told me the original house has several additions including an immense family room and adjacent octagonal solarium. I stood in the middle of the solarium and slowly turned around to savor the panoramic water views from the floor to ceiling windows and transoms capped with a cupola for more sunlight and moonlight. If this were my house, I would never leave this exquisite room! Another addition created a sumptuous main floor primary suite. The additions enhanced the original architecture with the geometry of the solarium, the colonnade of the porch off the great room, the beautifully detailed upper terrace handrail and the shed dormer breaking up the second floor roof.
The wide and long foyer/art gallery connects the original living room to the addition’s waterside great room. I love interior design and always look forward to an owner(s) personal style but here the furnishings have been removed with only the ornate window treatments leaving clues of the French Country style. I admired the living room’s interior architecture with the high gambrel shaped ceiling outlined with molding. The front wall extends out into a box bay with transoms above the windows that are echoed in the rear wall. The fireplace on the side wall is flanked by built-in millwork to complete the beautiful symmetry and proportions of the room. In contrast, the great room lives up to its name with its 22 ft x 37 ft dimensions. Here the ceiling is flat and a waterside wall of French doors opens onto a porch that spans the length of the room with the columns carefully placed to maximize the water views. What a wonderful indoor/outdoor setting for entertaining!
On the rear side of the foyer are an office/library, kitchen, breakfast area and dining room. The kitchen and breakfast area overlook an interior hardscaped terrace to the primary suite on the opposite side of the terrace. To me, the interior columns in the kitchen break up the work spaces too much and the space could be structurally re-designed for a columnless layout. The ceiling of the dining room repeats the gambrel ceiling detail and moldings of the living room and the wide bay window wall projection gives direct and diagonal views of the water.
Past the dining room, the floor plan shifts 45 degrees and leads to the primary suite addition with a short hall past the primary bath and an exterior door to the lawn for taking one last evening stroll or a walk with the family pet before bedtime. I liked how the corner point of the primary bedroom was detailed with triple windows for expansive views of the landscape and water. The gambrel ceiling detail is different from the other rooms with thin moldings outlining flat panels painted white against the wall color. The oriel window inset into the bedroom’s gable end wall is a delightful detail to break up the expanse of the wall plane. The primary suite also has a cozy sitting room with a double window and transom above and a wall of built-in millwork.
The guest rooms on the second floor are arranged in the “T” shaped floor plan. I would definitely claim the waterside ‘bed-sit” suite located above the great room below. French doors access the spectacular 10 x 37 foot terrace offering bird’s eye views of the water. Two other bedrooms and a hall bath complete the floor plan and the circulation hall is sunlit from the single dormer windows along the front of the house.
This property on its own peninsula surrounded by the deep and protected waters of Tilghman Creek offers a unique opportunity to own not one but two waterfront parcels, “Eagles Nest’ and an unimproved waterfront parcel with a newly established Septic Reserve Area for six bedrooms. Launch your sailboat from the six foot wide deep water private pier with a massive main slip and additional slip with a lift. Relax on the waterside porch or upper terrace and enjoy this tranquil setting surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. The property also includes a three-bay garage attached to the house with workshop space and stairs to the upper level storage area.
For more information about this property contact Janet Larson with Benson and Mangold at 410-822-6665 (o), 410-310-1797 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing visit www.shoremove.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”.
Photography by Janelle Stroop, 410-310-6838, [email protected]
“Sheep May Safely Graze”, Bach’s chorale “Wachet Auf” from cantata BWV 140 known in English as “Sleepers, Wake”-check out this sublime music on YouTube!
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.
Janet Larson says
Beautiful article Jennifer!
Jennifer Martella says
thx Janet for the tour of that tranquil setting- sorry the eagles were elsewhere but the sheep grazing along the drive to the property inspired my opening paragraph- check out BBC The PROMS 2010 on YouTube for the Bach-4.44 minutes of sublime music!