Several years ago, I wrote about a house for the Chestertown Spy in the area called “Gratitude,” named for the steamboat that once brought day trippers and weekenders from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore. I imagine this 15 acre property on Leadenham Creek was christened the same name by owners who were grateful for the peace and privacy it provides. The long driveway is graced by an allee of towering Sycamore trees on each side for shade. Sycamores are one of my favorite trees for their distinctive bark that peels off as the tree matures and changes colors from smooth grayish brown to inner layers of reddish brown, light yellow and white to resemble a of camouflage pattern.
The drive passes by a detached garage/shed on the right and another small shed, guest house and pool on the left. The original brick piers mark the brick path to the house that ends at the front porch spanning across the center and left bay of the three-bay house. The massing and symmetry of the house’s two gable eaves at each end both, the color palette of light yellow siding, large windows and green paneled shutters is very pleasing.
The left bay projects slightly from the rest of the house that defines the main entry with a center craftsman style door flanked by two windows below the two windows at the second floor. The right bay has two windows on each of the two floors. The center bay has a French door flanked by two windows with two windows at the second floor aligned with the windows below. The multiple windows and shutters leave very little wall space, all the better for sunlit interiors. At one side of the house is a screened porch with views to the water and to a pergola festooned with grapevines above a delightful outdoor dining area. The rear elevation mirrors the front elevation but here the porch becomes a sunroom with long waterside windows next a laundry/mudroom area.
The craftsman style door opens into a spacious living room with a wide fireplace at the side wall and two windows at the rear wall opposite the two front windows. The house is currently unfurnished but it was easy to imagine my furniture over the beautiful hardwood floors that flowed into the adjacent dining room and sunroom. The wide brick fireplace has corbeled sides and is painted white to lessen its mass. The spacious dining room is connected to the living room, kitchen and sunroom for great flow. The room could easily accommodate a table with leaf extensions for dinner parties and family celebrations.
The sunroom has long windows that wrap around two walls for tranquil views of both the water and surrounding woods. This would be the spot for retreating at the end of the workday with your favorite beverage to relax before dinner. The interior wall of the room has built-in millwork ready for family photos, books or collectibles. Between the millwork, French doors are aligned with the dining room’s French doors that lead to the front porch.
The kitchen layout works very well, given the window placement and the side French door to the adjacent screened porch makes it easy to serve meals. The white cabinets reflect the sunlight and the upper cabinets extend to the underside of the ceiling. The cabinets and the white appliances create a uniform look with the stainless steel refrigerator/freezer as an accent. The tile flooring is low maintenance and the gray laminate countertops could easily be changed to suit one’s taste in materials. The cabinetry wall is pulled back from the front wall’s two windows so sunlight can fully penetrate the space and this also creates a hall to the dining room. Off the kitchen is a powder room and a combination laundry/mudroom/utility room with storage.
Between the kitchen and the dining room are the stairs to the upper floor. The primary suite is located at the top of the stairs over the kitchen wing and has windows on three sides for views of the water and woods. I would be tempted to remove the doors to the shallow corner closets and install shelves for display since there is a full size large closet on the other side of the stairs. The primary bath has a window overlooking the front porch roof and the linen closet is cleverly positioned over the lower run of the stairs below. The hall wraps around the corner of the center wing and leads to a large bath shared by the two other bedrooms that are located over the living room. The angled wall at the rear bedroom could be eliminated and the closet for the front bedroom could be relocated to maximize both rooms’ furniture arrangements.
If I were lucky to be a guest, I would claim the detached one bedroom guest house for an extended stay. The living/dining-mini- kitchen space has a pitched ceiling with long windows on its three exterior walls and a circular window below the ceiling. Light streams into the space and is reflected off the light walls onto the Mexican tile floor. The bath has both a clawfoot tub and a shower and the beadboard wainscot continues around one corner as cladding for the lavatory cabinet. The spacious bedroom spans the depth of the house. French doors lead from the entry hall to the terrace under the pergola and to the pool. All the pergola needs is climbing flowering vines up the columns and on top of the pergola for a respite from the sun.
Peace and privacy on a fifteen acre estate with approximately 1100 feet of shoreline on Leadenham Creek, mature landscaping including the large hydrangea and the lilac bushes at each end of the house, older features with upgrades, plenty of lawn and woods for children and pets to explore, screened porch, pool, and pier for launching your boat for an afternoon on the water, then back to the picnic table under the grapevine-covered pergola for a crab feast. Pick fruit from the mature blueberry bushes, pear trees or the small grape orchard for breakfast. By the time you drive down the long gravel drive shaded by the Sycamore trees, you are ready to relax in your tranquil oasis that is a perfect weekend get-away or full time residence.
For more information, contact Tracy Higgs Wagner with Meredith Fine Properties at 410-745-8060 (o), 410-310-5581 (c) or [email protected] .For more our photographs and pricing visit, www.meredithfineproperties.com ,“Equal Housing Opportunity.”
Photography by Janelle Stroop, 410-310-6838, [email protected].
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.
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