House of the Week: The French Influence

This week I have fallen under the influence of France. I watched Wes Anderson’s delightful new movie, “The French Dispatch”, President Macron won a record setting second term and I have begun planning a trip to France in mid-October. It is always easy for me to fall for Gallic charm and this house with its Country French details caught my eye. The property with an additional 90 + acres with a conservation easement and waterfront home site available as a separate parcel, are located along peaceful Solitude Creek in desirable Royal Oak. 

I timed my visit for late afternoon to catch the beginning of the sun’s descent over the water.  I drove up the asphalt driveway that meandered between the farm fields with tall mature trees along the pavement’s edge. The paved surface became concrete pavers that circled around the front of the house.  Angled end wings at either end of the center wing embrace the panoramic view of the property’s curved point of land.  As I began my walk around the house, I startled a mallard who was not happy that I disturbed his reverie and was quite vociferous until he turned toward the shoreline in a huff to continue his evening stroll. I walked in the opposite direction and enjoyed the peaceful and quiet setting as I studied the architecture.

The angled footprint creates a pleasing massing and the mix of materials breaks up the large footprint. The front entry wing is clad in reddish brown brick with a metal roof over the front porch for added texture. The side wings of the house have very light taupe stucco walls with darker window and door trim. Around the perimeter of the house the brick continues up the walls at various heights topped with a water table brick shape below the stuccoed wall.  I especially liked how the concrete tiled roof adds texture and casts shadow lines onto the roof’s planes.  The rear elevation offers water views from bay windows in both the dining room and the primary suite; the sunroom’s wrap-around windows, both the breakfast rooms and breezeway’s French doors and transoms; and other multiple unit windows.  Perhaps the best view of all is the bird’s eye view from the second floor balcony in the garage wing.  

Steps with brick risers and flagstone treads lead up to the wide front wooden door with an arched top and paneled design, surrounded by full glass transom and sidelights.  The door opens into an alcove created by the powder room and a closet, both with curved corners to guide the flow into the living room, dining room and library/office. The vista from the front door is to the side wall of the stairway with its open-work railing design. The header of the wide wall opening to the living room has graceful curved ends framing the side window. The living room’s front wall is infilled with windows and doors to a shallow porch screened from the drive by mature landscaping. The interior wall has a French style firebox surround and although the house is not furnished, I could imagine placing a large mirror or artwork above it to inspire new interior design. 

Opposite the living room across the foyer is the office/library with pairs of French doors both to the foyer and to the family room for an easy flow among the rooms. Behind the foyer is the large dining room with its bay window that spans the width of the rear wall with a wide picture window and single French doors at the angled walls to the waterside terrace. A butler’s pantry connects the dining room to the kitchen. Although the finishes of the cabinetry and countertops were not to my taste, one could easily modify the kitchen since the slate floor is beautiful, the layout works very well and the kitchen blends into the breakfast area with its corner walls of glass from the sliding doors and the four-unit window overlooking the waterside terrace.

The family room has a dramatic triple height window with an arched header that dominates the room and a wall of French doors with full height windows to the side porch that connects to the secondary entry door leading to the laundry and the three-car garage wing.  The hall leading from the garage to the breakfast room passes the sunroom with its windows overlooking the terrace, flagstone flooring laid on the diagonal with brick walls below the windows and a pitched ceiling with exposed rafters. The terrace connects the sunroom to the primary suite wing that is accessed by a breezeway off the dining and living rooms and its spacious size is ready for dancing!

The bedroom spans the depth of the primary suite and has a waterside sitting area with a bay window and French doors to the terrace with a French styled fireplace surround that separates the sitting and sleeping areas.  The sumptuous bath is anchored by a corner built-in tub at the waterside corner and a walk-in shower at the front end of the wing.  In between are two separate vanity areas and two walk-in closets. 

The grand staircase rises to a large landing connecting the three bedrooms, two of which share a bath and are located at the rear of the house for water views. The other bedroom has its own bath. I would switch this ensuite bath with its walk-in closet so the bath would have a window.

I wouldn’t change anything about the bonus room over the garage wing.  The angled lower run of the wood steps passes a ledge with stepped windows-the perfect perch for my cat! The open plan space has two rooms for myriad uses, one with a balcony overlooking the water and a kitchenette in between for a guest’s extended stay or a home office.

The house appears to be solidly built with very low maintenance exterior finishes. The layout is zoned well and the interiors can be updated to suit one’s taste. The first thing I would do is to liberate the windows from the valances and draperies that remain so the interior architecture and window shapes can be fully appreciated. Then painting and voila!- this French inspired house could then begin its new life.

For more information about this property, contact Barb Watkins with Benson and Mangold at 410-822-1415 (o), 410-310-2021 (c), or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing, visit www.easternshorehomes.com,   “Equal Housing Opportunity”.

Photography by Janelle Stroop, Thru the Lens Photography, 845-744-2758, [email protected] 

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.