House of the Week: “Riversmeet”

“Riversmeet” is aptly named, for its site is in a class by itself where the Choptank and Tred Avon Rivers meet to flow into the Chesapeake Bay. The Contractor had raised the site which greatly expanded views of the water and the grounds were significantly enhanced by Landscape Designer Jan Kirsh. “Riversmeet” has privacy from its being one of only three houses on a single-loaded dead-end street across from a Marina. The Dutch Colonial style architecture evokes the Eastern Shore vernacular of barns. 

As I drove down the gravel drive lined with granite edging, I admired how Jan Kirsh’s selection of plantings complements the façade of the house in scale, color, and texture.  I also appreciated how the brick path to the front door meanders through the landscape as I admired the house’s Dutch Colonial gambrel roofs, its massing and texture from the brick exposed foundation, and the shake siding. 

Three gables rise in height across the façade which is beautifully detailed with trim boards and brackets that mark the point of the roof’s change in slope and another trim board that separates the first floor from the second floor. All the details including the front porch’s half-circle barrel vault that ends over the entry door’s half-circle transom, the oval accent window in the middle height gable wall, the single window shed dormer windows and the cupola create an exquisite façade.

It is not often that I find a house where every elevation has outstanding architectural character as this house does so well. The front elevation’s middle height gable form continues through the house to the rear elevation but the shorter height gable projection shifts to the right side with a beautifully detailed transom of tall double windows with arched tops flanked by shorter windows. Water views from the main floor spaces are maximized from the mix of four-unit windows, glass doors between long sidelights, and a triple window. On the second floor, two shed dormers with windows and doors break up the roof’s massing to offer bird’s eye views across the expanse of water.

The front door opens into the two-story foyer outlined by the edge of the gambrel roof shape. The high walls are broken up by the band of white paneled wainscoting that accentuates the warm color of the walls which reminded me of a sunset. The elegant furnishings of the round table on a circular rug, grandfather clock, soft lighting of the pendant fixture, and sconces create a welcoming space. Off the foyer is a short hall to the powder room, a small office, and the elevator.

I once had an architectural client who wanted a “wow” living room and this house’s living room is a “WOW”. I loved the detailing of the ceiling whose design was inspired by the bottom of a boat and how the exposed beams cast shadows onto the ceiling plane during the day. One spacious seating area is grouped around the fireplace. Another seating area is created by the rear wall projection with single windows on each side where one can fully appreciate the panoramic views of the two rivers, the Bay and the distant Western Shore. I wanted to linger but glimpses of the adjoining rooms beckoned further exploration.

Before I left this exquisite room, I paused to admire the wide, bow shaped balcony off the second floor hall that is a wall of the “bridge” overlooking both the foyer and living room. Columns at each end of the partial height wall between the living and room and the adjacent dining room maintain both the open plan layout and define the circulation through the spaces.

On the dining room side, the partial height wall contains both base cabinets for storage and open shelving for display. The dining room rear wall projects farther from the kitchen’s wall for panoramic water views and the glass doors lead to a brick terrace for al-fresco dining.
The water views from the kitchen’s triple window with its sill at the top of the counter makes clean-up a pleasure instead of a chore. Two side windows bring more sunlight into the kitchen’s “U” shape that wraps around a large island. The wood cabinets and beautiful wood floors create a great space for preparing family meals or for entertaining.
Behind the kitchen is the short wing containing the mud room, two-car garage and an exercise room with an exterior door leading to the landscaped area at the detached one-car garage.

On the other side of the living room is a door to the charming sunroom with a four-window unit and glass doors flanked by windows for water views. The wood slat ceiling, tile flooring and cushioned rattan furnishings create a cozy, informal look. The matchstick blinds are a great way to filter light into the room when the sun is too low for comfort. Steps lead from the doors to the pool area next to the “secret garden”.

