Annapolis Home Magazine March/April 2023

ANNAPOLIS HOME

IN BLOOM

DIVINE KITCHENS

LAID-BACK LUXURY RESTAURANT REVIEW

Vince Greene Architects David Burroughs Photography

WHOLE HOUSE RENOVATION & ADDITION ON THE SOUTH RIVER

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Two Kitchens and a Bath

A former church altar space, the addition of whimsical elements, and nautical decor redefined. Tour the spaces that three designers have transformed.

Maryland Avenue is one of Annapolis’ oldest and most beautiful streets, where commerce coexists with history.

An architect works closely with homeowners to design a home that combines West Coast-style luxury with Chesapeake flair.

“Divine

Jill Ockhardt Blaufuss.

28 History in Full Bloom on the Eastern Shore

With the help of ground-penetrating radar, a professional team recreated the magnificent 18th-century garden owned by Revolutionary War Colonel William Hemsley.

Photography by Pete Albert

Publishers

Kymberly B. Taylor

Robert E. Haywood

Editor

Kymberly B. Taylor

Creative Director

Ryan Gladhill

Senior Designer

Samantha Gladhill

Director of Advertising & Business Development

Elizabeth Davis

Account Executive, Advertising & Client Services

Marjorie Boyd

Office Manager

Amber Trainer

Photographers

Pete Albert

Jill Ockhardt Blaufuss

Steve Buchanan

Jennifer Huges

Robert Radifera

Writers

Christine Fillat

Dylan Roche

Walinda West

Copy Editor

Patricia Stainke

Annapolis Home is published bimonthly by Taylor Haywood Media, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without express written consent of the publishers. Publishers disclaim any and all responsibility for omissions and errors.

Publishers disclaim any and all responsibility for an advertiser’s products, services, or claims. The views expressed in this magazine are solely those of the writer. All rights reserved.

© 2023 by Taylor Haywood Media, LLC.

PUBLISHERS’ LETTER

As we try to make sense of our lives, flowers remind us that there is a universal rhythm and order to things. We must also pay attention to the soil from which our flowers spring, for it hides ancient pollen grains, soil sediments, and other data that can be analyzed to reconstruct not only the vegetation but the lifestyles of the past. Our article called History in Full Bloom on the Eastern Shore reveals how archeologists and landscape architects used ground-penetrating radar to discover the invisible geometries of several historic gardens built on top of each other, all in the same place.

The team chose to focus on a garden planted in 1784 that surrounded the grand Cloverfields Estate and Plantation. We are delighted to bring you this 18th-century garden and to make visible the invisible. We hope you enjoy not only reading about it but also strolling its lush parterres when the time is right and the weather permits.

The past exists on our pages, along with a very vibrant present. Read on to view contemporary and traditional homes, bathrooms, and kitchens that define our lifestyles. Note the various ways their spaces emphasize personal interactions and privacy and encourage gatherings in the context of architecture that represents new technologies and the fine design of the Chesapeake region.

Kymberly Taylor & Robert Haywood Publishers

kymberly@annapolishomemag.com | robert@annapolishomemag.com

For subscriptions, visit annapolishomemag.com

For operations, contact Robert Haywood at robert@annapolishomemag.com or call 443.942.3927.

For advertising inquiries, contact Elizabeth Davis at edavis@annapolishomemag.com or call 443.618.2201

For mailing, contact ahm@annapolishomemag.com

Robert’s Picks

Annapolis

Annapolis Film Festival

It’s been more than a decade since the Annapolis Film Festival reeled onto the local scene, drawing the attention of movie buffs from all over the country to our area. From March 23-26, you can enjoy more than 70 films, including shorts and features, panel discussions, Q&As, coffee talks, and more with filmmakers, directors, and industry experts—all at locations throughout Annapolis. Whether you’re a casual movie watcher or a distinguished critic, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see so much diverse and engaging work from independent filmmakers. For more information, go to annapolisfilmfestival.com.

Classic Theatre of Maryland presents Our Town

Find an escape from the hustle and bustle of modern society at Classic Theatre of Maryland as the company presents Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer-winning drama Our Town, a nostalgic and charming look at a small American village. The production runs April 7-30 with matinee and evening performances. For information, visit classictheatremaryland.org.

Historic Annapolis Maryland Day Celebration

It’s time to show your Maryland pride and learn about everything that makes the Old Line State so special. Historic Annapolis holds its annual Maryland Day Celebration the weekend of March 31-April 2, with a different set of interactive activities each day. For times and events, visit annapolis.org/events.

Metro D.C.

Washington National Opera presents Blue at the Kennedy Center

There’s still time to catch the D.C. premiere of the relevant and thought-provoking new opera, Blue, hailed by the Music Critics

Association of America as the “Best New Opera of 2020.” Running through March 25, the opera depicts the struggle of a family and an entire community when a Black teenager dies at the hands of a police officer. For information and tickets, visit kennedy-center.org.

Shakespeare Theatre Company presents King Lear

The Shakespeare Theatre Company tackles a heartbreaking and bleak tragedy about an aging monarch brought down by his conniving daughters who betray him in this provocative staging of Shakespeare’s King Lear, running February 24-April 8. For tickets and information, visit shakespearetheatre.org.

Eastern Shore

Mary Cassatt: Labor and Leisure Exhibit at Academy Arts Museum

See the many etchings, aquatints, and oils of the acclaimed American artist Mary Cassatt, best known for the way she depicted everyday moments in the lives of women. You’ll be able to admire Cassatt’s style as it evolved and the influences that characterized her work. For information, visit academyartmuseum.org/marycassattlaborandleisure.

Shemekia Copeland at the Avalon Theatre

Acclaimed blues and soul singer Shemekia Copeland—the winner of the 2021 Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and hailed by NPR Music as “one of the leading blues artists of our time”—takes the stage at the Avalon Theatre for a one-night engagement on April 8 at 8:00 pm. For information and tickets, visit avalontheatre.com.

Have an event you would like us to consider for Robert’s Picks? Send all the details to ahm@annapolishomemag.com

Robert Haywood is the author of Allan Kaprow and Claes Oldenburg: Art, Happenings, and Cultural Politics in the 1960s (Yale University Press). Thanks to Dylan Roche for his contributions to this column.

Scene from Blue, Kennedy Center (photo by Karli Cadel)

HISTORY IN ON THE EASTERN SHORE Full Bloom

By Kymberly Taylor

Photography by Pete Albert and Jennifer Hughes

The ambitious project had two parts. It began in 2017 with the meticulous restoration of the manor by Lynbrook of Annapolis and culminated with the restoration of its gardens, finished in 2020 by Kimmel Studio Architects.

Kimmel and his team chose periodspecific plants or similar hybrids to establish a sense of historical accuracy as well as beauty.

It’s 1784 on the Eastern Shore. A horse-drawn carriage rattles up to the front door of this two-story double-pile gentry house foregrounded by English/French-style formal gardens, resplendent in the spring sunshine. Greeting guests is the wealthy planter and statesman Col. William Hemsley (1736-1812), owner of his ancestral estate, Cloverfields.

The garden we see today is very similar to that 18th-century masterpiece. Almost miraculously, a professional team composed of Kimmel Studio Architects, Lynbrook of Annapolis, McHale Landscape Design, and the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation used ground-penetrating radar to discern its invisible geometry hidden by centuries of weeds. After mining archival material from the 17th and 18th centuries and analyzing archeological findings, they have recreated its formal design, providing not just a period garden with colonial specimen plantings but a glimpse of 18th-century life and values.

