On previous visits to properties along Water Street that have been featured as a House of the Week, I always stopped to admire this magnificent house and its grounds so it is a special pleasure to feature it today. The house sits on a corner lot diagonally across from the Washington College President’s house and the windows in the side elevation of this house overlook the lawn and gardens for the President’s house along the side street.  Two towering Magnolias frame the front corners of this house and the curb along Water Street curves around on either side of a planting strip to meet a low brick wall that marks the border between private and public space. Two tall and slender cypress frame brick piers that support the iron gate leading to the brick sidewalk ending in brick steps to the full front porch.  

Circa 1857, the five-bay house is a beautiful blend of Victorian and Italianate styles and details. The front elevation is an exquisite confection of white with siding accented by pairs of corner boards transformed into quoins resting on brick bases that project slightly beyond the exposed red brick foundation wall. Other details include bracketed cornices, 2/2 windows with pedimented headers supported by more brackets, the main floor’s jib doors, full front porch and the cupola that penetrates the low sloped roof offering three hundred sixty degree views of the Chester River and the roofscapes of the Historic District. The distinctive Greek Revival frontispiece features double wood paneled front doors with arched tops and half glass, half paneled sidelights and a bracketed header with additional brackets and fretwork over the top of the door. Fretwork also infills the railing between the columns of the front porch. The color palette of white siding and trim, black shutters and accents of the red metal low sloped roofing and exposed brick foundation wall have a timeless appeal. 

When the listing agent greeted me at the door, I soon realized the floor layout was a compact floor plan with a gracious center hall between two parlors on one side and the front dining room and the rear kitchen on the other side.  The walls of the entrance hall are faux finished stone and as I looked up, the side stair gracefully makes a “U” turn past the landing with built-in shelving infilled with pieces of mercury silver, the first of many collections throughout the house.  

The living room spans the depth of the house and contains two identical parlors, bisected by a deep beam whose ends curve down to the spring line at the pilasters accentuated with moldings. The rhythm of wall/fireplace chimney/window along the side wall and the pair of jib doors to both the front and rear porches creates an elegant space for entertaining. The dining room has the same rhythm of wall/fireplace/window at the side wall and a pair of jib doors to the front porch. 

The kitchen at the rear of the house has a contemporary flair with gray “Pirelli” dot rubber flooring and sleek cabinets. To me, the upper cabinets seem out of scale since they reach to the underside of the 11’-6” ceiling. Perhaps adding two rows of glass fronted uppermost cabinets above the standard 7”0” height would be a better proportion.  One upper cabinet door contains an impressive collection of colorful Fiesta dinnerware that could be a perfect display through glass doors. Like the living and dining rooms, the kitchen’s jib doors open onto the porch that spans the width of the house to complete the great flow among the rooms for entertaining.

The faux finished stairwell walls ends on one wall with a clever trompe l’oeil irregular edge of stone. The bedrooms and baths are arranged around the center stair hall with the bedrooms located at the corners of the floor.  All of the bedrooms have multiple windows and closets are cleverly integrated with an exception of a large antique armoire instead of a closet. One closet corner has recessed shelving next to one window next to a chair for a perfect reading nook before turning in for the night. 

The daylight basement with its rear wall overlooks the garden whose perimeter is enclosed by a high brick wall with open work for air flow. Under the living room is an office and the other side of the house contains a guest suite.  The center exterior door in the stair hall opens onto a loggia festooned with wisteria between brick columns.  Beyond the loggia is a spacious gravel terrace with two brick steps up to the lawn with a small round reflecting pool and weathered statuary aligned with the four points of the circle. Mature trees including magnolias and deciduous evergreens for fall color screen the surrounding Town block.  All this garden needs is a fountain in the pool so one could hear the soothing sound of water. As I strolled around the garden, the full rear elevation came into view which is a mirror image of the front elevation’s main and upper floor.

