This unique site on 8.5+ acres has 320 feet of protected shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay.  When you sit underneath the pergola at the water’s edge, you have an unobstructed vista of water disappearing into the horizon. The brick house was custom built in 1986 but the front elevation could easily be mistaken for an historic house with later additions.  Semicircular brick steps lead up the six-panel Colonial style front door with its circular transom and overlapping muntins.  The front door is centered in the five-bay main wing with a smaller telescoping wing.  The windows have elliptical headers and slate blue shutters that contrast with the earth tones of the Flemish bond brick.  The beautiful symmetry of the dormers centered over the windows below give this home great appeal.

The front door opens to the entry and side stairs with a living room to the right and the formal dining room to the left.  Instead of art on the walls, the walls became the art.  Above the dining room’s wainscot is a mural around the room by the artist Jack Schroder who was inspired by scenes from Eastern Neck Island, Oxford and St. Michaels.  The mural is interrupted by a corner cabinet with a cabinet below arched glass doors to display china and crystal. The smaller wing contains an office with base cabinets along the side wall and built-in millwork on either side of the window with ample room for a work desk and comfortable seating for breaks from work. 

The center hall passes from the entry through the open plan kitchen and informal dining area with its ceiling detailed with stained beams to create a coffered look. The spacious kitchen has a “U” shaped layout opposite a wall containing the R/F, wall oven and desk area.  The dining area has a five unit picture window and a corner window for water views. There is also a butler pantry and I loved the Mola framed piece in the powder room.

The vista continues through to the dual fireplace that separates another sitting room from the rear TV room.  Off these rooms is a hall that connects to the other areas on the main floor that is detailed with a mix of textures from the paneled wall with casement windows and a door overlooking the courtyard opposite a wall of brick with a brick herringbone floor. This hall intersects with another wide hall that does double duty as a sunroom with its rhythm of casement windows above a paneled wainscot on opposite walls, rattan cushioned furniture and a gambrel shaped ceiling framing the end wall of brick with a white wood door and black strap hardware that leads to the garage wing. An eyebrow dormer set into the wood slat ceiling completes the range of textures and materials and brings additional sunlight/moonlight into the space.

The other leg of the corridor leads to a hall to the main floor primary suite and  another stair leading to the second floor bedrooms.  The spacious primary bedroom has a corner fireplace and a bay projection in the rear wall with wrap-around windows for views of the endless water. French doors lead to a covered brick terrace for direct views to the water and breathtaking sunsets. On the other side of the covered terrace is a pair of French doors leading to the corner family room with a wide picture window that frames the Bay views.  

The second floor bedrooms are tucked under the roof framing with dormer windows for sunlight and views. One child’s bedroom with intersecting gables and knee walls has imaginative murals to inspire creativity in a child-the sloped ceilings have wood Gothic-style arches that link together to become windows or fences to scenes of blue sky fields and green hills topped with trees above faux stone knee walls below. The crowning touch is the gable wall behind the white twin beds under the window. The painted wall is festooned with oversized deep lavender drapery and the three-dimensional folds and tie backs are simply marvelous! I also liked how all of the furniture was white which highlighted the painting and the rug with oversized colorful flowers over the warm pine wood floors. 

If the six bedrooms are not enough, there is also a spacious guest/in law/ extended stay suite over the three car garage. “Merrythought” is well named for how could you not be merry in this estate house with the Chesapeake Bay as a backdrop?  

For more information about this property, contact Miles Norris with Select Land &  Homes at 410-810-3900 (o), 410-708-5423 (c) or mnorrisselect@gmail.com.  For more pictures and pricing, visit www.selectlandandhomes.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.

Now that warm weather is final here, I am finally spending time once again on my screened porch. My farmhouse style house is linear and I wished it had this house’s compact floor plan with the porch across the  front of the house. Since this porch has jalousie windows, adding  a baseboard heater would enable the space to be used through the winter months.  When I moved to the Eastern Shore seventeen years ago, I was charmed by the rural vernacular architecture of houses like this one, with a full front porch and a steeply pitched gable centered in the roof above the front door with an accent window at the attic level. The house is “L” shaped and telescopes down to one-story additions, one at the rear for the kitchen and one at the side for the main floor bathroom. The rear yard landscaping has begun to awaken from its winter dormancy and the mature deciduous tree and the large beautifully shaped crape myrtle is beginning to show its deep pink color. The rest of the yard is lawn and ready for play. 

This house has been completely renovated, including the basic systems that make it move-in ready.  The roof, siding, foundation waterproofing, windows, wall insulation, recessed lighting, plumbing, water meter and water line that runs from the street to the house, underground electric and heating and cooling are all new.   The baths have been updated including tile floors and charming round windows. 