“It is an interpretive garden placed on top of what was there in 1784; beneath that is a garden from 1705,” notes Devin Kimmel, founder of Kimmel Studio Architects and lead member of the gardens’ restoration. The classical design is exact; the plantings are a spirited interpretation based on historical research. The mix includes 600 boxwoods, 85,000 bulbs, and 6,000 perennials, along with topiary fruit trees and medicinal flowers and herbs.

The gardens reflect the year 1784 because that is when the estate was at its finest, explains Kimmel. At this time, Col. Hemsley had 1500 acres, 85 slaves, indentured servants, 28 outbuildings, an ice house, and a mill that supplied neighbors with flour. According to the Maryland State Archives, one such neighbor was William Paca, who owned a neighboring plantation and residence at Wye Hall. During the Revolutionary War, Hemsley led the Queen Anne’s County Militia’s Twentieth Battalion in 1777 and provided the Continental Army with flour and other supplies. He later served in the Maryland Senate and in the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1783.

After declining a second term in the Maryland senate in 1784, Hemsley “refashioned his estate into the power-house that his position and fortune demanded,” according to historian Willie Graham of the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation. During the 1700s, the wealthiest colonial Americans copied European garden styles when establishing their own grand estates, explains Kimmel. “In Europe in the late 1700s, French and English gardens were mainly formal, though the English Landscape style was starting to emerge in England. But here, it’s wild in the country, so there was the notion of maintaining control over the landscape and control of nature.” Wild is not an overstatement; during the 1700s, just beyond the plantation, black bear, bobcat, and timber wolf roamed the unbroken canopy of old-growth forests filled with oak and hickory.

“In Europe in the late 1700s, French and English gardens were mainly formal, though the English Landscape garden was starting to emerge in England. But here, it was still wild in the country, so there was the notion of maintaining control over the landscape and control of nature.”

–Devin Kimmel

Some squares are outlined in rows of boxwood; other quadrants have boxwood placed at each corner, variations on the same design. Colonial hollies were shaped like sugar cones, duplicated here.

Restoring the Cloverfields mansion and gardens seems like a project specially created for Kimmel, who is both an architect and landscape architect. He integrates both disciplines during the design process. “I have a fascination with American architecture in general… and, being a landscape architect, I got into understanding the design of the parterres in the garden and axial relationships, how the architecture radiates out into the landscape and creates the parterres and the garden rooms,” he reflects. “The house has these long axes, and the garden is symmetrical, centered, and very formal. The terraces get lower as you get farther away from the house, and there were bowling greens on either side.”

He explains that a wealthy 18th-century family often used the gardens for active and passive entertainment. For this reason, they created a four-season garden composed of eight quadrants, six on one side of the home and two on the other. Each quadrant is planted with boxwoods and other evergreens to establish a basic structure, much like bones in a skeleton. The upright boxwoods and holly trees shaped like sugar cones give height to the garden, whereas the low hedges and perennials create patterns within each parterre. They are filled in with plants of the era, including primroses, bluebells, and larkspur, as well as English roses grown by William Farris in Annapolis in 1792, European plum trees planted by pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1629, and ‘Queen Victoria’ cardinal flowers, cultivated in European gardens and native to Maryland.

Everything in this garden, including the benches built by artisans, reflects 18th-century practices and materials. What is especially unique, says Kimmel, are the fruit trees that have been pleached or sculpted into fruit-bearing and blossoming topiaries that also provide

superb winter interest. Even the pathways have been re-created based on archeological findings, with gravel, crushed oyster shells, and materials from leftover bricks fired on-site during the restoration by Lynbrook of Annapolis. In the 18th century, enslaved African Americans and indentured servants would have hand-fired the bricks used to build and expand Cloverfields. “We mixed the materials and laid them down in such a way that the bricks would show through,” says Kimmel.

The steps on the property were sourced authentically and created from Purbeck and Portland limestone quarries and then shipped over from England. “Those stones were available then. We used what they would have used,” says Kimmel.

The evergreens and boxwoods are Kimmel’s favorite things. “I like the boxwoods… they give it a dynamic that is really crucial to creating the garden for me,” he reflects. Brian Hjemvik, landscape architect at Kimmel Studio Architects, appreciates the garden’s classical dimensions, “how the central line of the ellipse is a cross axis that ties the garden rooms together.” His favorite time is the spring. “I love the bulbs… the geometry of the garden and looseness of the borders planted with salvia.”

It was important to get it all right, reflects Hjemvik. “The garden had to live up to the same expectations as the house. It had to be responsibly designed and sustainable as a garden.” Bloom times, textures, colors, quantities, and spacing were all important factors.

Matt Rhoderick, a landscape architect with McHale Landscape Design, was responsible for converting verbal discussions and

The pathways are lined with fragrant sages from 1597: Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Blue,’ Salvia Nemorosa ‘Amethyst,’ Salvia x Sylvestris ‘Mainacht,’ and Salvia x Sylvestris ‘Snow Hill’.

drawings from Kimmel’s office into reality. He notes that out of the thousands of gardens his firm has installed over the past 42 years, for him, Cloverfields is the most ambitious and perhaps one of the most meaningful. “It was actually about preserving the history and preserving the past. I mean, that’s just something that is so incredible about this,” he reflects.

He shares that the garden’s flawless layout is the product of hundreds of hours of manual labor, team meetings, and something unexpected: plotting to acquire rare tulips from the Netherlands, which have exquisite layers and unusual petals. Because there is worldwide competition for certain cultivars, orders had to be placed the moment they went on sale.

Then there was the installation. “We measured the distance between every single bulb we put in the ground,” says Rhoderick, adding that it took about two weeks to plant over 50,000 bulbs, with 10 to 20 people tackling a single quadrant before moving on to the next. They worked feverishly “in the planting window” and had to finish before the ground froze. “Creating an 18th-century garden is especially demanding,” he notes. “Today, gardening is a little more natural and creative and flowing. To bring it to a more regimented formal space like this requires discipline. We’re essentially creating an indoor space outside when you take something to this amount of level of detail.”

Symmetrical gardens have a special way of calming the spirit, with flowers neatly contained, like old-fashioned handwriting in loose sentences. The blooms that effloresce before our eyes exude a dependable beauty despite turmoil happening in the very air around them. Cloverfields has had its share. In fact, history suggests that its first owners, Philemon and Mary Hemsley, were eccentric and feisty. Inventory records reveal they owned a horse named Murderer and, according to The Maryland House

of Delegates Assembly of 1715, the couple was charged with embezzling gunpowder, pistols, and muskets “delivered out of the publick store at Annapolis” in 1706.

Correspondence from Cloverfields’ archives point to happy occasions, such as Col. Hemsley’s daughter Polly’s marriage in 1782, and others of severe suffering: on his deathbed, Col. William Hemsley had violent seizures “which has reduced him to a deplorable state of imbecility and almost total deprivation of his intellect” says an 1812 letter by ‘Thomas Earle at Clover Field to William Tilghman in Philadelphia.’ After Col. Hemsley’s death in 1812, the estate was divided, and parcels gradually sold. Nature exerted its long-lost control, and the exquisite contours of the garden vanished. In the 1900s, the once-grand estate faded into a farmstead owned by the Callahan family.

Luckily, all that is in the past. On a sunny day on the Shore, the garden’s crisp lines seem etched into the world itself. The fragrance of ‘Hidcote’ lavender released by the sun drifts into our minds, communicating every garden’s true gift: hope. All that seems to be missing is the Colonel himself. In fact, he actually is there, buried in the family cemetery just beyond the tulips, surely resting in peace now that his gardens have been restored.

