Design with Jenn Martella: Oxford Victorian, circa 1875

I always look forward to visiting Oxford and I arrived via the ferry. After treating myself to ice cream at the Scottish Highland Creamery, I was ready for my tour.  Walking along the Town’s brick sidewalk, I soon crossed a street to this corner property. I admired the charming white picket fence that surrounded the front yard and the hardscape mix of the brick sidewalk and a gravel path lined with random sized stones leading to the side yard. The balanced mix of grass and mulched beds with plantings with nary a weed in sight created a welcoming vista.

The two-bay house has a full hipped roofed porch with intricately detailed columns and delicate fretwork springing from the sides of each column and spaced along the eave. I admired the large main floor windows and the double windows at the second floor with darker blue shutters than the blue of the original front door. Before I explored the interiors, I “took the one less traveled by” and strolled down the gravel path to study the other elevations to understand the massing. 

 

I discovered that the house had doubled in length from its original two room wide, three rooms deep layout when it became a B&B. One side entrance leads to a hall with a half bath, laundry and utility room and the other entrance leads to an apartment above the two-car garage at the rear of the house. The mature deciduous and crape myrtle trees provide shade and privacy. 

 

The rear addition to the house is a different style than the original part of the house. The one-story section between the two-story sections of the house allowed the second floor rear windows of the original house to remain. Having a two-car garage is a significant bonus in the heart of Oxford’s Historic District. Part of the side yard is a terrace and a fenced playground for children and pets at play.

The cozy terrace has privacy from the landscaping along the side of the property and the upholstered outdoor furnishings offer a quiet spot to linger over lunch or to relax and unwind with cocktails before dinner.  

 

The listing agent greeted me at the front door and I loved the long vista through the house with daylight from the long window at the side of the foyer. Bead board blue wainscoting wraps around the adjacent living room’s wide chimney, resulting in a wide ledge at the end of the foyer; the ledge no doubt was a great place to display brochures for the former B&B guests. I admired the original stair with winders to reach the second floor and the contrast in the white risers and the stained wood treads accentuated the stair’s curvaceous shape. The beautiful period chandelier was a perfect nod to the house’s Victorian past.  

As the B&B guests once did, I went first to the office area behind the foyer. The blue beadboard wainscot flowed into this room that was the check-in room for B&B guests. Now it is a charming space for a home office with bespoke millwork for display of family photographs, books, memorabilia, etc. The antique table under the window has ample room for both a monitor and printer and the sheers over the wide window offers privacy and filtered sunlight.

I went back to the foyer and into the living room with both front and side wide and long windows that rise to the underside of the ceiling to bring in abundant daylight. The fireplace is the focal point of the room and the comfortable upholstered furnishings would encourage one to relax and enjoy an evening by the fire. As an avid reader, I noted the lamps spaced around the room for reading or ambient lighting at night.

I paused by the wide wall opening between the living and dining rooms and I suggested to the Listing Agent that originally this deep opening would have had pocket doors. When I looked closely, I could see that years of painting had obscured the doors but edges were slightly visible. It would be wonderful to liberate the doors and to discover whether they were solid panels or French doors! Another wide wall opening frames the wide bay window at the side of the dining room. This spacious room would easily accommodate family holiday dinners.  

The spacious room that is connected to both the office and the kitchen has a beautiful breakfront and a round table for encouraging conversation over breakfast or informal meals. The bay window expands the space and offers diagonal views of the houses along the side street.  The easy care flooring flows into the kitchen.

Having worked at a B&B one summer, I imagine the long island enables the cook to arrange a breakfast buffet for guests and the butcher block surface is great for making pastry. The sink at the end of the island is equally convenient to both the range and R/F to save steps. The accents of the stained pine trim break up the white walls and ceiling. 

The side wall of the kitchen has an entry from the fenced area and a hall that leads to the powder room, laundry and utility room. Next to the exterior door to the brick terrace is a bench with storage below for wellies and gardening tools. 

