Tree lined W. Chestnut Street is ideally situated between two of St. Michaels gems, The Village Shoppe, purveyor of fine foods, and the park at San Domingo Creek that is bisected by the Rails to Trails.  This charming house with off-street parking from the rear alley is located on the quieter end of the street, just one house away from the park.  The house’s great curb appeal is due to the break in the roofline that breaks down the massing, the light gray shake siding with white trim and shutters, darker gray roofing, red brick stoop and steps covered by a gable with an elliptical header and the accent bright blue front door. I admired the perfectly proportioned shutters, especially the single shutters on either side of two closely spaced windows.  Window boxes beneath the ground floor windows are ready for the next gardener to add their favorite flowers. The landscaped area on both sides of the stoop and steps to the brick sidewalk that is bordered by a filigreed black edging is a graceful finishing touch.

When I passed through the gate in the white picket fence that encloses the side and rear yards, I envied the expanse of immaculate green lawn with nary a weed in sight. The meandering brick path that led to the rear screened porch, the rear terrace and the gate to the rear parking area passes by trees and plantings that create a verdant oasis.  

I entered through the screened porch that is sized for seating and dining and would be the perfect spot to unwind at the end of the day with the breeze from the ceiling fan/light. The wood slat ceiling has a slight gambrel form that adds height to the space. Directly behind it is a sunroom/dining area and laundry/storage space.  The galley kitchen beyond has views of the side yard from the double windows over the sink and the Oriental rug over the floor sets the elegant tone that is completed with white cabinets, my favorite granite countertop color/pattern  and stainless steel appliances. 

The two original parlors both have fireplaces and the one next to the kitchen also has the original stair to access one of the second floor bedroom suites. The second parlor is on the other side of the central main stair and its original fireplace, deep built-ins for books and family photographs and front and rear windows create a charming room for reading or visiting with family and friends. Opposite the main stair is a lovely powder room with a side window for daylight, white fixtures between the Oriental rug over the hardwood floor and a wood storage cabinet with a delightful trio of pitchers that have the same design but descending sizes for a fun design touch.  Artwork of a St. Michaels scene completes the vista  from the door.

The two bedroom suites have their own personality and appeal. One has a wall of closets and the other a beautiful armoire for storage.  One has an exquisite French style bed with high headboard and footboard and the other has a painted wood frame.  Both of the bedrooms have lovely bed linens, painted wood floors and generously sized baths.

This house and its property has been lovingly cared for and its historic characteristics, including the rear garden shed, have been carefully maintained. Great floor plan flow with views of San Domingo Creek on a quiet tree-lined street-an ideal house for historic architecture buffs!

For more information about this property, contact Debbie Meredith, Associate Broker with Benson and Mangold Real Estate at 410-745-0415 (o), 410-310-8922 (c) or debbie.meredith@gmail.com . For more photographs and pricing, visit https://bensonandmangold.com/agents/debbie-meredith/, “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Janelle Stroup, Though the Lens Photos, 845-744-2758, janelleathruthelensphotos.com

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.

The design of this charming house was a labor of love between the husband and wife. Working in sync, the husband’s focus was the floor plan layout and architectural style while the wife, a very talented artist, turned her creative eye to the interiors. The site is surrounded by mature trees and plantings for privacy and there are water views between the houses across the road. The center wing of the house has a deep front porch that spans the full length of the house and the arrangement of doors and windows is quite pleasing. The front French door is balanced by a dormer window above, the middle five-unit French sliding doors  is balanced by a triple window dormer above and at the other end the main floor’s single window has a dormer window above. Two one-story wings step down on each side of the center wing for a very appealing composition. 

The floor plan works very well with an offset center hall that has entry doors at the front and the rear. The front French door has full sidelights and a transom that opens into the two-story entrance hall. The rear door is accessed from a small porch and leads to the mud room and kitchen. To the left of the front entrance hall is a spacious living room with tall 6/9 windows at the front and side and a fireplace. I loved the taupe wall color that is the perfect backdrop for the collection of her art as well as that of her fellow artists.

A wide wall opening leads to the dining room with its tall windows covered by plantation shutters. A colorful Oriental rug anchors the beautiful wood dining table and chairs and above the side table is a collection of blue and white ceramics in a shallow plate rack that creates a colorful vista from the living room. Between the dining room and the mud room is a short hall for pantry with closets. I truly craved the kitchen with my favorite “L” shape and island arrangement with the island’s high counter for bar stools open to the family room. I especially liked the full height built-in breakfront at one end of the room with drawers below and glass fronted upper cabinets that displayed more beautiful ceramics. The white cabinets have period hardware and dark countertops that contrast with the wood floors. Clearly the kitchen that is open to the informal dining area and a seating area in front of another fireplace and bookcases is the hub of the house, with sliding French doors to access the front porch. Another French door leads to the screened porch that is sized for sitting and dining.