The main floor interior walls have been removed to create an open plan with windows on three sides that keep the great room living-dining-kitchen space sunny and bright. I liked how the gray tones of the waterproof Pergo flooring complemented the light gray walls with crisp white trim. The space is very flexible for a variety of arrangements-the area under the side bay window could be a reading or dining nook and the middle space could be a TV area or dining room. The front living room opens to the front porch for great flow for relaxing with family or friends. 

The vista from the living area ends at the “U” shaped kitchen’s island with the stainless steel range hood that is a dramatic sculptural element. The upper cabinets rise to the ceiling that expands the volume of the room and the white cabinets, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and easy care tile floor would please any cook. I especially liked the detailing of the island’s corner facing the living room with  rounded open shelves instead of more base cabinets-a great space to display colorful pottery, ceramics or special serving pieces. The side door off the driveway makes it easy to unload groceries. 

The remainder of the main floor has a bedroom suite and the  round window and linen closet in the bathroom are great touches. Two other bedrooms and one bath are located on the second floor and one bedroom has a built-in seat under a window between two closets.  The details of the round window and linen closet are repeated in the second floor bathroom.  The bedrooms have windows on at least two walls for sunlight throughout the day.

Total renovation in the heart of Rock Hall, large rear yard with mature trees, primary bedroom suites on both floors for flexibility, high-end kitchen, ready for move-in!

For more information about this property, contact Debbie Meilke of Long and Foster Real Estate Kent Island  at 410-643-2244 (o), 410-708-7789 (c) or  DEBRA.MEILKE@LongandFoster.com,   “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Patty Hill, 410-441-4719, www.pattyhillphotography.com. For online booking, visit https://pattyhillphotography.simplybook.me/v2/.

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.

On my visits to Chestertown for research, I always include a stroll along North and South Water Street. In the 1770’s and 1780’s Chestertown was one of the wealthiest towns in Maryland and Water Street was literally laid out along the Chester River. Its banks were infilled with grand houses through the years in a range of architectural and material styles. Architecture buffs can enjoy the many gems along this street from the majestic Georgian of “Widehall”, the Federal style of the John K. Aldridge House; (one of my favorites) with its later elements of Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian; and the Collins House with its blend of High Victorian with Greek Revival and Italianate design elements.  

This house’s hipped mansard roof is typical of the Second Empire style and is a rare opportunity for restoration.  On the day I visited, I was enchanted by the symmetrical front three story five-bay façade with the entry door centered in the middle, the front porch that spans the full width of the house, the white color palette accented by the red shutters and the silver gray texture of the mansard roof’s tin shingles with three roof dormers.  The rear elevation is very similar with the addition of a screened porch that spans most of the rear elevation and a double window unit at the kitchen. 

The front door opens to the foyer and the splendid staircase that rises to the third floor. The staircase is detailed with wood treads and cap rail over the painted balusters enclosed by walls of wainscot and wallpaper. To the left of the foyer is the front parlor whose focal point is the fireplace on the side wall flanked by single windows.  The high ceilings, original trim including baseboard, crown moldings, corner blocks at the doors and windows and wood floors evoke an earlier era of gracious living. To me, the radiators for heat are a plus; two of the houses I have called home had them and I much prefer their radiant heat paired with high velocity AC to forced air HVAC.  

Two pairs of French doors lead to the rear parlor which could have several uses. The side wall has a triple-unit window with a seat below between built-ins framed by glass doors with diamond shaped muntins. The rear five-panel wood door leads to the screened porch and the interior door leads to the butler pantry, secondary stair and kitchen. Opposite the front parlor is another room with a fireplace that could be an elegant dining room.  Next to the fireplace is a floor to ceiling cabinet with glass doors above for display of china and crystal and a short hall that leads to the kitchen. The rear butler pantry offers plenty of storage for the galley kitchen and the exterior door from the kitchen to the rear screened porch makes serving convenient.  

The second floor contains two or three bedrooms and two baths.  The primary suite is located on the left side of the house with the bedroom at the rear corner and large closets between a hall to the front room that would make a wonderful dressing room with additional built-ins. The primary bath has classic black and white tile and the walk-in tub could be replaced with a glass-walled shower to open up the space to the sunlight from the window.  The bedroom of the other suite is located at the rear of the house with a bath connected to the front room which could be a sitting room, office or another bedroom. 

Clearly my favorite space is the third floor with its original layout and original plumbing fixtures including clawfoot tubs . How could one resist the charming interior architecture from the steep pitch of the mansard roof framing that creates seats beneath each window for river views from the front windows?  I could easily imagine my cat spending the entire day on this floor and changing seats as the sun’s path moved overhead!  Although this floor has suffered from water leaks in a few areas from the nearly flat portion of the roof above the mansard area the surfaces could be fixed.  As a veteran of many renovation projects, I was relieved to see that the house has “good bones” – just imagine what removing the wallpaper and heavy window treatments would do – this splendid house is a diamond in the rough and she could become a gem again!  

