Touches that help build the whimsical atmosphere of this 75-acre property abound.
“There were a lot of great properties. This is the Eastern Shore, after all. But this one was perfect for us,” says the wife. “It had everything we were looking for—the waterfront, the forest, the open farmland, the vegetable and cutting garden, the pool, the tennis courts, and a great house. It even had things we didn’t know we were looking for until we found them, like the sheep and goats.”
The core of the 5,000-square-foot house was built in 1850. Two wings were added-one in the 1960s and the other in the 1980s. The house sits on 75 acres surrounded by woods, water, and pasture. The property also includes a guesthouse, a caretaker’s house, a pool house, a pump house, and a helicopter hanger that’s been converted into a hangout room for the kids.
The owners are professionals with two teenagers, who also have a home in Washington, DC, so the family didn’t have the time to devote to decorating. They turned to Jamie Merida, an interior designer and owner of Bountiful, a home furnishings shop in Easton, Maryland. The family decided that they would make no structural changes; their imprint would come entirely through the interior design.
Interior designer Jamie Merida captured the couple’s sense of humor in the vestibule, where he undercut the seriousness of the formal entrance with a playful wallpaper with images evocative of the shore, with seahorses and shells in bright oranges and blues.
Foyer Vestibule
They connected with Merida when the wife stopped into Bountiful to buy bedding. “I really loved everything I saw and knew I wanted to work with him,” she says. “Although I think I may have thrown him for a minute when I told him I really liked the style of furniture found at Pottery Barn.”
Merida laughs and says, “When she said that, I actually got what she meant. She wanted clean, comfortable, and classic furniture, nothing too formal and certainly nothing pretentious,” he notes. “I honored her vision and then threw in some fun pieces that I thought really reflected her spirit.”
The family wanted a country retreat where their teenagers would feel comfortable and where their two dogs could scamper about freely. “I have three dogs myself, so I completely understood their need for livability,” says Merida, who addressed it by using fabrics, like twill upholstery, that could hold up to wear.
The openness of the family room presented challenges for the owner. “I liked the flow, but had no idea how to pull it together,” she recalls. Merida set about carving the large space into three rooms within a room—the intimate area around the fireplace, a cluster of sofa and chairs where the family can gather, and the informal dining area overlooking the Choptank River. The color palette for the room was inspired by the persimmon and azul in the oriental carpet that the wife already had.
Merida had the brick wall and fireplace surround painted white. The brick shelf that once served as display space for the previous owner’s sculptures was transformed into additional seating when Merida added thick, comfy cushions and colorful throw pillows. “That’s something I would never have thought of,” says the owner. “And it’s become one of the focal points of the house.”
The kitchen offers broad water views. “Since my husband and I both like to cook, we spend a lot of time in here,” says the wife. “Since you can’t see land from the windows, it feels like you’re on a house boat.”Merida captured the couple’s sense of humor in the vestibule, where he undercut the seriousness of the formal entrance with a playful wallpaper with images evocative of the shore—seahorses and shells in bright oranges and blues. “The room announces that you’ve arrived at a waterfront property where you’re going to have some fun,” says Merida.
A bank of windows overlooking the water is the prime feature of the ground floor master suite. The walls are wallpapered with an eggshell blue background flocked with a lacy floral print. “I really struggled with the wallpaper. I wanted to make sure that it didn’t overpower the view,” the wife recalls. “But now it may be my favorite room.” Rather than competing with the water, the wallpaper complements it by emphasizing the color of the water, then yielding to the Choptank River, its cove, and the birdlife that keeps the trees in near perpetual motion.
Wallpaper was also used in the dining room, which lends a formality, yet intimacy, to the large space. The metal chandelier was found by the owner in an antique shop in Georgetown, Maryland, as was the oval dining room table. To soften the hardwood floors, Merida added a flecked sisal rug with a 4-inch border in a blue scroll pattern that echoes the blue and white toile chair covers in the summer porch. “When we [entertain] large groups, we throw open the french doors and have guests flow between the rooms,” explains the owner.
In the oldest part of the house, there’s a formal living room. The owners wanted to capture the feel of the Caribbean in this space, so Merida used rich upholstery, dark woods, and a tall potted palm. A Chinese gong inherited from the previous owners stands in for a traditional fireplace screen. A witty nod to the islands can be found on the antique side chair, which Merida covered in upholstery featuring perky palm trees. “I call this fabric hint ‘o palm,’ ” says the owner. “I just love how he took a formal chair and made it fun.”
The adjoining space is the music room, where the family often gathers after dinner. Relatives bring their guitars and the teenagers take to the electric piano. “I know our piano isn’t as beautiful as a Baby Grand, but I can tell you we really use this,” she notes.
Upstairs, a sunny guest suite has the feel of an English country inn. The distressed white bed is dressed in lemony bedding that first drew the owners to Merida. “This bedding was the inspiration for the entire room,” explains the wife. The walls are painted a creamy citrus and the upholstery on the sofa in the sitting room is bright and cheerful.
Throughout the house, the walls are punctuated by photographs taken by the owner of the flora and birds found on the Eastern Shore, along with pastoral oil paintings created by her mother. “This house doesn’t feel like ‘Debbie Decorator’,” says Merida. “This is a very personal statement about the family and how they live and who they are.”
The owner agrees. “The greatest thing is that as beautiful as it is outdoors, it’s now equally beautiful inside,” she says. “This was always a great house, but now we can call it home.”
Andrea Poe is a frequent contributor to ChesapeakeHome.
Contact:
Jamie Meridia (Bountiful):bountifuldecor.com or 410-819-8666