To learn how to tour Cloverfields home and gardens, visit the Cloverfields Preservation Foundation online at cloverfieldspreservationfoundation.org

ARCHITECT: Devin Kimmel, Kimmel Studio Architects, kimmelstudio.com, Annapolis, Maryland | BUILDER: Lynbrook of Annapolis, lynbrookofannapolis.com, Annapolis, Maryland

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LANDSCAPE: Matt Rhoderick, McHale Landscape Design, mchalelandscape.com, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

The upright boxwoods and holly trees give height to the garden, whereas the low hedges and perennials create patterns within each parterre.

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Tim Lee Photography

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Two Kitchens and a Bath •

by walinda west

divine Kitchen

When a couple bought an abandoned church in Detroit Lakes, MN, in 2021, they knew it would almost take an act of God to restore it. They turned to Divina Cloney of Annapolis-based Divina Lourdes Interior Design for help.

Cloney had worked with the couple on their home in Severna Park and a new build in Minnesota. For this project, however, they wanted to transform the church into a combination short-term rental and event space.

The challenge was to marry the two uses. The church already had things going for it like an arched window, a high roof pitch, and a scalloped ceiling that drew attention to the altar below it.

Cloney encouraged the couple to add a loft on the second floor and a stained-glass window, but they focused their attention on the old altar space which would become a kitchen. Locating the kitchen at the altar created a focal point from anywhere on the main level.

Along the back wall, the range hood was raised to interrupt a linear row of cabinets, and stacked cabinets with glass doors were added for visual interest. Originally positioned over the front door, the arched window was moved to the kitchen to draw the observer’s eyes upward.

An oversized island appears to be built into the altar—a clever illusion that serves as an homage to the building’s past life. The island is counter-height in the kitchen and bar-height in the lower main living area.

The neutral paint palette allows the blue cabinetry to take center stage. Milk glass pendants over the island were salvaged from the church.

The new space is a skillful blend of the past and present, Cloney said. “You can come to the bar and have a drink and then pray for forgiveness,” she jokes.

KITCHEN DESIGN: Divina Lourdes Interior Design, divinalourdesdesigns.com

Photography by Jill Ockhardt Blaufuss Photography

Whimsy

In Ellicott CIty

Kitchen designer Sarah Kahn Turner’s clients were clear about what they didn’t want in their new kitchen addition to their Ellicott City farmhouse. As for what the couple wanted, “They would know it when they saw it,” said the designer for Gilmer Kitchens. Undaunted by the challenge, Turner took her color and design cues from the couple’s family room which opens into the kitchen, a space that is a creative interplay between elegance and fun.

Turner, along with her clients, took a traditional approach to cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and appliances, all of which had to stand the test of time. But they decided to go all out on easily changeable pieces like chairs, stools, and lighting, which reflect the couple’s penchant for color and whimsy. “Our clients love pattern and color,” Turner said.

For the cabinetry, the couple chose a combination of open and closed shelving. The cabinetry, mostly Paldao Veneer, is a greyish-brown striated wood that resembles American black walnut. The couple chose classic countertops and a waterfall island large enough to comfortably seat six. Wolf Sub-Zero was the brand of choice for the appliances, including a six-burner Wolf range for the family who enjoys hosting.

The kitchen seating and lighting is where tradition yields to fun. Six colorful stools flank the island. Hanging above it are two Hubbardton Forge handcrafted pendant lights that are as much décor as a necessary fixture. Bright yellow chairs surround the nearby kitchen table.

With their two high school and college-age children in mind, the couple envisioned a kitchen fit for entertaining and fun. The project, which took a year to complete, is everything they wanted, Turner said. The new kitchen adds to other playful spaces in the home, including a pool and a basketball court. “This house is a place where everyone wants to be,” Turner said. “It’s a community house.”

KITCHEN DESIGN: Sarah Kahn Turner, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Ltd., gilmerkitchens.com | Photography by Robert Radifera | Styling by Charlotte Safavi

nautical reimagined on spa creek

In a city where nautical design is, in so many ways, the rule rather than the exception, Andrea Wheeler’s client, a high-powered DC political consultant, wanted no part of the traditional, literal interpretation of living in a coastal town. No boats. No navy blues. No anchors. No shells.

“If I had to give our client a color, he would be cinder gray,” Wheeler says of the client who moved from DC to Annapolis with his teenage daughter. “He is a bachelor with a city vibe.”

The previous owner had almost completed a top-to-bottom renovation of the 4-bedroom, 4-bath home on Spa Creek. Wheeler’s client immediately made it his own by giving the interior a sleek, moody feel with shades of gray.

After working with the previous homeowner, Wheeler, a designer with Design Solutions, Inc., and her contractor, Ryan Long of Aspect Contracting, Inc., were retained by the new owner, who wanted to put his own stamp on the home. Special attention was

paid to the main bathroom, which is mainly used by guests. “I don’t care what you do, but I want it to be a wow,” Wheeler says, quoting the homeowner.

Wheeler took this as permission to push design boundaries as she sourced elements for the 5' X 8' space: from a teak countertop and cabinetry to a custom Concretti sink and a Kasai Notte Koi tile in the shower. The custom waterproof wallpaper map of Annapolis applied to the bathroom ceiling was a standout in the design—and the wow the client was looking for. “The client gave us the freedom to create something different,” reflects Wheeler. His trust in her abilities has paid off. The result? A rare and striking design.

BATH DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrea Wheeler, Design Solutions, Inc., dsikitchens.com

Walinda West is a communications expert and writer who loves interior design in 50 shades of beige.

High Design

Stone

DÉCOR

Clockwise: ARTERIORS | Sydney Marble Lamp: $1,600, arteriorshome.com

GRANITE WALL | by In Home Stone inhomestone.com

JOHN-RICHARD COLLECTION | Calabria Marble-top coffee table: $5,400, johnrichard.com

NATIVE TRAILS | Avalon 62 NativeStone concrete bathtub: $8,990, can be purchased at WalterWorks Hardware, walterworkshardware.com

TILE | can be purchased at Compass Stone & Tile Studio, cst-studio.com

Welcome to 197 West Lake Drive, a rare opportunity to own a spectacular coastal waterfront property in one of Annapolis’ most popular neighborhoods. Just minutes from historic Annapolis, this inspired, contemporary light-filled 4BR/3BA home is located down a long, private drive on a 2-acre lot with 440 feet of sheltered water frontage. Features include sweeping views of Lake Ogleton, waterside saltwater pool, private pier with custom boathouse and lift, sustainable landscaping, gourmet kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, radiant heated flooring, new detached climate-controlled two-car garage with elective vehicle charger, and much more. Bay Ridge is a very active community with many amenities and opportunities to be social year-round. Great walkability and scenic routes for cycling. Rt. 50 and 97 provide direct access to Baltimore, BWI, Ft. Meade/NSA, Washington, DC, and the Eastern Shore. $4,250,000 | 197WestLake.com

DELBERT ADAMS CONSTRUCTION GROUP

In a complete exterior overhaul, Fichtner Home Exteriors transformed this rural retreat from a home stuck in the 1980s to a beautiful, modern farmhouse, including windows, roof, siding, and a new front entryway.

Before: The entryway lacked proportion and was stylistically at odds with the countryside setting.

After: The new front porch perfectly complements the home’s updated exterior and adds outdoor living space to enjoy the views.

