Sold For: $1,295,000
List Price: $1,449,000
Last Sold/Price: 2016 $440,000
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Living Space: 2,716 square feet
Lot Size: 4.21 acres
Days on Market: 116 days
Situated on the shoreline of Solitude Cove just halfway between St. Michaels and Easton, this home embodies the most charming and practical aspects of Eastern Shore architecture and design. The property was deeded in the late 1600s and developed as a farm. Previous owners, more practical in their approach to architecture than modern designers, built a home that was solid but didn’t take advantage of water views, marshland frontage, or acres of privacy. In fact, for some time the home sat empty and dilapidated. In 2016, a couple purchased the land as a second residence, gutted the main house and put substantial investment into rehabilitating the entire property. Today, this beautiful home boasts a wide wall of windows along the back of the house, a peaceful view of Solitude Cove, a new in-ground granite pool, mature trees, extensive landscaping, and a large screened in porch.
Cornelia Hechenbach of Long and Foster was the listing agent. “This home is a new old home,” she says. “It’s a waterfront farmhouse with a completely modern and comfortable interior and every amenity a buyer could want to create a private haven.” In fact, privacy was a key consideration of the buyers, who purchased the home as a weekend and seasonal residence. Mature trees surround the house and line the waterfront. Besides providing shade on hot Chesapeake summer days, they also create a buffer of greenery that only adds to the sense of peacefulness that infuses the property. Ducks, herons, and other waterfowl have made the adjoining marshland home. The thought that nature is close at hand while the neighbors are just far enough away lends to the feeling that this property is indeed a retreat.
The buyers found a move-in ready home with a new roof, chimney, heating and air conditioning, appliances, select pieces of furniture, and home décor. The exterior landscaping features wide open lawns without the fuss of shrubbery. A straight walkway lined with two rows of pavers leads to a columned portico that shelters visitors. The front door opens to a charming foyer well-lit by natural light and several recessed high-hats. Most of the home is accessible via this welcoming foyer, which features entry to the kitchen, dining room, and first-floor guest bathroom. The interior conveys this same sense of openness and calm simplicity.
The beautiful kitchen has ample white cabinetry, granite countertops, high-end stainless-steel appliances, and stained wood flooring. Modern farmhouse-style lights highlight a bar that seats four. The kitchen opens to a stylish family room. From the comfort of a large sectional sofa, the pool and water can be seen through a set of French doors and full-length picture windows. The other side of the kitchen opens to a long dining room large enough to hold a dining set for eight and a small seating area in front of a brick fireplace. Sliding doors lead to another long room, this one a screened in porch. There is also a spacious breakfast room with space enough for a sofa and comfortable chair that look out to the water, and a table for four.
Upstairs, the elegant master bedroom includes hardwood floors and a charming brick fireplace—the perfect setting to relax and enjoy the views out two large windows. And the master bath features a double sink vanity, white cabinetry, and chrome accessories. The two guest bedrooms—both with ample closet space and hardwood floors—share a bathroom, also tidy in its use of Shaker-style white cabinetry and chrome accessories.
The new homeowners are not boaters but are anxious to access the water for crabbing and viewing the natural life that bounds there. This is their third home on the Eastern Shore and they are looking forward to exploring nearby Easton, St. Michaels, and Cambridge while enjoying the many amenities their new place offers. “This home presented the perfect solution for us. It isn’t a typical home, in that it was a farmhouse but wasn’t built in the farmhouse style. It’s not large, but it’s a new house on an old property, and its perfect for us,” they state. The couple has set to work personalizing their new home with antiques and art that reflect both the Eastern Shore and the historic nature of the property and surrounding area.
As the Buyer’s Agent, Biana Arentz of Coldwell Banker says this real estate transaction was a match made in heaven. “The property is beautiful, one of the most bucolic I’ve seen in the area. The buyers knew exactly what they wanted, and so did the sellers. The listing agent was wonderful, it really was the ideal thing.”