Beyond one of the towering magnolias at the front corner of the main house is the garage/carriage house.  To contrast with the main house and in keeping with its more contemporary interior, the house is clad in one of my favorite materials, vertical board and batten siding that on sunny days casts delightful shadows.  The gable box bay projection at the second floor is a cozy window seat for the bedroom. The tandem garage layout of parking two cars front to back instead of side by side minimizes the garage door’s impact on the front elevation and the street.  The garage door is further minimized by being recessed between the vertical circulation choices of the stair or the elevator. The elevator opens into a foyer alcove between the bedroom suite at the front and the living/dining area at the rear.  In between is a fully equipped kitchen with an undercounter washer/dryer and spacious bath. Both the living-dining area and the bedroom have chamfered ceilings for added volume and the balcony off the living-dining area provides the same views of the Chester River as the main house enjoys.

Landmark property on a corner lot for light, space and privacy, richly detailed historic house, floor plan with an easy flow among the rooms, outdoor rooms of terrace, porches and the exquisite cupola, carriage house, off-street parking, beautiful walled garden that reminded me of gardens in the UK, all combine to create a serene oasis within close proximity to the Historic District’s amenities. What a unique opportunity for a new owner to become the steward of one of Chestertown’s historic gems!

For more information about this property, contact Richard Budden at Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate Company, 410-778-0330 (o), 443-480-1181 (c) or [email protected], “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.

Being an ardent history buff, I was intrigued to learn that Cliffs City has the distinction of being the location of the last remaining one-room schoolhouse in Kent County. The schoolhouse continued to serve this farming and watermen community until 1939. One of my criteria for selecting a House of the Week is the site-this waterfront property with its frontage along the Chester River leading to the Chesapeake Bay has both expanses of lawn and clusters of shade trees for enjoying the outdoors.  Even though fall is here, it is easy to envision spending a lazy afternoon swinging in the hammock between two trees with a clear view to the water or ending the afternoon sitting on one of the Adirondack chairs anticipating the sunset. The deck off the corner of the sunroom offers yet another view of the water. The proximity of the house’s rear wall is a plus-with current Critical Area setbacks of 100 feet from the water, this house could not be built today so close to the shoreline. 

The sunroom that spans the full length of the house is the primary room for water views.  Bays of triple sliding glass doors wrap around the room to open the space to the water and the linear plan provides ample space for relaxation and dining.  More glass doors between the sunroom and the adjacent living room increase the water views.  The living room’s fireplace on the side exterior wall is the other focal point of the spacious room. The rest of this wing contains a waterside bedroom suite.

A short hall leads from the living room to the entry foyer with its vista through the bay window wall of the dining room that was positioned for maximum views of the water. The bay-shaped dining room’s pitched ceiling adds architectural interest and is detailed with a stained wood header spanning the opening with transoms that infill the area of the triangular wall created by the pitched ceiling.  The window and transoms frames are stained to match the header. Since I share my home with a feline companion, I was pleased to see the pet bowls at the side wall of the dining room. 

The open plan dining-kitchen layout is great for entertaining and the cook has water views from the prep area. Next to the kitchen is the laundry and the two-car garage. Since the dining, kitchen, laundry and garage wing is angled to the main rooms of the house, the garage doors are not visible from the approach to the front door. The remainder of this floor contains a bedroom and a walk-in closet adjacent to the kitchen’s pantry but eliminating the pantry could create a full bath for another main floor bedroom suite. Currently the angled wing is painted a dark color that contrasts with the waterside wing. Painting this wing the same color as the rest of the house would tie the massing together.

The second floor contains two bedrooms with a hall bath to share.  Enlarging the bath could create another primary suite with its own sitting room.   Great waterfront property for sunset views and a few upgrades could become even better.  Boating enthusiasts would appreciate the location on the Chester River and close proximity to the Corsica River, Langford Creek and the amenities of Chestertown and Rock Hall. 

For more information about this property contact Chris McClary with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-275-2118 (o), 410-708-2614 (c) or [email protected], For more pictures and pricing, visit https://gunthermcclary.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.