Countryside Renovation

by fichtner home exteriors

What began as a simple roof replacement ended up as a complete exterior overhaul for the owners of this beautiful rural home in southern Maryland’s horse country. Fichtner Home Exteriors added gables to streamline the roofline and replaced dated aluminum siding with sleek James Hardie Board and Batten in Arctic White. Most importantly for the homeowner, Fichtner’s team removed tired brick siding from the entryway and fashioned a welcoming new front porch space, complete with fir ceiling boards. This space is now the homeowner’s favorite space to welcome guests and enjoy views of the rolling countryside.

fichtnerexteriors.com | 410.519.1900

BEFORE RENDERING

Engaging Elevation

by spire architecture

Previous owners of this aging Murray Hill gem had annexed the garage as living space and made other renovations that did not suit its current owners. Craig Martin and Kurt Shepard of SPIRE Architecture were called in to update the home for its current occupants. SPIRE reclaimed the garage, added living space above, and renovated the second floor of the main house to improve flow and increase living area. Importantly, the clients wanted more outside space to engage with neighbors. The SPIRE team cleverly added a generous front porch, an upstairs balcony off a bedroom, and reworked the exterior entry, all to increase curb appeal and encourage social engagement.

spirearch.com | 410.212.6790

A Cottage Refresh

by katie carlin interiors

This 100-year-old cottage exuded charm, but with only 900 sf of living space, it was impractical as a year-round home for KCI principal Katie Carlin and her young family. Undeterred, Carlin set out to redesign the layout to establish a more functional flow and consistent style throughout. A total “gut” to the existing house, Carlin took the house down to the studs. “The addition of a true master suite with an ensuite bathroom and two larger bedrooms provided the much-needed delineation between private versus public spaces.” The construction included digging out a walk out lower level to give this young family the guest bedroom, playroom, and additional home office space. Carlin’s favorite improvement? The “his and her home offices!” With two business owners, separate offices spaces were a must.

The interior finish and style selections maintains the charm of the original house which include marble countertops, custom designed cabinetry and millwork throughout, and classic trim profiles. Natural cedar shingles and a custom-built trellis graces the exterior to welcome family and guests. The appealing cupola is a nod to the coastal style which coincides with Chesapeake Bay living. With a house ready for a lifetime of family memories, Carlin says few can tell where the old stops and the new begins.

Architect: James Geretty, AIA

Builder: Carlin Brothers Construction

Exterior Photographer: Sarah Culver

Interior Photographer: Keyanna Bowen

Resurrecting a Masterpiece

by delbert adams construction group

Built in 1919, this home was an architectural masterpiece badly in need of updating. Its new owners chose Delbert Adams Construction Group to bring their Grande Dame into the modern era while respecting its original character. DACG transformed a dark eat-in dining nook and kitchen into an expansive, sun-drenched space with all-new custom cabinetry, chef’s grade appliances, concealed refrigerator/freezers, double wine coolers, and loads of storage. DAGC’s team also fashioned period-informed doors, windows, and exterior brick to complete the cosmetic transformation. Hidden from view but just as important, they updated compromised substructures to stabilize the new construction and other areas of the home. This elevated space exudes modern elegance while saluting its historic character.

dacgllc.com | 410.583.7575

BY DYLAN ROCHE

Synergistic

LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS

Take a stroll

down the charming brick street of Maryland Avenue in downtown Annapolis, and you’ll find yourself immersed in a combination of local history and local commerce. Branching off from State Circle, with the Maryland State House looming in view, the picturesque avenue feels preserved from a time in the past, with many shops and structures maintaining their original architecture and aesthetic.

In fact, Maryland Avenue is the oldest commercial street in Maryland—and one of the oldest in the entire country. It’s home to an eclectic assortment of businesses, meaning shoppers can get a full experience all within one stretch of street, whether they want coffee, a unique gift, a bottle of wine, antiques, home décor, or even some beauty treatment. You can stop and enjoy a meal at Galway Bay Irish Restaurant, which was featured on the 13th season of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives in 2012, or you can view some of the work by established and emerging regional artists at the boutique gallery, Jo Fleming Contemporary Art.

Maryland Avenue is also the site of the historic HammondHarwood House, an 18th-century colonial structure that served as home to many famous Marylanders throughout the years and today serves as a museum preserving Annapolitan history.

The businesses of Maryland Avenue collaborate together as part of the Maryland Avenue and State Circle Association, an organization that puts on regular events, including the annual fall festival.

By Dylan Roche

There’s a reason Edgewater-based artist Dan Kuhne prefers landscapes to abstract paintings, even though he has done both throughout his art career. As he sees it, realistic subject matter gives him a lot more freedom of creativity. Abstraction has to be pinned down to something, he explains, but realistic subject matter is different. “It gives me the opportunity to weave in poetry and religion and man’s struggling and so on,” he says. “It’s not just about what you’re looking at. It’s so much more.”

Kuhne often visits Historic London Town & Gardens for the chance to draw and find inspiration. As he puts it, a photograph of a landscape would show nature as it simply is. But in his paintings, he likes to tell stories, give humanlike qualities to the trees and other plants, and create a sort of visual poetry. “If I’m doing a tree, I’m not just painting what it looks like; I try to show it dancing and how it moves,” he says. “I sometimes make it anthropomorphic.”

His upcoming exhibit at Jo Fleming Contemporary Art, which opens March 5 and runs through April 30, will showcase an assortment of his many landscape pieces, so art enthusiasts can see firsthand what he means with this philosophy.

The recipient of a prestigious Annie Award for Visual Arts Achievement in 2022 by the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, Kuhne sees painting as a type of synesthesia—an intermingling of the arts. Even though paintings are visual and two-dimensional, he believes they should give a sense of movement, dancing, poetry, and storytelling.

Find more information on Kuhne’s upcoming exhibit at joflemingcontemporaryart.com.

View from the State House dome of Maryland Avenue with the Naval Academy and Severn River in the background, circa late 19th century. Photo courtesy of Maryland State Archives.

LAID-BACK

Luxury

BY DYLAN ROCHE PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE BUCHANAN

Combining West Coast-style luxury with Chesapeake flair, the home of Anna and Steve Kutchman goes against expectations in many ways—and that’s exactly why the architecture and design work so well. With four floors and lots of open space, it feels much bigger on the inside than its footprint would suggest, and its California vibes work well against the sweeping view of the South River, where many of the waterfront homes have a more traditional style.

“We knew we wanted modern but not cold. We wanted something that was modern but warm,” Anna Kutchman says. “But we had no idea what that exactly would look like. We were just so interested in something that was young and fun and different and reflected how we live.”

The team creating the home—including architect Cathy Purple Cherry, builder Tony DeSimone, and interior designer Polly Offutt—understood the Kutchmans’ vision and knew exactly how to bring it to life. Still, there were other challenges to consider, namely the sloping hill and the site constraints, which made it an “incredibly difficult piece of property,” according to Cherry.

“The hills defined what we could do in terms of maximizing floor area,” Cherry says. “That informs the shape of the architecture, and then your job as an architect is to beautifully embellish it and actually make it feel fantastic.” Specifically, the slope meant the house would be rectangular with a footprint of approximately 35 feet by 70 feet.

The Kutchman house feels modern while still being warm and inviting.

The main living area boasts a sweeping view of the South River.

But with four floors, the home boasts more than 5,700 square feet of living space. The front door opens into the lowest level, where floating stairs lead from the foyer into the main living space on the second floor. “We felt very strongly about placing the staircase on the corner because of the large-scale glass and its ability to stream natural light through the rest of the house. That was important to us,” Cherry explains.

Up the floating stairs—a combination of steel fabricated by Bay Metals and wooden treads by Beers Flooring—are the open kitchen, dining, and living areas overlooking the pool deck, the yard, and, of course, the river. It’s a place that lends itself to relaxed living and endless entertaining. A butler pantry sits off the kitchen, along with a bar and a serving window, making it easy to pass drinks and other refreshments from inside to the pool without anyone having to come in through the house. Outside, along the side of the pool deck, a wall of greenery installed by McHale Landscape Design provides privacy, “as if you’re transported to another world,” says senior landscape architect Matt Rhoderick.