My favorite room is the cozy space next to the great room. How could one resist a daybed with comfortable pillows for stretching  out with a good book selected from the bookcases between the tall window? The mocha walls, white built-ins and colorful accessories would make a great backdrop for a languid afternoon. The remainder of the ground floor contains two bedrooms and two baths, one of which has an exterior door to the deck and screened porch.

The master suite covers the entire second floor and at the top of the stair landing is a sitting area with a TV. Direct sunlight from two dormer windows and indirect light from the two-story entry’s window create an inviting space; however, I was immediately distracted by the five-story Edwardian style dollhouse in the corner of the room. During their stay in London for her husband’s business, the owner became interested in dollhouses. This was another labor of love-her husband built the shell and installed electricity. The wife spent three years accumulating the initial furnishings and accessories in keeping with the Edwardian era theme. I was most impressed when she told me she had painted the exterior brick façade, complete with its Flemish bond pattern-keep in mind dollhouses are built 1”=1-0’ and a brick is nominally 4” x 8”! 

Off the sitting area is the master bedroom with a water view from the triple-unit windows under the shed dormer. The splendid master bathroom spans the full depth of the house next to the large dressing room. The center door to the master bedroom separates the room into two areas with windows at each end. On the opposite wall, a storage tower separates the two lavatory areas, one with a lower counter for a make-up area. 

The large artist’s studio over the living and dining rooms has a triple north-facing window on the gable side and two other windows for daylight. This could easily become a playroom or separated into two offices.

I always love featuring homes of artists-they understand color and texture and have an innate talent for interior design. The artist owner’s selection of wall colors, rugs, furnishings and accessories, enhanced by her own art and works by fellow artists, has created a home with an air of timeless elegance. Brava!

For more information about this property, contact Joan Wetmore with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-6702 (o), 410-924-2432 (c) or JoanWetmore@msn.com. For more photographs and pricing visit www.meredithfineproperties.com ,  “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Janelle Stroup, Though the Lens Photos, 845-744-2758, janelleathruthelensphotos.comItalian ceramics are available locally at Simpatico, Italy’s Finest, 106 Railroad Ave., St. Michaels, 410-745-0345.

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.

The front elevation of this one and a half story house looks like an advertisement for Southern Living Magazine with its Colonial style architecture, full front porch and muted colors of the brick foundation and lap siding.  The massing is very appealing with the garage wing’s wide front gable, the main five-bay wing’s front gable roof dormer centered over the front door with the windows at each side and a smaller wing that telescopes down at the side.  The house offers several opportunities to enjoy the outdoors with the front porch and decks overlooking the rear yard that ends at a road instead of an adjacent property. Part of the rear deck is covered by the attic roof overhang with a partial roof for shade.

The front door with its graceful elliptical fanlight opens onto an open plan entry, dining and living areas defined by dropped beams that mark the boundaries for architectural interest.  The dining room’s two windows overlooking the porch bring filtered light into the space and the chandelier and the large rug anchor the Queen Anne style furnishings. The living room’s wide wall opening brings light into the hall and the fireplace flanked by built-in millwork with arched tops echoes the arched transoms above the tall windows overlooking the deck. An angled doorway at the corner of the living room gives a diagonal view of the family room with its rear bay-shaped wall of tall  windows that wrap around to sliding doors with transoms to the deck. Opposite the family room is the kitchen whose base cabinets’ footprint echo the angles of the family room. The breakfast area was especially charming with a side bay window and sliding doors to another deck. Behind the kitchen is the mud room/laundry connected to the two-car garage.

The master bedroom suite and guest room suites are located next to the main living areas.  The master bedroom’s rear wall is also bay-shaped and infilled with double window units for views of the rear landscape. Two guest rooms with a Jack and Jill arrangement complete the bedroom wing.  Upstairs is another bedroom suite and the rest of the floor is open to the wall and roof framing. Endless possibilities for storage, studio, office, playroom…

I love Cooke’s Hope setting and the amenities of this development are outstanding.  I always enjoy driving through the tree lined streets of this neighborhood when I am researching houses-the brick sidewalks, walking trails, waterside picnic pavilion and ponds that are sanctuaries for wildlife are a few of the outdoor amenities. This traditional style house on a quiet dead-end street has curb appeal, a great floor plan with easy flow among the entry, dining, living, family, kitchen and breakfast areas, a variety of outdoor spaces, one level living and expansion possibilities for the attic floor.  

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 info@corneliaheckenbach.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”. For more photographs and pricing visit www.stmichaelsmdwaterfront.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.

Before I moved to the Eastern Shore, I worked at Urban Design Associates in Pittsburgh.  They were the first firm in the US to focus on urban design and the revitalization of downtown neighborhoods.  Key to revitalization are 24/7 streets, with commercial space on the ground floors and residential spaces above. This building on a block between the full residential and full commercial uses of S. Harrison St. is a great candidate. Its charming exterior of deep slate blue shake siding, white trim and  white windows with black shutters and black entrance door is quite appealing. The door has a fanlight transom and arched roof covering supported by brackets at each side of the door that are attached to white pilasters. The brick stoop with a slim black iron handrail leads down to the brick city sidewalks.

