Imagine sitting on a screened porch overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, enjoying the autumn breeze while watching the kids catching crabs off of the dock just below. This is just one of the breathtaking scenes that will be offered at our new Centreville Estate’s guest house.
We previously divulged some exciting details of the nearly-completed main house, but in this post, we will to focus on something a little smaller – the Guest House. This two-story, three-bedroom home may be subordinate in scale to the main house, but its unique design and warm interior finishes ensure a memorable visit for guests for years to come.
While the guest house shares some of the same features as the main house – Hardie Artisan® siding, Cushwa Brick porches, Bevolo exterior lanterns and Loewen windows – we took the opportunity to add a few different design elements. In lieu of white windows in white siding with white trim, the windows are instead charcoal, and the porch wraps around the entire house. Other notable exterior features include two decks that flank the upstairs bedrooms and incorporate Chippendale railings, and built-in benches with coat hooks on either side of the front doors.
Upon opening the Nantucket Blue front door, guests enter into a bright foyer with transoms above cased openings, and pegs on the horizontal nickel gap wall for coats and jackets. The flooring is one of the foyer’s most exciting features. Through Chesapeake Tile and Marble, we selected an exquisite gray brick floor in which a herringbone pattern is inlaid in a solider course perimeter with rotated detailing at the cased openings.
Beyond the cased opening, more gray brick leads guests to a beautiful open riser staircase built by Warren’s Wood Works in nearby Easton, MD. The white oak treads of the magnificent stairway are three inches thick and, with open risers, allow natural light to spill into the foyer.
The railings and balustrade reflect the home’s nautical surroundings. This simplistic handrail travels from the basement to the second floor where it dies into the wall with a Bunny Mellon-like curve. The balustrade includes polished chrome Hinckley boat cleats, which are centered on each of the treads. A dock line runs from the handrail to the tread, creating a boating-inspired cleat hitch at the tread. Lighted, built-in bookcases ensure the open space still feels cozy.
We ensure the guest house kitchen feels like a modern farmhouse with industrial and nautical influences by incorporating thoughtful details. The kitchen contains high-gloss, lacquered flush overlay cabinets by Lyndon Heath Cabinetry and under-counter appliances supplied by Appliance Distributors Unlimited (ADU), both of which give the kitchen a modern feel. White cabinets are accented by a thick wood countertop and open wood shelving supported by and steel brackets. The custom range hood by Range Craft and the seating island with custom zinc coated table further extend the industrial tone.
Upstairs, the master bedroom is designed to maximize the expansive water view, ensuring guests experience the vista both when entering the room and while resting in bed. However, the entrance to the bedroom is centered, just as the water view is. Our solution is a freestanding, six-foot tall wall that serves as the “bed wall”. Unfortunately, a solid nickel gap wall would block the view as guests enter the bedroom, so we designed “interior windows” that allow visitors to see clear through the wall to the water beyond.
What is the next structure we will cover from this breathtaking Eastern Shore property? In the future, we’ll feature the open air pool house with mahogany barrel ceiling, the timber-framed Barn, and the Carriage House.
Stay safe and be well.
Builder: GYC Group LTD
Written by Ashley Marshall, project manager at PCA