The interior design makes use of minimal color and lots of neutral tones to achieve a calming effect while still creating plenty of interest. “It’s nice and peaceful, but there are still striking things like the concrete fireplace,” Offutt says. “And the built-ins and cabinets in the kitchen, butler’s pantry, and living room are all black, so they pop out.”

The flat roof provides space for a relaxing deck.

The reclaimed wood dining room table adds interest to the interior design. As in the kitchen, window trim is dark with white and neutral furnishings, creating a calm unity between the two spaces.

Built-in cabinetry in the kitchen and the window trim is dark, creating a striking contrast with white walls. The spacious kitchen is a favorite gathering place for the Kutchmans and their guests.

Offutt’s biggest considerations when designing the interior were the open layout and the sightlines between different spaces, ensuring that everything from the light fixtures to the furniture flowed and looked good together, even if they weren’t directly in the same space. “It takes more forethought designing a big open space than with something that has more closed spaces,” Offutt explains.

Another space where the water view is maximized is the primary suite on the third floor, where both the bedroom and bathroom look out over the river. With its all-glass shower and double showerheads, hotel lighting, and electric shades that lower and rise with the touch of a button, the primary suite bathroom is the height of luxury—and the room Offutt describes as her favorite. “I like the way it came together with the centered glass-sided shower, the natural stone mixed in with porcelain tiles, and gold brass fixtures that pop out,” Offutt says.

Then there’s the rooftop deck. Although the Kutchmans and Cherry briefly discussed having a gabled roof, they knew this house would be flat on top to accommodate a walk-out deck off the fourth floor. Because the Brazilian hardwood decking lays in easy-to-dissemble pieces, any roof replacement that needs to be done in 20 years or further in the future can be easily accomplished.

And for any out-of-towners visiting for an extended stay, the property has a guest house just a few steps away from the front door. “It feels like the main house, but even softer and cozier,” Anna Kutchman says. “I wanted it light and fresh.” With many of the same materials as the main house, including the same hardwood floors, but on a smaller scale, the guest house feels like a cottage on the beach—and like the main house, it even has the water view.

Although Anna and Steve agree that the process presented its fair share of challenges, it was ultimately worth it to have the home built for the life they like to live. It’s a place where, as they like to put it, you can arrive on a Friday and not have to go anywhere until Monday. It’s a home built for fun and sharing memories with friends and family.

ARCHITECT: Cathy Purple Cherry, Purple Cherry Architects, purplecherry.com, Annapolis, Maryland | BUILDER: Anthony DeSimone, DeSimone Construction, desimoneconst.com, West Deptford, New Jersey, Assistant: Charles Dagenhart | INTERIOR DESIGNER: Polly Offutt, Birdie & Bean Interiors | LANDSCAPE: Matt Rhoderick, McHale Landscape Design, mchalelandscape.com, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Dylan Roche is a journalist and fiction writer who also works in theater.

Floating stairs connect the home’s four floors of living space.

A guest house is strategically placed near the main home’s front door, ensuring a comfortable space for guests.

AIA CHESAPEAKE BAY AWARD WINNERS

HONOR—Residential Renovation/Addition

Bayberry Nursery Farmhouse

Architect: Hansen Architects

Builder: Hansen Contracting, Marta Hansen

The addition to this 1940s farmhouse, which sits on 1.5 acres of land, connects the main living house to two other existing structures on the property: a retail office turned architect’s studio and a four-car garage. The design abstracts some aspects of the design to give it a more modern appearance while using natural materials to add a sense of warmth.

MERIT—Residential New Construction

Ocean Sundial

Architect: Donald Lococo Architects

Builder: Shay Gallo Construction

This stunning oceanfront home features floor-toceiling glass on each of its three floors, which not only maximizes the view but also allows light to create shape within the architecture. To reduce the solar heat gain from all of the glass, the architecture uses fins along the windows. Notably, the wire-brushed Shou Sugi Ban fins create a wavy pattern that adds to the home’s coastal aesthetic.

HONOR—Residential Renovation/Addition

Miller Residence

Architect: The Drawing Board, Inc.

Builder: Lynbrook of Annapolis, Inc.

For this renovation of a two-story home on the South River, the team removed all the traditional vestiges that previously characterized the home to make it as sleek as possible. In the process, they completely demolished the first-floor interior and the existing roof to create something completely new and recladded the exterior for a fresh appearance.

HONOR—Residential New Construction

Perkins Homes Redevelopment

Architect: Hord Coplan Macht

Builder: Commercial Construction

This redevelopment project encompasses 12 blocks in downtown Baltimore where low-rise affordable apartment buildings sit alongside townhomes and market-rate apartments, retail space, and a public park. Although the architecture resembles the style of the original 1940s Perkins Homes for shipyard workers, each of these homes has its own unique design for greater visual appeal, better energy efficiency, and good overall construction value.

Get the Look

Family heirlooms, a spouse’s favorite decorative piece, found objects from travels, or even existing style elements in a home don’t have to disrupt your design scheme. When blending old and new, remember that statement pieces should be incorporated strategically while ensuring the overall aesthetic is classic and designed for longevity. Start with a neutral palate and build your layers with colors, textures, and symmetry in shapes and patterns.

Intentional blending occurs room by room, but also throughout the entire home, to ensure consistency of design throughout. Each room can have its signature “moment” but blended together in a cohesive way. It’s like puzzle pieces that, when put together, make a beautiful picture.

In this living room, a reclaimed wood mantle and textured shades echo the client’s existing coffee table and TV console. A “found”

By Kathy Shaffer

apple picking ladder holds cozy throws while giving a nod to the high ceilings, tall windows, and the strong vertical lines of the brick fireplace, itself updated with fresh white paint. In other examples, new white club chairs with crisp navy and white cushions update a client’s blue loveseat, while new tabletop accessories and two upholstered cube ottomans make a brass hall table more contemporary.

Kathy Shaffer, interior designer and founder of Embark Designs, is a full-service interior design firm located in Annapolis, MD.

REALTORS POWERHOUSE

Our special Powerhouse Realtors section offers profiles of leading agents so that you can more easily find the best agent for you!

Erica Baker

Georgie Berkinshaw

Reid Buckley

Connie Cadwell

Laura Carney

Kara Chaffin Donofrio

Jennifer Chino

Joanna Dalton

Michele Deckman

Liz Dooner

Betsy Dunigan

Travis Gray

Sarah Greenlee Morse

Brad Kappel

Malina Koerschner

David Orso

Ashley Stanwick

Snyder | Bradshaw Group

The Tower Team

LIGHTHOUSES OF THE CHESAPEAKE CONTEST

As an Annapolis Home reader, you have advanced notice. On March 29th, we will post the three lighthouses in these pages on the Annapolis Home Instagram page. The first person to identify all three lighthouses correctly will win lunch for two at Bread and Butter in Eastport. Follow Annapolis Home on Instagram at @AnnapolisHomeMagazine

LIGHTHOUSE #1

THE CHESAPEAKE REGION’S HIGHEST SALES end

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY

1. 31 Eastern Avenue, Annapolis: $6,250,000

4 beds | 5.5 baths | 5,000 sf

4 level waterfront home in Eastport with a pool

Listing & Selling Agent: Day Weitzman, Coldwell Banker Realty

2. 1541 Cedar Lane Farm, Annapolis: $5,500,000

6 beds | 9 baths | 14,000 sf

14 acre waterfront estate on Whitehall Creek with a pool

Listing & Selling Agent: Patrick Cummings, Douglas Realty

3. 3240 Harness Creek Road, Annapolis: $5,300,000

1 beds | 1 bath | 1,600 sf

13.51 acre lot on Harness Creek with (uninhabitable) home dating from 1690

Listing Agent: Brad Kappel, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Buyer’s Agent: David Orso, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty

of 2022

QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY

1. 2800 Bennett Point Road, Queenstown: $3,875,000

5 beds | 4.5 baths | 7,000 sf

Contemporary home with pool on 17.98 acres along Greenwood Creek

Listing Agent: Brad Kappel, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Buyer’s Agent: Courtney Chipouras, Benson & Mangold Real Estate

