Easton’s Historic District has many charming outbuildings and former carriage houses some of which have been converted to residential use. Last year I wrote about a tiny guest house in the Historic District that had been exquisitely restored and renovated by the owners as a guest house for lucky visiting family members. The same owners also renovated a carriage house in the charming Victoria Walk Development along Goldsborough Street. The development won a preservation award from the State of Maryland for the renovation of the existing Victorian style houses and one infill building with porches and second floor covered decks overlooking the community green space at the rear to the alley. On the day I visited, it was clear that residents take great pride in maintaining their landscaping. I imagine all of the original houses once had outbuildings but this carriage house is the sole remaining one. Current owners either have an assigned parking space or one of the newer garages that line the alley across from the development.
This carriage house began its life as two outbuildings, one of which was a two-seater outhouse that was moved and attached to the other building that is sited perpendicular to Higgins Street. White picket fences separate the house from the street and connect it to the adjacent building to define this unit’s spacious brick patio shaded by a huge mature tree. The building’s exterior palette of light yellow lap siding, white trim and dark green shutters is quite appealing.
The house’s massing has a center two story wing flanked by a one story wing and a gable and shed roofed wing. The one story wing at Higgins St. may at one time have been a home office which might explain the second door on the front elevation. This door leads to an entry hall with a powder room and kitchen that is open to the living-dining area. The “U” shaped kitchen has white cabinets and appliances and the last tenant painted the walls bright pink with a deeper pink edge along the white countertop. The second entry door opens into the living-dining area that has sunlight from the larger windows at the brick terrace side and higher windows along the alley side for privacy. The large room is set up for a spacious seating area around the fireplace and the dining area at the opposite end next to the kitchen.
Two steps lead up to a landing that flows into a room used an office/guest room with a laundry/storage room behind it. The office/guest room has a stained wood gambrel ceiling and windows at the side and rear of the room. The stairs with an exterior window for daylight continue to the second floor bedroom and bath located over the living-dining area below. The gambrel ceiling extends throughout the second floor with a stained finish over the stairs and a white finish over the bedroom. The end wall of the bedroom has a pair of closets between a window centered in the space and the other two windows above the first floor windows below bring sunlight throughout the day.
For the past twenty years, one tenant has called this charming carriage house home. After the tenant gave notice, the owner decided to place the house on the market and has updated the house with a new HVAC system and repainted the walls a neutral color ready for the next owner to give the house their own style.
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 www.402GoldsboroughStreet.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”. Photography by Jennifer Madino
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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