Whenever I drove to Rock Hall for meetings with an architectural client, I often took Boundary Ave. as a short cut to the site.  This charming farmhouse always caught my eye for its resemblance to my own house with the entry door in the middle and single 2/2 windows at each side.  This house’s open porch extends the full length of the house and the center door location creates both sitting and dining areas to extend the living space on fall nights like we enjoy now. The exterior color palette of light yellow lap siding, white trim, the porch’s light blue floor and ceiling’s lighter blue with red accents of the chimneys at the side walls of the house is very appealing. Three columns create wide bays for the porch and at each corner bay, the corners are infilled with a railing of delicate white spindles. The center bay is open to frame the view of the front door with full glass sidelights and the wide step has room for pots of colorful flowers at each end.  Low manicured shrubbery along the front of the porch and the mature crape myrtle at the side enhance the elevation against its background of mature trees.

The compact floor plan has a center hall between the living room on the right and the eat-in kitchen on the left.  The vista from the front door ends at the rear sunroom’s windows that filters sunlight into the hall. Behind the kitchen are the stairs to the second floor, laundry room and full bath. The living room has the original chimney that protrudes into the room and creates an alcove for built-in millwork. The original mantel remains and I thought how delightful it would be to open up the chimney to expose the original firebox and install gas logs. The living room has sunlight throughout the day from the front and side windows and the filtered sunlight from the rear window that overlooks the sunroom for a very pleasant space in which to relax and watch TV.

The eat-in kitchen’s layout is challenged by the original chimney that remains at the side wall.  I would be tempted to use the table and chairs at one end of the sunroom as a dining area and eliminate the table and chairs in the kitchen.  Then you could have a galley layout along the front of the house with an extended counter at the rear row of base cabinets for bar stools. Since there is a door to the storage area under the stairs, the space in front of the stairs becomes a circulation area.  Adding another door to the center hall would create closer access to the sunroom for serving meals. The sunroom is wide enough to accommodate a full size sofa and chairs with the rear and side windows opening up the room to the landscape and the center door separates the sitting area from the dining area.

The laundry and full bath with an exterior door makes it easy to clean up after a day of gardening or play in the deep and wide back yard with its expanse of lawn and several towering trees to provide shade.  Adding a main floor bedroom could be done by flipping the washer and dryer to the front wall and adding a bedroom behind the laundry and bath next to the sunroom. 

The stairs to the second floor end at the rear corner of the house with a hall linking the primary bedroom that spans the depth of the house, a middle room currently used as an office and a guest room. The stair landing has sunlight from a window and space for an antique oak washstand, trunk and wall mounted corner shelving unit that creates a pleasant vista as you climb the stairs. 

The primary bedroom has a wall of closets next to the chimney and windows on the front, side and rear walls for sunlight.  I admired the mix of furniture as nightstands for the bed and the lovely quilt over the bed. The guest room at the opposite end of the house is decorated with white furnishings of a wicker table next to the iron bed with another lovely quilt in a floral pattern and the pale pink walls accentuates the white furnishings. The middle room could be turned into a full bath to serve both bedrooms. 

This property has been used for many years as a second/vacation home and it is easy to understand its popularity due to the proximity to Rock Hall’s downtown area and waterfront attractions. The deep back yard contains two sheds for myriad uses including a workshop, garden shed, storage for lawn maintenance equipment or storage of water toys after a day at the beach. The compact floor plan maximizes the useable floor area and with a few upgrades this charming farmhouse could become a full time home with room for expansion.   

For more information about this property contact  Lynn Hilfiker with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-639-2118 (o), 443-480-1163 (c)  or [email protected]. 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.

Whenever I drive along High Street, this house always catches my eye for its architecture, materials and its prominence on a corner lot. The original house appears to have been an American Four-Square with the roof eaves of both corners being broken by gables with decorative windows. The wood shake siding has mercifully been allowed to weather naturally and is now a warm brown color. Paired with the white trim and deep teal entry doors, the house reminded me of streetscapes in Long Island or Nantucket. At some time in the past, an addition extended into the rear yard and today the house has been subdivided into a triplex. 

The most prominent feature of the building is the full screened porch that spans the width of the house along High Street and is the outdoor room of the three bedroom/two bath unit on the second floor. The main floor front porch has two entry doors, one for the second floor unit and one for the main floor unit.  I liked the vista from the front porch looking east with all of the front porches of the houses on this side of the block aligned in a row- what great spaces for a progressive party! All of the units also share the rear fenced and grass yard that ends at the alley behind the property.  The main floor unit has two bedrooms and one bath; the second floor unit has two bedrooms and two baths and the rear two-story unit has two-bedrooms and one bath.  

