House of the Week: Down by the Riverside

This property caught my eye for its very convenient location one block from highway 213 and Chestertown’s Historic District amenities. The property has great curb appeal from its exterior color palette and variety of hardscape and landscape.  The two-story, two-bay house with light yellow/brown lap siding and the reddish-brown colored shutters stands out against its setting in the lush perennial garden on either side of the brick sidewalk and the mature crape myrtle that fans out from the landscaping frames the front elevation beautifully.  At the side yard, the hardscape changes texture from brick to white pebbles inlaid with individual deep gray flagstone pavers.  At the end of the pavers is another texture change of the wooden privacy fence with a delightful iron artisan gate design of a half-sunrise arched top festooned with vines and miniature lights. The gate  separates the public space from the private rear yard enclosed by the wooden fence.

The brick stoop with black iron handrails has a pedimented roof over the front door with a beadboard ceiling painted the siding color and the trim and the support brackets are painted the shutter color for contrast. The front door opens into the living room with a sectional sofa, rocking chair and ottoman for entertaining with the white firebox surround that has cleverly become a bookcase. The deep wall opening at the rear of the room leads to the dining room with a horizontal beadboard wainscot and the table and chairs below the window overlooking the side yard. The side stairs leading from the corner of the dining room has storage below the steps and a doorway leads to the shed roofed one-story kitchen at the rear of the house.  

The sloped portion of the kitchen’s roof intersects the flat ceiling area to create space for upper cabinets on the interior wall and the lower rear wall has open shelves.  Two skylights over the low rear window bring more sunlight/moonlight into the kitchen and the half-French door leading to the brick terrace is handy for serving al-fresco meals. The white cabinets and white appliances makes the efficient space seem larger and using the same color for both the tile floor and the countertops maintains the neutral palette. The glass fronted white upper cabinets give depth to the space and the wood slat ceiling and walls add texture. 

Each of the second floor bedrooms has different ceiling treatments.  One bedroom has a full height ceiling and one has a high knee wall with a sloped ceiling that intersects the flat portion of the ceiling. Two low windows flank the bed and the wall space in between cleverly becomes the “headboard” with its strips of multicolored wood. The bath has been renovated with a glass fronted shower and a rear wall of white subway tile.  The floor tile that continues into the shower is the same black and white pattern I selected for one of my bathrooms.  The pattern of the center black square surrounded by white rectangles is perfectly sized for the space.  An open shelving unit between the shower and the toilet conveniently holds towels and other supplies. The lavatory cabinet has a white undermount lavatory set into a berry colored granite countertop for an accent and the round mirror with sconces completes the upgrades. 

Great starter house, downsizer house or weekend getaway with an established garden ready for the next owner to enjoy, low maintenance yard without grass and a private rear fenced terrace for relaxation, all within a short distance to the Chester River or to the amenities of Chestertown’s shopping area.

For more information about this property, contact  Peter Heller with Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate Company at 410-778-0330 (o), 410-708-3301 (c) or [email protected].  For more photographs and pricing visit www.hellertheseller.com , “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Patty Hill, www.pattyhillphotography.com, (410) 441-4719

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.