The addition to the house added a main floor ensuite with bedroom located on the quiet side yard of the house. The gentle curvature of the wood rocker was identical to the one my mother used when she rocked me to sleep. This multi-use room could also allow a couple to “age in place” with its use first as a family room until a main floor primary suite is desired.  

This ensuite also has a small bedroom that is perfect for guests with babies or toddlers. It was created by enclosing part of one side of the two-car garage; the space that is left easily accommodates bikes for exploring Oxford or going on the ferry, a golf cart, or sports equipment. 

The second floor layout has three ensuites at the front section of the house. The apartment over the garage is not connected to the house and is accessed by a its own side entrance. This charming ensuite would be a perfect primary bedroom. I admired the soft earth tones of the room that take their cues from the lovely rug over the beautiful pine floors. I usually don’t care for beds on a diagonal but here its placement works well between the windows at the corner of the room. 

The primary bath also has an adjacent cozy dressing room with two closets. The bath’s floral wallpaper and the light green tile walls enclose the bath’s compact and efficient space. 

Next to the primary ensuite is a guest bedroom overlooking the side and rear yards. The light blue color scheme creates a restful retreat. This bedroom has its own large bath across the hall. The third bedroom ensuite is located at the end of the hall. 

To reach the apartment over the garage, the Listing Agent led me outside to the exterior door at the side of the house that opened onto a stair to the second floor apartment. The dramatic interior architecture begins with the pitched ceiling and the deep dormer that extends from the exterior wall over the roof of the covered balcony.  The wing walls on either side of the dormer create niches for display or cascading plants. I was tempted to pull the shear window treatments away from the side pairs of tall windows for a full view of Town Creek that I glimpsed from the French doors but instead I walked outside for a panoramic view.

The view of Town Creek must be even more pleasing once the deciduous trees have lost their leaves. I stood and savored the clear vista unobstructed by the facades of other two-story buildings that might have been built along the street. 

The side walls of the great room have a row of windows that give the kitchen area at the back of the great room views and sunlight. Staining the woodwork and using stained trim at the ceiling changes accentuates the room’s interior architecture. The rear blue wall covers the stair down to the exterior entry and the other partial height wall covers the stair to the loft above. The loft space has a cozy bedroom space and through the wood handrail one sees the view through the dormer window. Behind the loft is a storage room.

The apartment also two spacious bedrooms and a shared bath. If I were a guest, I would hope to have this corner bedroom overlooking the private side yard instead of the street. The complimentary colors of the yellow walls and the blue window treatments create a soothing blank slate for one’s furnishings.

A sojourn in Oxford never disappoints and I once again I admired a circa 1875 home in the heart of the Historic District. This property’s  close proximity to Town Park, the ferry and the Scottish Highland Creamery has great appeal and the two-car garage with a rental apartment above with its own exterior entrance are rare bonuses. The meticulously kept grounds and outdoor rooms of the full front porch offers opportunities to interact with neighbors and the side terrace provides privacy for relaxing or al-fresco dining.  The main floor addition of a family room with a full bath allows the option of “aging in place” and having ensuite bedrooms for children and/or guests is another plus. Delightful property!

---

For more information about this property, contact Jane McCarthy at Benson and Mangold Real Estate, 410-822-1415 (o), 410-310-6692 (c) or [email protected] .For more photographs or pricing, visit  www.marylandseasternshorehomes.com , Equal Housing Opportunity.”

Photography by Janelle Stroop, Thru the Lens Photos, 410-310-6838, [email protected]. 

Contributor Jennifer Martella has pursued dual careers in architecture and real estate since she moved to the Eastern Shore in 2004. She has reestablished her architectural practice for residential and commercial projects and is a real estate agent for Meredith Fine Properties. She especially enjoys using her architectural expertise to help buyers envision how they could modify a potential property. Her Italian heritage led her to Piazza Italian Market, where she hosts wine tastings every Friday and Saturday afternoons