The front door opens to the hall and staircase with stained wood treads, newel post and cap with white risers.  Wood floors lead to the living room at the side and the dining room at the rear. Although it is not original to the house, the front bay window, combined with the side windows flanking the fireplace and another window at the rear overlooking the side yard, keep the space sunny throughout the day.

The dining room has windows on each side of the room for light and cross ventilation.  One window overlooks the side yard that has great potential as a garden and the other side window overlooks the driveway so the house is not crowded against its neighbors. The kitchen at the rear has laminate wood flooring that closely matches the original hardwood flooring in the rest of the house. A half French door leads to a small porch that could be enclosed for a home office.  

At the top of the stairs is a room in the middle of the house with built-ins that would make a great TV room. The front bedroom has a fireplace and its bath has a clawfoot tub with shower fittings.  The rear bedroom’s full bath has a shower and clear views and sunlight from the rear windows since the rear yard and parking area separates this house from the houses along Washington St.

If this house were my live/work-space, I would be tempted to first add a white picket fence with a gate covered by a curved arbor that matches the front door’s fanlight curvature and add a side garden that would wrap around to the rear of the house.  Then I would convert the porch to an office by adding windows around the side/rear porch off the kitchen for views of the garden as I worked on my computer. Third, I would remove the rear stair to add more space to both the kitchen and rear bedroom above.  Voila – a charming downtown urban live/work- space with short walks to Easton’s restaurants and shops, the Avalon, the Academy Art Museum. 

For more information about this property, contact John Jelich with John Jelich Talbot County Properties at 410-829-3568 or jjelich@tcfl.org. For more photographs and pricing visit  www.marylandhistoricproperties.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.

The “piano nobile” was the principal floor of a palazzo belonging to Italian nobility that contained the entrance hall and reception areas one floor above the street level. When I entered this house’s upper floor, it was clear that the owners had a love of all things Italian.  It was also clear that the beautiful interiors were designed and constructed with the highest level of craftsmanship and enhanced by the Owners’ furnishings, art and accessories. Their piano nobile floor contains an open plan sitting room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast area and screened porch as well as the master suite.  

Guest rooms are located on the third floor, with its own kitchenette and stack washer/dryer.  The ground level contains the family room leading to the loggia that extends across the rear of the house, Gunite pool, full bath, wine room, storage/utility room and elevator. My favorite room on this level was the wine room and I recognized many of my favorite Italian wines. The space planning on all three floors maximizes views from the rear of the house to the landscaped buffer along the Tred Avon River.

The interior architecture defines the functions of the open plan area on the main floor. The front door opens into the entrance hall with  “U” shaped stairs to the second floor and the ground floor. The balustrade to the second floor is detailed in iron with a wood cap and the shelf below the landing’s window displays part of the Owners’ Italian ceramic collection. Tuscan columns with elliptical arched headers mark the doorway to the dining room and a smaller arched opening connects the dining room with the adjacent kitchen that creates a diagonal view to the great room. I especially loved the lunette shaped artwork between the front windows of the dining room and the Italian street scene opposite it. 

The great room’s exquisite coffered ceiling and the diagonal pattern of beams stretches the space.  One group of furnishings is arranged around the fireplace with a painting of an interior perspective of room with a coffered ceiling and arched openings that was the perfect touch for this room. The other sitting area at the rear of the room is grouped around built-in millwork with other Italian ceramics and the TV.  A wall of windows wraps around this space with views to the screened porch and deck.  

Another arched opening decorated with colorful Italian plates defines the boundary between the kitchen and the sitting area and the curvature of the countertop above a row of base cabinets creates space for bar stools. The kitchen is also open to the breakfast area with views of the water through the wrap-around panels of the screened porch.  Beautiful porcelain tile flooring, cream colored raised panel cabinets and granite countertops create a dream kitchen that is the envy of this cook.

The master suite on the opposite side of the house has an office/bedroom at the front and the master bedroom at the rear.  The master bedroom’s coffered ceiling, built-in millwork and a full width rear wall of bay shaped windows for water views is a serene retreat.  The luxurious master bath has a corner soaking tub with a dropped soffit above supported by two columns. Opposite the tub is a mirrored wall below the arched soffit and above the dual lavatories separated by a storage columns.  

From the piano nobile to the upper and lower floors , the interior architecture that maximizes views of the Tred Avon River, the highest level of finishes and craftsmanship, art, accessories and of course the beautiful Italian ceramics reflect the Owners’ Italian heritage and their happy memories of travel to Italy.  Viva Italia-per sempre! 

 For more information about this property, contact Joan Wetmore with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-6702 (o), 410-924-2432 (c) or JoanWetmore@msn.com. For more photographs and pricing visit www.meredithfineproperties.com ,  “Equal Housing Opportunity”.  Photography by Liz Baker of Home Visit, 703-953-3866. Construction by Ron Mooney  Italian ceramics are available locally at Simpatico, Italy’s Finest, 106 Railroad Ave., St. Michaels, 410-745-0345

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.