2. 309 Blue Jay Road, Stevensville: $3,495,000

9 beds | 8 baths | 10,000 sf

2.78 acres on Love Point with views of the Bay Bridge with pool

Listing Agent: Timur Edib, Sabri Realty

Buyer’s Agent: Larry Doyle, Long & Foster

3. 1011 Penny Drive, Stevensville: $2,500,000

4 beds | 6 baths | 4,500 sf

Situated on Eastern Bay with pool

Listing Agent: DeeDee McCracken, Coldwell Banker Realty

Selling Agent: Kevin McCracken, Coldwell Banker Realty

TALBOT COUNTY

1. 10295 Sherwood Manor Drive, St. Michaels: $3,295,000

6 beds | 5.5 baths | 5,000 sf

8.93 acres on Eastern Bay with a pool

Listing Agent: Laura Carney, TTR Sotheby's International Realty

Buyer’s Agent: Edward Cartwright, Benson & Mangold Real Estate

2. 26631 North Point Road, Easton: $2,950,000

4 beds | 4.5 baths | 5,800 sf

2 acres on the Tred Avon River with a pool

Listing Agent: Laura Carney, TTR Sotheby's International Realty

Buyer’s Agent: Barb Watkins, Benson & Mangold Real Estate

3. 201 North Morris Road, Oxford: $2,475,000

6 beds | 4 baths | 2,800 sf

0.71 acres on the Tred Avon River with a pool and guest house

Listing Agent: Breese Dickinson, Breese M Dickinson Real Estate

Buyer’s Agent: Carolyn Schafer, Long & Foster

31 Eastern Avenue, Annapolis Day Weitzman, Coldwell Banker Realty

2800 Bennett Point Road, Queenstown Brad Kappel, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

10295 Sherwood Manor Drive, St. Michaels Laura Carney, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

You Deserve The Best.

If real estate agents charge about the same fee then why wouldn’t you hire the absolute best to represent you? Similar fee with different client outcomes doesn’t seem fair. The market has shifted and the stakes have been raised which make it paramount to hire the professional you deserve; the very best in their field. David Orso is celebrating his 20th year in real estate which has led to a curated system for maximum client outcomes for both sellers and buyers. Since 2013, David Orso has been the #1 agent in Anne Arundel County for total real estate sales. This unprecedented accomplishment is wholly due to his CEO level marketing and negotiation skills combined with his deep commitment to superior client outcomes. When asked his secret to year over year elite performance he stated, “When my clients win; I win. Always in that order.” This new market requires more than glamour shots and a couple good years during the real estate boom. Now is the time to evaluate your potential real estate representation closely and dig deep into their experience in challenging markets.

You deserve the best... so hire the best.

5 Boone Trail, Severna Park SOLD – $4,950,000

202 Norwood Road, Annapolis SOLD – $4,500,000

1003 Grand Flora Court, Severna Park SOLD – $1,425,000 Buyer Represented

407 Yantz Drive, Severna Park SOLD – $1,850,000 Buyer Represented

1317 Upper Patuxent Ridge, Odenton SOLD – $1,011,315 Buyer Represented

2701 Willow Hill Road, Annapolis SOLD $7,750,000 – Buyer Represented

3240 Harness Creek Road, Annapolis SOLD $5,300,000 – Buyer Represented

1 Ridge Road, Severna Park SOLD – $2,100,000

128 St. Andrews Road, Severna Park SOLD – $1,200,000

203 Marlbrook Road, Severna Park SOLD – $2,650,000

3707 Birkdale Circle, Davidsonville SOLD – $1,375,000

WARDOUR ON THE SEVERN

Classic Annapolis, mint condition, waterfront home built in 1948 sits on over an acre along the Severn River in the sought after community of Wardour. Entertaining spaces include waterside pool, outdoor kitchen and dining, private pier with 3 deep water slips, and 85 feet of water frontage. This coastal waterfront home offers 5 bedrooms and 6.5 baths including a redesigned owner’s suite, kitchen with fireplace and adjacent family room, formal dining and living rooms, walkout lower level with a 2nd family room, bedroom, full bath, wine cellar for over 2500 bottles and Swedish sauna. The Amish built two-car garage has a spacious private studio/office above with full bath and balcony overlooking the pool and the Severn River. Offered at $5,998,000 (MDAA2053320)

Associate Broker

Connie has a wholehearted passion for helping families find homes. Consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 Agents for Coldwell Banker Realty, Connie is a luxury real estate specialist with extensive knowledge of the Annapolis real estate market. From her many listings including Bay Ridge cottages, Spa Creek/Eastport condos and majestic estates on the South River/ Chesapeake Bay, the residences in her portfolio span all price points…her priority is finding her clients a place they can truly call home.

Exclusive Summit at Copper Ridge | Stunning Estate Home | 6 Bedrooms | 8000 sq ft | 2 Home Offices | Movie Theater | 5 Car Garage

Under Reid Buckley’s leadership, the Mr. Waterfront Team of Long and Foster Real Estate excels at providing a collaborative, client-first approach. Our winning combination of home preparation, staging, and digital outreach, supported by print and personal connection, means sellers get the highest price for their asset, while buyers rely on us for our extensive waterfront knowledge.

Sophisticated waterfront buyers and sellers have long known that information is power. In this incredibly fast-paced market, it’s critical to get time-sensitive data to leverage your negotiating position. Both buyers and sellers benefit from years of negotiations — totaling more than $1.3 billion — in Anne Arundel and Queen Anne Counties. The Mr. Waterfront Team has helped more people LIVE the waterfront dream than any other agent in Maryland.

Betsy Dunigan

CREATIVE. COMPASSIONATE. COMMITTED.

Betsy has been selling the Annapolis lifestyle for over 20 years. Her love of coastal real estate and keen eye for details provides a wealth of knowledge for her clients. It is Betsy’s approach that sets her apart, building life-long relationships with her clients so she can guide them in buying their dream home. Betsy’s understanding of her clients’ desires allows her to help them navigate through any challenges and make their dreams a reality. Along with an extensive knowledge of the current market, Betsy brings with her a team of experts including stagers, contractors, and craftsmen. Whether you are buying or selling, Betsy makes it happen!

You Need More Than Just An Agent

ANNAPOLIS, MD 21409

MULTIPLE OFFERS

SOLD FOR $2,000,000

The SBG Marketing Department curated a custom marketing plan that highlighted this home’s idyllic location on the Whitehall peninsula, leading to multiple offers and a successful sale.

GAMBRILLS, MD 21054

MULTIPLE OFFERS

UNDER CONTRACT IN 2 DAYS

SOLD FOR $965,000 - 107% OF LIST PRICE

The SBG Staging and Design team curated a staging plan that allowed this already stunning home to shine. It photographed beautifully and was met with great interest as soon as it hit the market.

SEVERNA PARK, MD 21146

MULTIPLE OFFERS

UNDER CONTRACT IN 3 DAYS

SOLD FOR $761,000 - 104% OF LIST PRICE

SBG implemented a complete complimentary Staging and Design installation in this vacant home. A true testament to the power of staging, the transformation resulted in multiple offers and minimal days on the market.

