Given my keen appreciation of the craftsman style in architecture and if I could ever afford a house in the country, I could easily imagine living in this one. The house is surrounded by woods on three sides for privacy. The tree-lined drive begins at the road then makes an angled turn to end at a circular court paved in brick with a water feature encircled by colorful plants. I loved the front elevation with its angled footprint that was parallel with the shoreline below, the stair tower element with wrap-around windows at the top room, second-floor balcony, gables and eaves, mix of stone and wood siding and varied sizes of windows. The color splashes of the red metal roofs over the balcony and the hipped roof of the tower were perfect accents. The second-floor roof projected down to provide covering for the front door with a shed dormer above.
I also loved how the rear elevation was as stunning as the front and opened up to its water view with walls of windows and transoms and a deck for relaxing and enjoying the views of Pleasant Cove off the Sassafras River. Below the deck a pristine lawn ended at a colorful meandering mix of flowers that marked the edge between lawn and the wooded bank of the cove. Two mature trees in the middle of the lawn with another water feature and a planting bed of various types of hostas and colorful accents of vicuna broke up the lawn expanse and provided some shade.
More delights awaited within. The living-dining-kitchen was a true “great” room with its wood floors, stained wood door and window trim, wood ceilings underneath the gable roofs and light-colored walls to reflect the sunlight from the windows and skylights. The stone fireplace was the focal point to define the sitting area and the angled bar that marked the kitchen boundary would be a great spot for guests to gather while the cook made final preparations for a dinner party including a trip to the wine cellar. In between the two spaces was the dining area for eight.
When I write about a house of the week I usually have one favorite room but this stellar house had so many. The great room, the sunroom surrounded by windows, transoms, and a second half-moon transom at the end wall, the master bedroom with its wrap-around windows and beautiful craftsman styled furniture would all be serious contenders. One of the Owners was the architect who is currently designing a smaller house so I look forward to featuring his next design in the future.
For more information about this property, contact John Burke with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-275-2118 (o), 443-206-3727 (c) or [email protected], “Equal Housing Opportunity”. Architecture by the Becker Morgan Group, 302-369-3700.
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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