This would be an excellent investment property since the location is close to Washington College for students who wish to live off-campus. The house could also be modified to a single family residence in the two-story part of the building and the rear two-story, two bedroom, one bath unit could still provide rental income. Sharing walls with a unit in the back would be much quieter since only one party wall would be involved.  

The interior layout of the front two-story building could become a “coastal” design with the bedrooms and baths on the first floor and the kitchen, dining and living rooms on the upper floor with access to the screened porch to extend the living space. Closets could be stacked in the floor plan to become an elevator later on if needed. Many of the original details remain, including the fireplace mantels, five-panel interior doors, molded door and window frames and wood floors. The second floor has delightful interior architecture with knee walls and sloped ceilings at the gable sides of the roof.

As an avid book reader, this is a wonderful location in the same block as the Public Library and a short walk to the heart of the Historic District.  Great opportunity to invest in a property with a strong rental history with all three units currently occupied or to convert the front part of the building to its original Four Square plan and continue to rent the rear two-story, two bedroom, one bath unit two-story unit.  Two great possibilities for this unique property!

For more information about this property, contact Sarah King with Cross Street Realtors at 410-778-3779 (o), 410-708-2528 (c) or [email protected]. For more photographs and pricing, visit www.csrealtors.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.

Mile Tree Village is a small and quiet cul-de-sac neighborhood surrounded by the residential area bordered by highway 213 and E. Campus Ave. with proximity to both Washington College and Chestertown’s Historic District amenities.  This property has great appeal from its corner lot location and the house’s modified Cape Cod style architecture. The mix of taupe lap and board and batten siding matches the bark of the mature trees framing the house.  The massing is very pleasing with the main wing’s side gable roofline and the garage’s front gable roofline connected by the charming breezeway with a two-bay front porch framed with arched headers above the pilasters and the center column. The garage’s gable roof setback from the front wall and the side dormer windows add more architectural character. 

The main entry door opens into the foyer with a single run staircase beside a hall leading past the library/office with built-in millwork next to the powder room. To the left of the foyer is a spacious living room sunlit from two front and two side windows and more built-in millwork for books and family photographs. At the rear wall, a wide cased opening leads to the open plan family-dining-kitchen area with the stained perimeter molding and the dropped beams creating a coffered ceiling.  The family room seating is grouped around the fireplace at the interior wall and behind the seating area is the offset dining room with the fireplace visible from the dining table. The open plan has abundant sunlight from the family room side window, the dining room’s triple window and side French doors to the screened porch. The galley kitchen overlooks the family room and has an exterior door directly to the screened porch for ease of serving meals. 

From the kitchen area, a short hall leads to the breezeway interior and to the garage. Instead of a pantry cabinet in the kitchen, there is a pantry room with an exterior window for daylight, shelving, counters and space for a R/F. Next to the pantry is a second stair that leads to the upper area over the garage that contains a full suite with a seating area, bedroom and bath.  The pitched ceiling with an exposed collar beams, gable end walls with windows, transoms above and double windows tucked into dormers of the side walls create a great space for an extended stay. The other guest rooms are on the second floor of the main wing with their interior architecture created by the shed roof at the rear of the house and large windows overlooking the landscape below. 

The main floor master suite is located at the rear of the house is an addition that  is set back to respect the main wing of the house and accessed by a doorway off the family room.  The laundry is located behind the family room for easy access to  all the bedrooms.  The primary suite takes maximum advantage from its being a  one story space with pitched ceilings and skylights.  The primary bedroom is a serene retreat with warm blue walls that extend at each end of the room to the gable ridge and a fireplace flanked by single windows and another window at the front wall for sunlight.  The warm blue walls accentuate the crisp white bed linens on the pencil post bed frame. 

The front room of the suite has a bay window at desk height that creates a space for office work and the pitched ceiling makes this cozy space seem larger than it is. Two spacious walk-in closets and a bath with the large shower’s front glass wall, tiled floor and walls complete the suite. The primary suite has its own entrance to the random stone terrace and walkways through the private landscaped yard. 

