Treading Lightly

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Featured Homes

THE PROJECT: A new home build for a couple that wanted a contemporary, minimalistic vibe, both inside and out, for their second home; their retreat from the hustle and bustle of life in the District. 

THE PLACE: Tranquil river views and great memories of excursions on Shore waterways were what endeared the couple to this location where they can take in the daily sights of the ferry running passengers from St. Michaels to Oxford—and vice versa.

EXECUTING THE PLAN: A successful and eye-opening online search lead the homeowners to Paquin Design Build’s advertisement of waterfront lots along the Tred Avon River. A five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath floorplan would be created comprising approximately 3,000 square-feet of living space. 

While someday this location may become a forever home for our feature homeowners, it is currently playing a starring role in their best of two worlds scenario with one home in the city and another located a breezy world away from their everyday obligations.

“We just came out here and we picked the lot. There were several lots available. I’m surprised we got this; that no one else picked this one,” explains the homeowner of he and his wife’s good fortune of following up on that ad and meeting the builder who was responsible for many of the homes there.

Building On What Has Worked

Although most builders have classic floorplans that they present to clients, in many cases those plans can represent a jumping off point with which to work—and that was the case in this particular build. 

“I took plans that I already created and modified them into this really modern looking home with flat roofs, that’s just very sleek and streamlined,” explains Brent Paquin, President of Paquin Design Build in Grasonville.

This structure was set apart from others within its smaller enclave of homes by incorporating an exterior presentation that combined best-practice materials with an innovative approach to applying them. Customary colors were then juxtaposed with the unconventional application of materials to create the vertical orientation of the exterior materials.

“I knew that a black and white [palette] was the direction they wanted to go in, so I made sure that we incorporated that framework around the garage and some of the dormer areas,” says Paquin adding that they used a more contemporary paneled look with traditional Hardie boards and then added channels of stainless steel to accent it.

“It’s one of those things where simpler is better with this design. Very straight lines, very modern,” says Paquin of the concept that is a departure from the prominent multi-pitch concepts that we are currently seeing.

Some Details They Will Never Miss

Simple and uncluttered would define the design from the inside, which started with standard approaches to a floorplan that were then tweaked with the couples’ interior designer, Kristine DeNinno of KD Art & Interiors of Silver Spring.

The homeowners are staunch proponents of working with an interiors expert and tapped DeNinno’s expertise once before for their primary residence in D.C.

Minimalism in itself can have different meanings depending on who you ask, and DeNinno already knew what her clients’ take on the style meant to them.

“They love this kind of contemporary, minimal modern style with bold colors,” DeNinno says. “This is how they like to live. It’s actually not typical of my clients. A lot of my clients are more traditional or transitional. For me this is really fun because they’re drawn to a different aesthetic.”

An open-plan kitchen, living, and dining room(s) that extends to include an outdoor living area, is a text-book example of that aesthetic and everything the couple didn’t want the space to convey.

An incredibly clean look in the kitchen was created with all flat-panel, push-to-open cabinetry that allowed for the absence of hardware altogether. The gorgeous Quartzite backsplash mirrors the countertop material for continuity of line, to which the couple altered standard practices with electrical outlets by choosing to hide them out of sight under the cabinetry. So, what is missing is intentional.

“It was something they had asked for to keep that whole space really clean and minimal. And it’s different than what they have in D.C. There, it’s still pretty contemporary, but they wanted even more of that here,” DeNinno says.

Some of Their Favorite Things

A particularly important discussion was had about the door that led to the first floor primary suite that is located along the main wall in the kitchen that connects with the dining area. 

Initially the discussion was to relocate the door to the primary wall in the dining area, which was quickly squashed when they determined that it would disrupt the aesthetic of that entire room which was integral to the couple who needed the space for entertaining. 

So, an outside-of-the-box idea was then suggested by the homeowner who found an interesting work-around online in the form of a Murphy door. Once relegated to the ultra excentric homeowner, these secret door concepts are now available to the masses who wish to add a greater sense of creativity, flexibility, and even intrigue to a room. 

Now, what just looks like a free-flowing extension of the kitchen cabinetry and shelving into the dining space is actually a door disguised as a bookshelf. The designer worked with the build team at Paquin to retrofit it and match the paneling on the Murphy door to the mimic the look of the kitchen cabinets. 

To finish the space, the couple chose a beachy-toned French oak hardwood floor with ever-so-subtle tones of blue throughout and then used signature lighting fixtures above the island and dining room table to create colorful points of interest. 

A favorite palette of orange and coral lends pops of color to the space and the design lightly leans into a bit of a maritime theme, as well.

Just off the dining room, explains the homeowner, is the water and pool-facing porch. 

“We’re generally out here, so breakfast out here in the morning, we sit on the couch here, sit by the pool, and then the views are great. So, the porch is by far my favorite feature of the house.”

The positioning of the house provides the most invigorating of sunrises, he adds, and in the evening the moon does a show of its own. 

“One of the things that surprised us, is when there’s a full moon, it’s literally right in front of us. So, seeing the moon is really nice on the full moon nights. And then we have probably one of the best spots for the fireworks in Oxford, literally right in front of us, as well.”

Well, if that doesn’t sound like the best seat in the house, we don’t know what is.