Whenever I drive to Tilghman to visit friends, I always glance at a one-story house that captured my eye several years ago. It is a great example of how breaking out of the box by adding porches, bay projections and details can transform a simple rectangular shape from Plain Vanilla to Neapolitan. The house is divided into two sections. One part contains the side facing garage and primary suite and is slightly offset from the other section; the other part contains the open plan living-dining-kitchen area, laundry, two other bedrooms and one bath. Taking advantage of the offset, a wide gable was added over the living room and a shorter gable projects farther to emphasize the front entrance. Then a deep shed roof was added to create an open porch that extends to the corner of the house and wraps around to meet the screened porch at the side elevation.
Insert pix #2-front elevation
I also write a bi-weekly column for Bohl Architects and a recent column addressed my architectural “Pet Peeves.” I was very pleased to see here that instead of plain posts masquerading as columns, this house has Craftsman columns of stacked stone bases below tapered wood columns that greatly enhances this elevation. I also admired the shake siding that infills the gable fronts to contrast with the house’s lap siding, the 6/1 windows and the light aqua shutters that I soon discovered were a preamble to the visual delights within.
Before going inside, I walked around the house and saw the screened porch at the side of house that is a delightful outdoor room. The end gable is also clad in shake siding to match the gables at the front of the house. Inside the screened porch, the sloped roof rafters are exposed and the wide spacing of the openings frames panoramic views. At the rear elevation is a box bay projection and a deck off the mud room with views of the woods.
I opened the front door into the open plan layout and I was greeted by Hollace Kutay, a Marine Artist and Coastal Designer who reimagined every room of this house. She offers her coastal homes fully furnished and decorated with accessories and art to give each home its own distinctive personality. She explained how the living room was once the primary bedroom and how she reworked the interior layout to create vistas through the “L” shaped open plan living-dining-kitchen. She relocated the primary suite between this area and the garage for privacy from the other two bedrooms off the screened porch. To add spatial volume, she removed the flat ceiling to create a pitched ceiling plane over the dining-kitchen area. I admired her “Coastal Casual” design scheme with white walls that were the perfect backdrop for the splashes of color and texture from upholstery, colorful accessories and art that celebrates both waterfowl and sea creatures.
I coveted the kinetic and colorful design of the living room’s rug design of vibrant and whimsical oversize fish and the large octopus artwork over the fireplace, both of which are Kutay’s designs. The seating is grouped around the electric fireplace between built-in millwork and the triple window unit floods the space with sunlight.
The focal point of the dining room’s wood table and rattan chairs is a large artwork featuring a giant Blue Osprey. Being a July Crab, I coveted the dinnerware set on the dining table with its crab design centered below a colorful border around each plate.
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The kitchen’s island is centered on the double window at the rear wall with a stunning countertop of “Vetrazzo” fabricated from recycled sea glass/crushed oyster shell. The combination of white cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, aqua tile backsplash with open wood shelves matching the wood band around the stove hood, shiplap accents in the stove hood and end wall of the island create a fresh and sleek look. The long wood hunt table on the opposite wall is an accent as well as a buffet table for the dining area.
The kitchen extends to the pantry’s galley layout due to the box bay projection that widened the space. The pantry is outfitted with a second sink, built-in microwave and beverage fridge, deep aqua cabinets, and live-edge butcher block countertops. A tall cabinet separates the pantry area from the washer and dryer and the hall to the primary suite. Next to the hall is the mudroom opposite the glass sliding door to the deck. The mudroom wall has a wide live-edge wood slab at a bench height for storing wellies below with hooks above for jackets against a full width and height wall of deep aqua shiplap. At the end of the panty/mudroom is the door to the attached garage.
The luxurious primary suite has a spacious bedroom with a double unit window and ample space for a bed with nightstands, an upholstered bench at the foot of the bed and a long dresser. The light aqua and blue colors create a serene retreat. Barn doors close off the bedroom from the spacious walk-in closet.
The primary bath has double vanities with dual mirrors framed with shells, a tile floor and a large shower with deep sea green tile. A recessed area in the shower wall is tiled with the same polygonal tile in soft green shades that matches the floor tile.
The two guest bedrooms are located at the opposite end of the house from the primary suite and are side by side with exterior doors opening onto the screened porch. One bedroom has a delightful octopus theme with a blue padded headboard, blue chest of drawers below an octopus artwork, and an accent pillow with an octopus perched on top.
The other guest bedroom has a light blue padded headboard and accent pillows of colorful seaweed and coral matching the panels of the armoire and a light blue side table for guest luggage.
One House of the Week last year had a bath with delightful mermaid wallpaper-this bath’s wallpaper has a background of floating octopuses that complements the color of the lavatory cabinet and the white shiplap walls add texture.
This two acre property in a water privileged community also includes a two-car attached garage, large deck, storage shed and broad expanses of lawn for play. High marks for a stylish exterior and interior renovation and the delightful interior design inspired by the sea and its creatures by Hollace Kutay who reimagined every room. This is the perfect time of year to claim this turn-key property for your summer sojourn or contact Hollace Kutay to enhance your existing home with special touches that remind you of the sea. I left “Barnacle Bungalow” smiling and humming the Beatles song that begins-
“I’d like to be
Under the sea
In an octopus’ garden
In the shade….”
For more information about this property, contact On Design sponsor Tiffany Cloud with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-822-2001 (o), (570) 751 8637 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing visit www.meredithfineproperties.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity.”
Interior Design by Hollace Kutay, whose background as a marine artist and her childhood summers on Grand Cayman Island influences her designs. Her paintings and whimsical ceramic sculptures of sea creatures have won her national recognition. Contact Hollace Kutay at 717-341-0518 or [email protected], www.hollacekutay.com.
Photography by Atlantic Exposure LLC, 310-973-7325, www.atlanticexpoaure.com.
Lyrics to “Octopus’s Garden” by Richard Starkey
Jennifer Martella is an architect with Bohl Architects’ Annapolis office and a referral agent for Meredith Fine Properties. Jennifer is an integral part of Bohl Architects’ design team for projects she brings to the firm. She is also the writer of Bohl’s website’s bi-monthly blog “Tango Funhouse” where she highlights the firm’s vision and other fun aspects of life by design. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday.
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