Second Chance for a First-Class Home Plan

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In life we are always told to trust our instincts. The owners of this month’s feature residence fortunately took that particular piece of advice to heart when they realized the plans they initially had drawn up for their dream waterfront home were somehow off the mark, uninspiring, and not in sync with the wish list they had envisioned. 

“They had me look at their [original] plans…and those plans just didn’t reflect what they were telling me they wanted,” says Jonathan Rivera, owner of East Coast-based Jonathan Rivera Architecture. “So, we had a meeting; we kind of reset. I interviewed them and asked them a ton of questions, and then I came up with a plan that was entirely different—because the previous plans, the previous design, it had a garage facing the best view on the property, and so we were going to change all that.”

Changing all that would not be easy, however, but Rivera felt the lot with its nearly 300-degree views of the waterfront had exceptional potential with a properly engineered and well executed design.

“My biggest concern was that the property had major setback issues from the water and a little bit of wetlands, but the buildable area was a very odd-shaped area,” Rivera explains. “And so, my concern immediately was knowing what they had planned and what they wanted to do and how was I going to make this work inside of a buildable footprint? That was the driving factor…we were going back and forth trying to make something work inside of a very difficult footprint.”

The first order of business, Rivera explains, was making sure that the four-car garage that they requested was placed in a spot that was the least advantageous in relation to the views, which would enable the rest of the plan to focus on view maximization.

“It was all about the sunrise and the sunset and trying to get the views as soon as you walk in the house to the water, as well,” Rivera says. The owner wished to retain the open-plan concept that her former home had, with views to the east and the west. The plan he ultimately devised gave the family sunrise and sunset vistas from the kitchen.

It also checked the boxes for a guest suite with a separate entrance over the garage, two home offices, four bedrooms in the main section of the residence, a huge, first floor gym, and a massive open-plan kitchen and great room with an incredible soaring ceiling. 

THE PROJECT: Taking a less-than-optimal, whole-home design back to the drawing board, so a 7,800-square-foot, five-bedroom residence could be constructed with a new concept that would utilize every square inch of possible space to its best advantage and hit the mark for fine design.

EXECUTING THE PLAN: A serendipitous trip the owners would make to the home of a friend on Kent Island prior to securing a builder, would provide an eye-opening experience as to what ultimate home design could look like. Newly motivated, the couple queried their friends to find out who their architect was. 

THE PLACE: This family, a professional couple and their teenage daughter chose a three-acre waterfront lot located on a picturesque peninsula in St. Michaels. The site made for a very challenging build and design due to its exacting 100-foot buffer at the back and on both sides of the property. 

Notes from the Builder

Once the enhanced coastal farmhouse plan was perfected, the couple interviewed a short-list of potential builders and ultimately chose Mueller Homes of Annapolis. 

“Jonathan had suggested us as a builder and introduced us to the homeowners. They ended up choosing us just as a result of our process, our transparency, and our team,” says P.J. Mueller, President of Mueller Homes in Annapolis.

 “They liked on the front end how we estimated and went through everything with them in detail—and that we’ve also worked with Jonathan on several other projects. So, it was pretty cohesive from that aspect, as well.”

Up there with the most important aspects associated with the construction of any home, is its curb appeal, and Mueller says the location of this property in particular denoted bringing the highest level of attention to the exterior.

“The curb appeal obviously was very important from a material standpoint,” adds Mueller, who explained that his team employed a thin-cut natural stone sourced from Pennsylvania to complement the classic, Federal blue Hardie-plank shingle exterior. A solid collection of Anderson A-Series windows would provide its views and a wealth of natural light.  

Architecturally, the home’s profile is striking with its multiple-pitch roof line and the implementation of two, round towers that were employed in the design to enhance the views with a radius of windows in each one, while adding character to the entire expanded footprint. 

Inside the Dream

And what a footprint it is! Rivera provided the ultimate flow throughout the home starting with a glorious entry with sightlines leading straight from an expanded foyer back through a gleaming gallery space to a pretty back patio.

The entry foyer and gallery spill into the right side of the floorplan and into the kitchen and great room, respectively. This incredible space is the beating heart of the home with its stone fireplace wall and a dramatic, soaring ceiling enhanced with decorative trusses and two stories of windows that overlook the waterfront and the understated sophistication of the property’s pool and patio area. 

Again, Mueller says, the choice of materials was pivotal to the overall aesthetic.

“The materials were a huge, huge deal in the overall space because of the vast areas and keeping them very neutral. [The feel] is super light and airy with the trim details that you see with the shiplap and it being white. The trim is the same color as the walls, so you don’t get that variation of depth, but you do get that light and airiness [despite] all of the heavy trim, as a result of that color choice.”

The “heavy trim” being all the board and baton wall treatment that feels much smaller because of the color chosen. That airy feeling was replicated in the choice of floors, which are all white oak and carry through into the incredible kitchen. 

It is in this space where the observer can see how re-thinking that original design really paid off, as the water views are just as impressive from the kitchen as they are from the great room. An enormous two-level center island marries the two large spaces exquisitely with its positioning and its style. The flow continues past a large, eat-in area (this home was designed without a formal dining room, which Rivera remarks is a growing trend he is seeing throughout his client base) and out to the outdoor kitchen and patio area. 

Kitchen: Inside Dish

Mueller Home’s Design Concierge played a pivotal role in guiding the homeowners through the interior design selection process and kept the project on budget and on time. The Design Concierge also brought in Wesley Pehlke of Simply Wesley and Tracy Farasy of Plain2Pop for specific rooms and finishes. 

A refined beauty was created in the kitchen with a Glazzio-Decko Collection mosaic backsplash in Sweet Erte, countertops of 12mm Mediterraneo Stataurio Extra Polished porcelain with a mitered profile on all exposed edges, and a statement-making Talia Large Chandelier in Burnished Silver Leaf and Clear Swirled glass over the dining area. 

Once outside the kitchen, the observer will also notice one of several conveyances to the home’s second level, a custom, spiral staircase to the upper deck off the primary suite. A stellar spot for stargazing and fresh-air consumption, this area puts the cherry on the sundae of the homeowners’ private quarters, which is located in the larger of the two towers conceived in the design.

Much more than just a bedroom-in-the-round, the room offers that aforementioned radius of windows overlooking the water and is just one part of an entire wing of the home that includes a luxurious primary bath, two walk-in closets, and a separate sitting room.

One of the home’s signature elements is the gorgeous staircase that transports the family to and from all four bedrooms on the second floor. This element is indicative of the attention to detail and engineered design that exemplifies the entire home. 

“That is the only staircase to the second-floor bedrooms and primary suite,” Mueller explains. “That was again, important to the theme of the home, and a really special focal point. The ceiling’s got a beam detail that’s lower profile but mimics and almost correlates to the star light fixture in there. And the cable railing again, keeps the coastal [vibe] light and airy, and it just really complements and ties together the second floor to the first floor.”

Among this home’s additional first floor highlights are its second room-in-the-round that houses an impressive in-home gym overlooking the water and the wife’s to-die-for home office. This room faces the waterfront and was designed with a sliding glass (instead of wood) barn-style door that opens to the interior gallery—a next-level use of material for a now very popular interior feature. 

Clearly, from second thoughts to second chances, this project was all about what can happen when one steps back and takes time for a gut check and a second look.