The country house named “Solitude”, circa 1820, still stands and gave its name to Solitude Road that leads to this historic house as well as other houses along the road. Today’s house, christened “The Steamboat House”, was built in 1890 and has undergone many renovations. The most recent renovation that began in 2018 carefully preserved the historical character of the house while updating the interior for today’s lifestyle. The location of this Colonial style house offers the tranquility of the country with close proximity to St. Michaels and Easton attractions.
The “T” shaped footprint of the house creates an easy flow between rooms. The focal point of the front elevation is the two-story bay shaped wing that projects beyond the front gable wing of the “T” with a red brick chimney as an accent to the traditional treatment of white lap siding, 6/1 windows and black shutters. At the rear, the two-story house opens to the water with sliding doors and a large one-story sunroom with a shed roof at the side elevation that creates a wonderful indoor-outdoor sitting and dining room, accessible from the open plan living-dining area and another sitting room at the rear of the house.
The bay-shaped living room has cozy chairs grouped around the fireplace, pale blue walls, crisp white trim and wood floors. The “L” shaped staircase in the dining room leads to the second floor and creates a niche for a sideboard. Beyond the dining room is another sitting room with two four- panel sliding door/sidelight units, one leading to the pool and the other to the sunroom. Three of the walls are painted bright blue as an accent. The casual rattan furniture and small table creates an informal room for relaxing after an afternoon at the pool or on the water. The sunroom is simply delightful with its white wood slat sloped ceiling, floor to ceiling windows, a seating area and a table that seats eight for crab feasts.
The large kitchen with wood floors, white cabinets, dark countertops, white subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances is open to the family room with a small table for breakfast and seating around the TV.
The spacious master bedroom has a pitched ceiling and a seating area by the fireplace. Its blue and white design scheme includes restful pale blue walls, a patterned rug and trim at the edging of the window treatments. Another charming bedroom is located in the bay shaped wing with the bed fitting perfectly in front of one segment of the bay. My favorite bedroom has pitched ceilings, walls of bright blue which is a perfect backdrop for the pair of white iron beds with white bedlinens, blue and white patterned fabric shades and a blue and white striped rug.
The four-acre site has open vistas of lawn, woods and water with hardscaped areas around the pool and a seating area with a firepit for cool nights. Historical precedence with peaceful views of Solitude Creek, mix of lawn and mature trees, great floor plan and beautiful interiors for relaxing with family and friends.
For more information about this property, contact Cornelia Heckenbach at Long and Foster Real Estate Inc., 410-745-0283 (v), 410-310-1229 (c) or [email protected], “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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