Year Built: 1991
Sold For: $799,000
List Price: $849,000
Last Sold/Price: N/A
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Living Space: 1,898 square feet
Lot Size: 3.63 acres
Days on Market: 111 days
A musical composition is a collection of many notes, cleverly placed, that together creates a beautiful symphony. Such is the case with this property. Features like rough-hewn wooden plank ceilings, polished wide plank wood floors, windows carefully placed to capture natural light throughout the day, steep eaves and deep-set windows in the upstairs bedrooms, and a unique layout are just a few examples of the simple yet thoughtful details that together have resulted in a home that is truly remarkable. This home sold in only three months—111 days—on the market.
When the sellers purchased the 3.63-acre lot in 1970, they were avid sailors in no rush to develop the property. Over time, they worked with a local contractor to create a three-bedroom home with a separate two-car garage, fitness room, sizeable two-story workshop, and in-law suite. “The local builder was from a small company that focused on just one project at a time. The home was built with excellent craftsmanship,” says Cornelia Heckenbach, the seller’s agent. The homeowners were directly involved in every decision made in conceptualizing and designing even the smallest details of the house. The design/build partnership between the owners and the builders resulted in a layout that is entirely bespoke and utterly unique.
The front entry leads directly to a large sitting room with a fireplace on one end and a wood stove on the other. This room is large enough to accommodate ample seating near the fire and a dining area near the stove. It is a relaxing retreat that with numerous windows, crown molding, and wall mounted sconces. Wood planks are set diagonally into the ceiling. They play well off the rough-hewn wood support beams that cross the downstairs living areas horizontally. The use of wood on the ceiling, beams, and floors invokes a sense of being close to nature, to the outdoors and certainly to the water. The home has waterfront access to Leadenham Creek. The buyers plan to maximize views to the creek by building a wall of windows on the waterfront side of the house.
The kitchen is accessible directly off the sitting room. The kitchen cabinetry is custom-built with an unusual caning on the front panels; the countertops are edged with matching wood trim. Appliances are all black. The floor is square tile set in a simple and traditional pattern. Although the kitchen is not large, it feels like an extension of the home’s Nordic sensibility: tidy, natural, and hospitable. Two chairs set at a small desk inset between cabinets provides a dining or working area with a spectacular view through the mature deciduous trees. Even in the autumn—perhaps especially in the autumn, when leaves are blown from the trees—the light is especially bright and the view of the woodlands and water is remarkable.
Beyond the kitchen is a first-floor laundry with direct access to a patio and the downstairs full bath. A sitting room with a large closet offers a quiet place to rest or converse separate from the main living room and kitchen. A guest bedroom connects to this sitting room. Upstairs there are two bedrooms: the master and a guest room. These rooms are defined by the steep pitch of the roof and deep-set windows that not only let in natural light but also feel like lofty, private aeries.
The new owners were initially looking for investment properties on the Eastern Shore but fell in love with this home after viewing it online. “We started looking at properties for investment, but when I invited my clients to St. Michaels for the weekend, they fell in love with the town and started to consider purchasing a property for their own weekend getaway,” says Meggie Carpenter of Grace Ryan Homes. “My client found this property online and met me at the house knowing he wanted it.”
This home offers the new owners acres of woodland privacy, ample space for guests and the opportunity to entertain at home or in town over dinner and drinks. “This property offered the best of both worlds to my clients, who enjoy festivals, cocktails, and an awesome dinner as much as they do privacy and a true escape.”