For more information about this property, contact Lisa Raffetto with Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate Company at 410-778-0330 (o), 410-708-0174 (c) or lisar@cbchesapeake.com. For more photographs and pricing, visit www.cbchesapeake.com, “Equal Housing Opportunity”. 

Photography by Patty Hill, 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.

The area between Washington Ave., E. Campus Ave. and the Chester River was once Byford Farm but lives on as a popular neighborhood with some of the streets named Byford Court for the family farm and Richard Drive, David  Drive and Waldo Drive for the family’s three sons. This one level house on Waldo Drive was built in 1966 and its lot has many mature trees that enclose the outdoor areas and provide privacy. I grew up in a brick rancher and I appreciate how this house’s front elevation was detailed to break out of its rectangular box. 

The attached one-car garage shifts slightly to provides a door to the front porch and the bedroom wing at the opposite end of the house projects even further as bookends for the recessed front porch. The mix of brick and vertical siding for color and texture, the gable wing infilled with lap siding and windows with wood panels below and shutters all combine to create a very pleasant curb appeal.   

The front yard landscaping includes low shrubbery at the edge of the porch for privacy and another row below the brick of gable wing and several trees, including a crape myrtle at the corner of the garage.  The rear yard is anchored by towering silver maples at each corner infilled with evergreens which create a wonderful ‘outdoor room’ to enjoy from the large brick terrace off the kitchen.

The front door opens to a small foyer that leads to both the living room and the kitchen with “saloon” doors to block the kitchen view. The living room has a large picture window overlooking the porch with operable windows on each side. This room has privacy from the street since it is located behind the front porch and  I would be tempted to replace the sheers with bottom mount shades to cover just the lower part of the windows to allow sunlight to filter through above. Opposite the windows is an extension of the living room with wrap-around windows for views of the landscape. I could easily image adding a fireplace at the front room for relaxing by the fire and using the rear space as a dining room.  

The kitchen layout has room for a breakfast area and is centrally located between the living room and the family room with its bay window to the rear landscape and built-ins.  There is a fireplace surround as a focal point so all it needs is a pre-fab fireplace to complete the space. 

The bedroom wing has three bedrooms and two baths. The neutral finishes of the baths’ floors and tub/shower surrounds are a blank canvas for the next owner’s accents of color in towels or the upper wall color. 

Although I love the urban lots and distinctive houses of Chestertown’s Historic District, this neighborhood offers larger lots for family activities or one-level living for aging in place, streets with low traffic for walking the family pets or biking, proximity to Chestertown Middle School while being just off Washington Ave. for access to the amenities of downtown and Washington College.  

For more information about this property, contact Debbie Shiley at Long and Foster Real Estate at 410-604-6335 (o), 410-490-4327 (c) or  DEBORAH.SHILEY@LongandFoster.com. For more photographs and pricing visit www.LongandFoster.com/DeborahShiley,  “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.          

Above my office area is a poster with freehand drawings of ninety seven architectural styles of American residential architecture, from an earth lodge of 300 AD to a Post-Modern House from 1978.  The drawings are from the book “American Shelter, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home” by Lester Walker, published in 1981 and updated in 1997. Whenever I sit down to write my weekly column, I am inspired by the rich range of American architectural styles and today two caught my eye, the 1905’s Bungalow and the Craftsman Cottage. This Craftsman Cottage combines the best of those two styles with its gable roof, shed dormers at the front and rear elevations, front porch with tapered wood columns resting on river rock piers supporting the beam above with its curved edges to connect the columns, shake siding and earthy colors. 

The site is nestled in a clearing of mature trees and the curved driveway leads around the house past the landscaping including a mature crape myrtle for seasonal color to the deep back yard with two sheds for garage or workshop use. Nearly is a public landing where you can launch your small craft of choice into the Chesapeake Bay. After a day on the water, you have a choice of relaxing on the large deck, screened porch or the pergola. 

The front door with sidelights opens into the foyer and stairs with vistas to the open plan living room- dining room-kitchen that wraps around the corner of the house. The wood stove, TV and comfortable furnishings grouped under the double windows between the full-height built-in millwork create a space for relaxation.  The tile flooring continues through the wide wall opening to the kitchen with its creamy craftsman style cabinets, upper cabinets with semi-transparent glass fronts for transparency, quartz countertops and tile border backsplash that complement the floor color and white appliances. Track lighting over the bar area at the peninsula base cabinets creates a breakfast spot next to the dining area.  Built-in cabinets to match the kitchen units and the hutch with the owners’ display of beautiful blue and white ceramics provide ample storage. 

