Design with Jenn Martella: Fairest of the Fair on Fairgale

I enjoyed returning to the small neighborhood of Fairgale Farms, a picturesque development named for the original farm along Fairlee Creek. My former article featured a contemporary house that the original owners had built for their daughter. This house is hidden from the road by surrounding wooded areas and the driveway off the meandering road through the neighborhood is lined with trees and ends at a circular drive around the pond and a gazebo. The two room wide, four room deep house is located across the pond and was built in 1999 on 20 +/- acres. The design of the custom built house was inspired by the style of Captain’s fishing cottages on Nantucket. The house is connected to the two-car garage by a hyphen containing a spacious laundry/mudroom and full bath that are both set back deep from the front elevation.

Four steps lead up to the deep front porch overlooking the pond and at certain times of the day, the four-bay front elevation casts a beautiful reflection on the surface of the water. The house’s front gable form is detailed with a full hipped roof over the porch that extends over the foyer with a large multi paned picture window. At the back wall of the porch are the living room’s two long 9/1 windows and at the second floor, four single 6/1 windows are spaced evenly across the façade. The beaded lap siding changes to vertical siding at the third floor with a 6/1 accent window. The exterior color palette of white 1 x trim around the windows, doors and corner boards blends into the slightly darker siding color for a classic look.
The eave line is lower than usual and adds architectural interest to the gable form. The shorter hyphen has a pitched roof that ends at the side walls of the house and the garage/apartment wing. The front gable form of the garage/apartment is similar to the main wing with two single windows at the garage level and one window above. The same combination of lap siding and vertical siding as the main wing unifies the composition.

The entry door is located at the side wall of the porch and opens into a spacious foyer with the stairs creating a hall with a wide cased opening to the large living room. The coat closet defines the end of the foyer that leads to another hall to access the kitchen-dining area, full bath and laundry/mudroom hyphen. The “U” shaped stairs has white risers and stained treads to match the flooring throughout the main floor with beautiful earth-toned runners and hall rugs. Instead of an open railing, there is a partial height wall and a half column to separate the foyer from the hall.

The focal points of the living area are the fireplace at the side exterior wall and the large armoire-bookcase unit with solid doors in the middle to store the TV. The large Oriental rug anchors the seating arrangement of the sofa and chairs in earth tone colors and the wood coffee and end tables create a room for relaxing. Another cased opening leads to the dining-kitchen area and I especially liked the box bay that wraps around the corner of the dining area with a double window at the rear wall and a single window at the side wall that creates a cozy window seat ending at the fireplace next to another window. The checked valances over the top windowpanes and the cushions that pick up the rosy red color of the fireplace brick surround, the black framed wood table with a stained wood top, black chairs and the pale green armoire create a delightful dining area for family and friends.

The “U” shaped kitchen with its neutral tones has a charming combination of upper cabinets with solid and glass fronted doors and open shelves with corner cabinets for appliances and drawers. The white subway tile backsplash that contrasts with wallpaper above the upper cabinets, the stainless steel appliances and the island with open shelves, drawers and a stained countertop completes the look. A pair of French doors between the dining and kitchen areas leads to the screened porch with white rattan furnishings below the white pitched ceiling. A screened door in the side wall leads to both the brick terrace, the stairs to the apartment over the garage and a walkway to the pool.

I envied the layout of the large laundry with its triple windows for daylight at the rear wall above the side by side washer dryer for loading/unloading that is easy on the back and knees! The door to the laundry chute eliminates the trip up the stairs to collect the dirty laundry from the bedrooms and baths. The farmhouse sink with gooseneck fitting next to a counter with open shelves below for easy access of laundry detergent and the wall hung wood expandable drying rack creates a highly efficient laundry. Exterior doors at the front and rear walls, the door to the garage and the interior stairs to the second floor apartment make this space the circulation hub of the house.

The stairs to the second floor end at a sitting area with double windows at the side wall and doors to all three bedrooms. The sumptuous primary suite is located at the rear of the house and the bedroom is sized for a sleeping area with a pencil post wood bedframe with white linens and a sitting area around the fireplace. The warm red walls, pine floors, the pine chest at the foot of the bed and the bookcase next to the fireplace full of books creates a serene retreat.

The other two bedrooms are located at the front of the house and their interiors are equally charming. One corner bedroom has wrap-around windows and a wallpaper pattern of small flowers on a sage green background, wood furnishings and a white applique bedspread. The smaller of the bedrooms is a sweet room for young children with white iron bed frames, white spreads with rose motifs, a beautiful oval multi-colored hooked rug, wood chest, nightstand and bookcase. Stuffed animals patiently await their nighttime snuggling with the little ones. Between the front and rear bedrooms is a large bath that is compartmentalized for privacy, with a shower and a clawfoot soaking tub underneath a double window. Above the two-car garage is a one-bedroom guest suite that includes a kitchenette for guests with its own deck overlooking the pool and the grounds.

20 +/- acres, 50% wooded for privacy, custom house built in 1999 inspired by the classic Nantucket fishing captain’s cottage style, outdoor rooms of a front porch, rear screened porch, pool, pergola and gazebo for picnics overlooking the pond, amenities including nine foot ceilings and wood burning fireplaces, attached two-car garage with one-bedroom apartment above, fenced acreage, turn-out sheds, a three stall barn with connected paddocks-all this in the quiet neighborhood of Fairgale Farms!

For more information about this property, contact Liddy Campbell at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, 410-673-3344 (o), 410-708-5433 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs or pricing, visit https://liddycampbell.ttrsir.com , “Equal Housing Opportunity.”
Photography by Janelle Stroop, 410-310-6838, [email protected]

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.