The Snyder | Bradshaw Group Difference Starts With Our Team

• In-house Staging & Design Team

• Personalized & Experienced Marketing Department

• Dedicated Operations Staff

• Five Licensed Agents

• Waterfront & Water-privileged Community Specialists

The Snyder | Bradshaw Group is led by two real estate veterans, Carol Snyder and Tina Bradshaw, who partnered to create an unmatched real estate experience. They have curated a team of professionals to support their clients through this changing market. A real estate transaction is a far more comprehensive process than it once was, and having the right support can make all the difference for a successful outcome.

1039 WHITEHALL COVE ROAD

2324 PATUXENT RIVER ROAD

8 WISLER COURT

10 CHESTON AVENUE SOLD for $997,000

Waterviews of Spa Creek, located in Murray Hill on a street that dead ends to water. Last original craftsman cottage on this quiet street, water access at the street end.

SOLD for $1,075,000

HERE’S WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT MALINA:

“We have bought and sold numerous homes over the years and Malina was hands down our best realtor ever! She was thorough and detail-oriented at every stage of the transaction. She stayed on top of our closing, despite issues from our lender. And she was fun to work with! We highly recommend Malina!”

“I can’t say enough positive things about working with Malina. She is professional, communicative, thoughtful, and makes buying a house a personal, fun, and insightful experience.”

“I feel so fortunate to have been able to work with Malina in both selling and buying a home. You will not find anyone more honest, engaged, knowledgeable, and patient. She was very proactive and responsive, which was especially important as we were buying during a seller’s market.”

MALINA KOERSCHNER

Mobile: 410.493.9059 | Office: 410.263.8686

Annapolis Church Circle Office

3 Church Circle, Annapolis, MD | malina.koerschner@cbmove.com

131 ARCHWOOD AVENUE

SOLD for $2,525,000

3302 HIDDEN RIVER VIEW

Stunning waterfront in Fishing Creek Farm • Represented Buyer

Laura Carney’s extensive knowledge of the Eastern Shore real estate market is second to none. As Senior Vice President of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and a native of Talbot County, Laura has witnessed the many changes and growth over the last several decades. Her insight and in-depth understanding of the area is critical in guiding both buyers and sellers.

Laura was recently ranked #5 in the Top 150 Real Producers, named the #1 agent in the Easton office of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, and sold over $40 million in 2022. Laura’s professionalism, unmatched ethical approach, and unwavering dedication to her clients’ success are what makes her one of the leading agents in Talbot County.

LIGHTHOUSE #3

Travis Gray

PERSONAL ATTENTION

“Travis was absolutely wonderful to work with. He went above and beyond in all aspects of listing and selling our home. Travis left no stone unturned in researching and understanding our property. He then launched a far-reaching and effective marketing campaign.”

– Seller, Eastern Shore Waterfront | Sold Price $5 Million US Dollars

For more about Travis & for more reviews...

BRINGING MY BEST TO ANNAPOLIS & THE DMV

For the past 18 years, Kara Chaffin Donofrio has lived and breathed real estate…and loves it! From leading several of Long & Foster’s most profitable offices, overseeing 200+ agents and managing over $2 Billion in sales volume, she has incredible knowledge of the market, the industry and how to best serve clients.

And now, with her own KCD team of professionals, Kara loves being home, back in Annapolis where she grew up. Bringing the best of both worlds together, all the knowledge and reach, Kara is back in force following her true passion, serving clients on a deeper level, one home at a time. Recognized locally and nationally as a real estate icon who cares deeply about results and customer care—Kara is committed to excellence and to helping her clients and community achieve freedom and connection through real estate.

KARA CHAFFIN DONOFRIO

LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE

OF

JENNIFER

SeniorVice

Team Leader, Jennifer Chino and Stahley Thompson

Homes is your premier choice for real estate in Annapolis. With only a select amount of properties available, I've honed my skills to find off market solutions that bring buyers and sellers together. The reward is fulfilling— creating an optimal experience for both sides without the hassle or stress normally associated with real estate transactions. I have over 17 years of experience selling residential real estate throughout the Chesapeake region. I understand how to leverage the power of local expertise with the reach of the iconic Sotheby’s brand. Let my passion for real estate deliver results for you.

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Straight Up on Dining Out

CONSIDER THE BRATWURST GARTEN

By Christine Fillat

Travel is important. As humans, we need to go to other cities, other towns, and other countries to see how other people live, to understand ourselves better, and to understand our place in the world. Sometimes we have mentioned that going to a restaurant is like traveling to another country, a vacation. This is what Garten in Severna Park attempts to offer.

A highly successful renovation of the previous Café Breton, Garten by Preserve is in a charming country cottage on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard. The exterior is painted with a mural of honey bees. Planting beds are in the garden where surely, vegetables will be planted this spring. The restaurant is bright and nicely furnished but tends to get a bit noisy at capacity. For the brave and adventurous this time of year, outdoor seating will be very popular when the weather warms up.

Here you will find a modern take on Northern European country-style cooking. The menu favors sausages and sauerkraut. A quick scan of the menu reveals such items as currywurst, soft pretzels, schnitzel, and sauerbraten. This may not be the sort of cuisine that comes to mind when considering a new, chic restaurant, but when trying anything new, it’s good to be open-minded.

Appetizers are a selection of somewhat heavy items. The pretzels are fresh and soft, in a torpedo shape, studded with bits of coarse salt, and served with mustard. The smoked salmon dip is quite good and flavorful.

The charcuterie board is all about flavor combinations: some meat, some pickle, with a dash of sauerkraut and mustard on a point of grilled bread. A winter salad is replete with ingredients that hit all the marks for a rewarding healthy dish consisting of beets, cheese, hazelnuts, blood orange, and greens.

Sandwiches favor sausages and burgers, but the Preserve Burger is unremarkable. The Jalapeño Business, with jalapeño-cheddar sausage, has the potential to be a good sandwich but isn’t spicy enough or cheesy enough to be truly great.

Platters and dishes signify selections that veer more toward hearty food. The chicken schnitzel is a hit: the chicken is nicely brined and breaded and served with a satisfyingly lemony frisée salad. The pot pie is piping hot and rich with chunks of chicken, potato, and corn. A pork shank is fall-off-the-bone tender, served with red cabbage and a coarse mustard glaze.

A sausage platter, key to the restaurant’s theme, is disappointing. Could the sausages be more distinct and flavorful? Or maybe it’s also due to the choices of sides that are all cured or sauced or vinegary and cheesy. The sauces could supply more oomph here. Beer-battered apple rings are sweet but not too sweet.

Garten takes wine very seriously. General Manager Chris Walker has a thing for organic and natural wine. The dining room walls are lined with beautiful shelves holding cases of natural and organic wines. The Domaine Benastra La Petite Sœur is full-bodied and fruit-forward without being too jammy. The Red Tail Ridge Good Karma Riesling is floral with a sweetness that aligns well with the savory dishes.

Then there are also beers on tap and in bottles. Try the Hefeweizen or the house Pilsner, Garten Picnic Pils. They also offer a selection of mocktails with evocative names like Green Bee and Marigold Daydream.

It is an amusing notion to go to a country restaurant on Baltimore and Annapolis Boulevard and be offered fare that one would expect to find on the outskirts of some town in Germany or Northern France. We applaud Garten for its imaginative offerings in Severna Park, where there is a need for better restaurants.

Christine Fillat lives on the Magothy River and is an aficionado of Chesapeake Bay living and cooking.