The original owner of the property worked with an architect and West and Callahan Construction to create the house. The second and current owner collaborated with Jan Kirsh to create the landscape. Kirsh transplanted existing plants and then added layers of new landscape design that would provide seasonal explosions of color, scent, movement, drama and texture. The “secret garden” around the nautilus shell shaped pool has privacy from a mixed shrub border, including three summer blooming, flamboyant “smoke trees”.
Between the house and the detached garage, Kirsh added a stone tapestry walkway alongside custom built vegetable planter boxes. She also redesigned the existing functional hardscaping to add unusual one of a kind details. The result is a design that provides a springboard to catapult your eye from area to area, season to season.

Off the sunroom is the game room with its coffered ceiling created by stained wood beams above the wood floors. The offsets in plan add great interest with the side bay wall projection creating space for a single window at the rear for water views, a triple unit window overlooking the pool and “secret garden” and a large oval window framed by the bar cabinets. At the front of the house, another offset contains a triple window unit and a side window overlook the landscaping. Whether you are ensconced in the comfortable seating grouped around built-in millwork with a TV for watching games, or participating in games around the table, this is a space designed for relaxation.

From the second-floor balcony, one can fully appreciate the overlooks to both the foyer and living room below and the living room’s imaginative ceiling articulation. The rear wall of the living room below shows the landscape infilling the four-unit windows and the water infilling the transom above with a hint of the sky.

On the second floor, the stair landing separates two guest bedroom ensuites at one corner of the house from the primary suite at the opposite corner. In between the bedrooms is a short hall that passes the laundry room opposite the office. The office’s shed dormer with a double unit window creates alcoves on either side for a built-in workspace opposite a wall infilled with built-in shelving above base cabinets. French pocket doors slide out of sight if sound privacy is needed. I could easily imagine sitting at the built-in desk and swiveling the ergonomic chair around for views of the water when a break from computer work was needed.

The sumptuous corner primary suite spans the full depth of the house. The bedroom at the rear corner of the house has a tray ceiling formed by the gable roof that gives the room greater spatial volume. Instead of a sitting area around the TV armoire and the corner fireplace, a pair of glass doors with full sidelights opens onto a covered deck that is a cozy outdoor sitting room with spectacular bird’s eye views of the water. This is the perfect spot for morning coffee to start the day or for a nightcap before retiring for the might.

From the primary bedroom, a short hall between two large walk-in closets widens to become a dressing room with built-in millwork. French doors open onto the primary bath with dual lavatories and framed mirrors that infill the wall above the lavatory top opposite each other for fantastic infinite vistas. The tub is framed by a portal with an elliptical top detailed with side brackets, trim, and a paneled wainscot surrounding the tub. The shower compartment and toilet compartment opposite each other complete the symmetry of the space.

If I were lucky to be a guest, I would hope to be shown to this charming corner bedroom with its interior architecture shaped by the forms of the gambrel roof taking off from the spring line at the high knee walls. The blue and white color scheme of the rugs, walls, pillows, and the white quilted coverlet over the lovely wood bedframe creates a serene space bathed in sunlight.

How could one resist the view of the water from this terrace off the dining room? Of all the houses I have featured over the past seven and a half years, this twelve-mile view down the length of the Choptank River and across the Chesapeake Bay is simply mesmerizing! Installing the filter strip along the shoreline must have been a formidable challenge for Kirsh’s crew who had to contend with the wind and salt spray. 

Location, location, location is the mantra for waterfront properties and this outstanding property sets the bar very high for the site design enhanced by Jan Kirsh’s deft touches to the landscape, Dutch Colonial architecture from a gifted architect with multiple plan offsets that offer panoramic water views and stylish interiors that make this house a very special home. The property also includes a detached garage with a hobby room above and a 65-foot deeded boat slip with a floating dock adjacent to the driveway. I envy the lucky buyers who will be the next owners of this gem!

 

For details about this property, contact Rob Lacaze, SVP/Realtor with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty at 410-745-2596 (o), 410-310-7835 (c), or [email protected] , “Equal Housing Opportunity”.

Construction by West and Callahan, www.westandcallahan.com, (410) 822-3617
Landscape Design by Jan Kirsh, Jan Kirsh Studio, www.jankirshstudio.com, (410) 745-5252
Photography by Eve Fishell, Chesapeake Pro Photo LLC, 443-786-8025, www.chesapeakeprophoto.com, [email protected]