I saw pictures of this house before its renovation and the upgrades that were done greatly enhanced this house. The floor plan has an easy flow among the rooms and is zoned well with the main floor primary suite, second floor guest rooms and the bedroom suite over the garage with its own interior stair. Lovely setting of mature trees in a great neighborhood with a screened porch for warm weather living- 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 [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.

This historic property, circa 1800, is nestled in a clearing surrounded by woods. Known by locals as “The Castle”, the original two and a half story, two-bay, two room deep brick house’s front elevation has two single doors side by side centered in the wall below cantilevered pedimented roofs. Single window at each corner below four windows above on the second floor complete the symmetry. The deep slate blue shutters at each window and the rose red brick laid in the Common or American bond pattern is very appealing against the green backdrop of towering trees. 

A one-story addition that updated the house created a long foyer at the rear of the original house that becomes a circulation path to connect the new family room to the kitchen and dining room. The addition is clad in light olive green board and batten siding and is set back from the side wall of the original house to respect the original form. The low slope roof extends over the door and its full sidelights to create a porch and the brick porch floor becomes a long sidewalk to meet the gravel drive. 

At the other end of the foyer is a second entry door at the side wall for easy access from the kitchen to the outdoor terrace and pergola.  The interior brick wall of the original house is painted white and the walls of the addition have texture too from their paneling painted white to match the brick. The floor tile is laid in a diagonal pattern to stretch the space. The powder room is discretely located opposite the second entry door and I loved the wall plaque that reads “believe-dream-wish-hope and love”. 

The open boundary between the foyer and the family room is defined by a former church pew bench and an exposed wood beam above.  The family room feels like a sunroom from the daylight that streams into the room through triple window units on opposite walls and the two pairs of French doors leading to a brick terrace.  Three wall openings on the other side of the foyer lead to the kitchen and the dining room.  One opening leads directly into the kitchen’s  “L” shaped work area with the peninsula’s cooktop opposite the wall ovens. The kitchen sink is centered under a double window unit for views of the landscape.  The other opening passes by a butler pantry wall a wall of base cabinets and glass fronted upper cabinets then into into the library in the original part of the house. The library walls are lined with a mix of open shelves and closed cabinets painted a historic green-blue to the underside of the ceiling.  One of the original front doors opens into the space. 

The dining room is accessed from both the foyer and the door between the butler pantry wall. I loved the interior design with the fireplace on the exterior wall, the built-in cupboard, beautiful wood floors,  warm yellow color of the walls and the Oriental rug on the floor waiting for the next owner’s table and chairs.  Next to the dining room is the stairway to the second floor and the living room that is also connected to the library by a pair of wood doors.  The living room fireplace is set into the room which creates space for a recessed cabinet with built-in open shelves above to display a collection of china and serving pieces.

At the second floor, the stairs end at a hall and then continue to the attic level.  The doors for the three bedrooms are opposite each other with vistas to windows on the exteriors walls. The two guest rooms are located at the front of the house with the primary suite located across the rear of the house. Like many historic houses, there are minimal closets but I much prefer a beautiful armoire and antique chests of drawers to a closet in a wall.  Geography was my favorite subject in elementary school and I loved the wallpaper in the hall bath for the guest rooms with its pattern of a flattened world globe with the continents floating in the seas around the room.

If I were a guest, I would make my way to the attic level whose entire floor is a guest suite. The stairs rise up to a sitting area with recessed shelves cleverly making maximum use of the space under the eaves and behind the stairs is a mini-kitchen for extended stays.  The spacious bedroom is located over the living room and the library below and is large enough to accommodate two double beds. Sunlight from the gable end wall window, skylights and dormer window streams into the large room and its interior architecture of the sloped ceilings and wall projections for the chimneys create a marvelous space.

The property also includes a detached three-car garage with rooms at either end for an office, potting shed, studio or workshop. Wonderful wooded setting with outdoor rooms of a pergola over a cooking area and shaded terrace adjacent to the family room, blend of early 19th century architecture with modern updates, close proximity to both Rock Hall and Chestertown amenities-who could ask for anything more?

For more information about this property contact  Lynn Hilfiker with Gunther McClary Real Estate at 410-639-2118 (o), 443-480-1163 (c)  or [email protected]. 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.