HOME AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GUIDE

ARCHITECTS

ABS Architects pg. 79

410.268.1213 | absarchitects.com

Hammond Wilson pg. 13

410.267.6041 | hammondwilson.com

SPIRE Architecture pgs. 54-55

410.212.6790 | spirearch.com

Three B Architecture pg. 19

443.791.6193 | threebarchitecture.com

CUSTOM BUILDERS

Bayview Builders pgs. 8-9

410.280.0303 | bayviewbuildersmd.com

Blackketter Craftsmen, Inc. pg. 111

410.923.3111 | blackcraft.com

Delbert Adams Construction Group, LLC pg. 57

410.583.7575| dacgllc.com

Fichtner Home Exteriors pgs. 52-53

410.519.1900 | fichtnerexteriors.com

Gate One Builders pg. 21

410.268.0778 | gateonebuilders.com

Lundberg Builders, Inc. pg. 37

410.643.3334 | lundbergbuilders.com

Lynbrook of Annapolis pg. 35

410.295.3313 | lynbrookofannapolis.com

Nugent Design Build pg. 49

301.261.9685 | nugentdesignbuild.com

Pyramid Builders pgs. 2-3

410.571.7707 | pyramid-builders.com

Winchester Construction pg. 17

410.987.5905 | winchesterinc.com

Younger Construction pg. 78

410.626.8602 | youngerconstruction.com

DESIGN PROFESSIONALS

Erica’s Events & Décor pg. 111

301.404.7625 |ericaseventsanddecor.com

Farnady Interiors pg. 18

443.822.3248 | farnadyinteriors.com

Fitzsimmons Design Associates, Inc. pg. 39

410.269.1965 | fitzsimmonsdesign.com

Interior Concepts, Inc. pg. 15 410.224.7366 or 301.970.8009 interiorconceptsinc.com

Kathy Shaffer, Embark Designs pg. 77 | 310.489.2578 embark-designs.com

Katie Carlin Interiors pg. 56 410.755.7022| katiecarlininteriors.com

Sew Beautiful pg. 22 410.544.3300 | sewbeautifulwindows.com

Simply Wesley Interior Design pg. 78 | 443.994.6757 | simplywesley.com

EXCLUSIVE KITCHEN OR BATH DESIGN

314 Design Studio pg. 75 410.643.4040 | 314designstudio.com

Kitchen Encounters pg. 12 410.263.4900 | kitchenencounters.biz

Maryland Shower Enclosures pg. 111 | 410.626.1222 marylandshower.com

Stuart Kitchens Back Cover 410.761.5700 | stuartkitchens.com

The Somerville Bath & Kitchen Store pg. 50 | 410.266.1122 thesomervillebathandkitchenstore.com

BEAUTY

ProMD Health pg. 70 410.449.2060 | promdhealth.com

HOME SERVICES

84 Lumber Kitchen & Bath Design Studio pgs. 6-7 410.757.4684 | 84designstudios.com

ADU, Your Appliance Source pg. 69 | 410.267.7110 | adu.com

Architectural Window Supply pg. 16 | 410.266.5254 | archwin.com

California Closets pg. 38 410.247.8088 | californiaclosets.com

Compass Stone & Tile Studio pg. 14 | 410.224.0700| cst-studio.com

Elite Hardwood Flooring pg. 23 | 410.280.1420

elitehardwoodflooring.com

In Home Stone Marble & Granite pg. 75 | 410.626.2025 | inhomestone.com

Quality Window & Door pg. 20 | 877.542.8481 qwdinc.com/annapolishomemag

TW Perry pgs. 10-11 443.808.1481 | twperry.com

WalterWorks Hardware pg. 76 410.263.9711 walterworkshardware.com

OUTDOOR LIVING

Bay Pile Driving pg. 74 410.879.3121 or 888.886.1213 baypiledriving.com

Campion Hruby Landscape

Architects Inside Back Cover 410.280.8850 | campionhruby.com

McHale Landscape Design Inside Front Cover + pg. 1 410.990.0894 | mchalelandscape.com

Walnut Hill Landscape Company pgs. 4-5 | 410.349.3105 or 410.690.0977 walnuthilllandscape.com

Walpole Outdoors pg. 109 866.757.6979 | walpoleoutdoors.com

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Church Circle Title & Escrow pg. 79 410.269.6488 | cctitle.net

The Frame Shoppe, Inc. pg. 111 410.721.9479 | theframeshoppeinc.com

Green & Bean Boutique pg. 111 greenbeanboutique.com

Jo Fleming Contemporary Art pg. 75 | 410.280.1847 | 703.989.9043 joflemingcontemporaryart.com

REAL ESTATE

Ashley Stanwick of Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices PenFed Realty pg. 104 c. 301.643.3350 | o. 4410.266.0600 ashley.stanwick@penfedrealty.com

Betsy Dunigan of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 96 443.994.1239 | bdunigan@ttrsir.com

Brad Kappel of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pgs. 82-83 m. 410.279.9476 | o. 410.280.5600 bradkappel.com

Coldwell Banker Realty, pgs. 58-59 Annapolis Church Circle | 410.263.8686 coldwellbankerhomes.com

Connie Cadwell of Coldwell Banker Realty pg. 94 | c. 410.693.1705 o. 410.263.8686 | conniecadwell.com

David Orso of Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices PenFed Realty pgs. 84-85 c. 443.691.0838 | o. 443.372.7171 davidorso.com

Day Weitzman of Coldwell Banker Realty pg. 48 m. 410.353.0721 | o. 410.263.8686 dayweitzman.com

Erica Baker of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 105 m. 410.919.7019 | o. 410.280.5600 ebaker@ttrsir.com

Georgie Berkinshaw & Jean Berkinshaw Dixon of Coldwell Banker Realty pgs. 88-89 gb. 443.994.4456 | jbd. 443.995.279 o. 410.263.8686 | gberkinshaw.com

Jennifer Chino of Stahley Thompson Homes, TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 107| m. 443.494.9091 o. 410.280.5600 stahleythompsonhomes.com

Joanna Dalton of Coldwell Banker Realty pgs. 86-87 c. 410.980.8443 | o. 410.263.8686 joanna.dalton@cbmove.com

Kara Chaffin Donofrio of Long & Foster Real Estate pg. 106 c. 703.795.7238 | o. 410.263.3400 kcdrealestate.com | kara@kcdrealestate.com

Laura Carney of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 101 m. 410.310.3307 | o. 410.673.3344 lauracarney.com

Liz Dooner of Coldwell Banker Realty pg. 100 c. 410.725.8973 | o. 410.263.8686 lizdooner.com

Malina Koerschner of Coldwell Banker Realty pg. 98 c. 410.493.9059 | o. 410.263.8686 malina.koerschner@cbmove.com

Michele Deckman of The Tower Team, TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 93 c.410.353.3703 | o. 410.280.5600 micheledeckman.com

Sarah Greenlee Morse of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 99 | m. 410.303.1522 o. 410.280.5600 | sarahgmorse.com

Reid Buckley’s Mr. Waterfront Team of Long & Foster Real Estate pg. 95 | 410.266.6880 waterfronthomes.org

Rosemont Real Estate pg. 49 703.628.1386 | rosemontrealestate.com

Snyder Bradshaw Group of Monument Sotheby’s International Realty pg. 97 | o. 443.906.3848 d. 410.216.0018 | snyderbradshaw.com

The Tower Team of TTR|Sotheby’s International Realty pgs. 90-91

Alex Tower Sears: 443.254.5661

Michele Deckman: 410.353.3703 Merrie Louise Raynolds: 516.993.5083 o. 410.280.5600 | thetowerteam.com

Travis Gray of Engel & Völkers pg. 103 c. 301.641.0809 | o. 443.292.6767 travisgray.evrealestate.com

SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY

Maddox Audio Video Design pg. 36 | maddoxav.com

Proprietors: Scott Blackketter - Gretchen Bandy View