Sliding glass doors lead from the dining room to the spacious screened porch overlooking the deep rear yard from the seating and dining areas. I especially liked the porch detailing with the bead board ceiling and minimal framing of wide screened panels above the railing with horizontal rods that disappear into the landscape. The remainder of the main floor contains a bedroom suite and a rear laundry, utility closet and powder room off a short hall. 

The second floor’s long shed dormer gives headroom for two of the three bedrooms, one of which is furnished as an office.  The other bedroom is located under the front shed dormer with its triple window. I would be tempted to claim this space as an office to enjoy spreading out my work along a countertop underneath the triple window with glare free daylight from the northeast. The large bath has both a corner tub and free-standing shower, dual lavatories and storage unit.  The floor plan takes advantage of the front eave storage with a walk-in closet for one bedroom and a room off the hall for general storage.

This is the second time I have featured this street in its rural setting that is also very close to Rock Hall, the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge. This charming Craftsman Bungalow built in 2009 with a main level master suite, range of outdoor rooms to enjoy the surrounding landscape and two sheds for myriad uses has great appeal.  

For more information about this property contact  Lynn Hilfiker with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-639-2118 (o), 443-480-1163 (c)  or lynnhilfiker@gmail.com. For more photographs and pricing visit www.rockhallrealestate.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.

I was immediately captivated by this property since it reminded me of a visit to Nantucket many years ago spent exploring the island by walking or biking past the island’s distinctive houses with siding that had weathered over time accented by crisp white trim. When I drove up for my visit to this property, the massing and architectural details of the house could have been part of Nantucket’s historic streetscape. The white fence along the street and the tall hedge along the driveway offers privacy. The circular driveway continues through a breezeway between the house and garage with a bonus room above. 

The massing breaks down the floor plan into charming “pavilions” with appealing architectural details-the master suite at one end with a pitched roof and a hipped dormer above, the entry area with its pitched roof and flared hip roof over the front porch, the kitchen area with its shed dormer overlapping the shed roof that connects to the breezeway roof with its dormer window and the garage/bonus room wing with its hipped roof with flared eaves. 

 The house is sited very close to the Chester River and has its own sandy beach and pier.  The foundation was built up after Hurricane Isabel and faced with stone which adds additional texture to the elevations, enhances the house’s cottage charm and adds broader views of the water.  Walking through the house and the waterside outdoor rooms of rear screened porch and the terrace off the kitchen and dining room, I felt I was on a yacht since the water was so close.

The front door opens into a foyer with a graceful staircase of wood treads and painted risers ending in winders and the last two steps wrapping around the stair wall. Behind the foyer is the living room with its focal points of a wide bay window to water views opposite the wood paneled wall of built-ins, fireplace and wide paneled opening to the foyer. A French door to the screened porch, wide arched wall opening to the dining-family-kitchen area, rear terrace and the bar/butler pantry provides great flow for relaxing with family and friends. 

The ceilings’ geometry over the wrap-around areas of dining-family-breakfast area-kitchen follows the roof framing with stained wood beams accented against the white ceiling planes extending into the dining area’s bay-shaped rear wall.  The kitchen’s side, rear windows and shed dormer windows provides sunlight throughout the day and an exterior door gives convenient access to the garage. Stairs from the kitchen lead to a delightful gallery linking the house to the bonus room over the garage.  The gallery is cleverly detailed with cabinets for storage under the eaves and deep niches above for display divided by dormer windows opposite each other halfway along the hall. The spacious bonus room with bathroom could have myriad uses-home office, play room, extended stay, etc.

There are master suites on both floors but my choice would be the main floor suite.  The spacious bedroom’s pair of French doors flanked by windows leads to the screened porch with both sitting and dining areas-the perfect spot to have your morning coffee. On cool nights, plush upholstered chairs around the corner fireplace create a cozy sitting area. The double doors from the bedroom to the sumptuous bath frame a vista of the free-standing white soaking tub in the bathroom below the colorful antique Italian poster whose background color matches the stone floor.  On either side of the tub are dual lavatories and a dressing table with white cabinetry and countertops of white marble with grey veining.  A half-glass wall separates the marble lined shower from the dressing table. 

The second floor master bedroom has charming interior architecture from the dormer windows with a cozy seating area under the wide front dormer and the rear and side windows have views of the water. Two of the other second floor bedrooms are made for children or grandchildren with twin beds between dormer windows.  

You don’t have to be a transplanted New Englander to appreciate this unique waterside property very close to Town. The house has undergone major renovations in 2000 and 2020 that maintained its historic charm, great flow among the rooms and a balance between open plan and enclosed spaces.  Outdoor rooms of the screened porch and terrace give you a front row seat to the activity on the Chester River- a wonderful property!

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 pheller@cbchesapeake.com. . 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.