Whenever we spend any time on the Eastern Shore we like to imagine ourselves buying a second home where we could spend weekends lounging with friends by the water. Though our available money, schedule, work, and commitment to working on our current home puts a major wrench in the plans of beach home ownership, we like to daydream nonetheless. And lucky for our daydream, we happened on an open house that may be just about the perfect weekend cottage for us.

There are a few streets in downtown St Michaels that are more or less the epitome of an historic shipbuilding town. The streets are packed full of beautiful and nicely restored homes built 100-250 years ago.

Each is unique and not particularly grand, but they all have a quality of livability to them that makes them all very inviting.

The street our open house (see, it's already "our" house) was on is East Chestnut, which extends from the main street of Talbot and down a few blocks to the water of the marina inlet. As you can see, this street exudes character.

The home we toured is near the end of the street and is a very attractive white clapboard house with black shutters.

Known as the Aaron Dyott House (links to a Maryland Historical Trust writeup on the house if you're interested), it was constructed circa 1850 with additional improvements towards the end of the 19th century. There are plaques on the front of many of the homes in this area that indicate some aspects of each home's history.

This particular house has three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a nice backyard area, and a carriage house complete with guest cottage and potting shed. To say this house is pleasant is a bit of an understatement.

We had Lulu with us, which meant we switched off touring the house. This allowed me to sit on the front porch and take in the views.

From the porch you could actually see the marina inlet to the right...

...and several other very nice homes across the street.

The home had quite a few original and intact architectural details and has obviously been very well cared for over the years. Take a look at the intricate work in the wood above the edge of the porch.

The details continued inside, like with this Victorian doorbell mounted on the back of the front door. Probably added somewhat recently, but it's a period item that looks great and actually works.

The interior of the home is a bit of a tight and winding layout, but this is something I find particularly appealing about historic architecture.

The real estate photos are shot with a very wide angle lens that makes the house look fare more open than it actually is. While the home is rather large, the wide angle doesn't properly capture just how comfortable and cozy the home feels.

There is a front and back staircase, though neither are particularly large, and the first floor powder room is tucked neatly under the back stairs.

The kitchen is the largest room in the house and is quite functional. There's room for updates here and there, but the whole first floor is in great shape.

The front staircase takes you up to a small hallway with storage closets, and to the two front guest rooms in the home.

These two rooms are side by side and have great views out of the front windows as well as closet space, a rarity in older homes. Additionally, there's a nice full guest bathroom that is situated nearby these rooms.

The back portion of the second floor houses the master suite.

It's a nice layout that allows you to close the whole master suite off to the rest of the house and just access it via the back stairs.

One thing that's very nice about the master is the tiny balcony off the back that also has a few additional views of the water. Not too shabby.

Look at the great views this room also has of the very nicely maintained and relatively spacious backyard.

I can picture great summertime cookouts and parties back there!

One of the most interesting and unexpected features of this house is actually the carriage house that sits at the back of the property. That's the front of the carriage house in the photo of the backyard from the master. This building is currently setup to house a game room on the first floor...

...and a media/theater-ish room on the second floor.

The carriage house also has a wet bar and a bathroom in the main living area. I think you could reconfigure the floor plan to actually get a decent sized guest house with two living areas and a kitchen out of this building. Or perhaps it's the perfect size place for an upstairs guest area and a first floor wood shop and storage area since there isn't a basement in the house.

In addition to the living space, this carriage house also has a one car garage and a great potting shed type area with plumbing and a sink. I can imagine the vegetable garden we could grow here!

In all, this house is quite amazing. It's historic, has a great configuration, plenty of room for guests, and all of the amenities one would need to relax. Though it is very nice it is being solid "as-is," it has room for updates in the kitchens, bathrooms, and carriage house, and there are some major cracks in walls and other maintenance issues I can see that would easily keep the DIYers in us busy. And really, it's hard to beat a front porch where you can hang out and watch the boats drift by on a warm summer evening. I could get used to it.

And now for our game...

Would You Trade Buy it as a Vacation Home

Yep, a slight twist this week. Since St Michaels is about one and a half hours away without traffic, we obviously can't just trade outright, so we're taking a different approach. Not really worrying about if we can afford it or not (because we never pay attention to price in our game), we're asking the question "could you see yourself buying this home as your vacation home?" It's a fun hypothetical, sort of like our "what would you do if you won the lottery" type of question.

Alex: Sold, done, it's mine! I love this house. The age of the home is great and original details are exactly what I love in a house. There's plenty of room for us and guests, lots of thoughtful updates, and the house seems to be in good shape overall. However, there's lots of room for changes, more modern and higher end updates while retaining the history, and tons of weekend project potential. Though I'm certainly looking to relax at the weekend cottage, I'd still like to have some projects to do that involve more than applying sunscreen. The only concern I might have is that it is still within the city and pretty close to neighbors, so it isn't a super private getaway place, but I'm not sure that really bothers me. And since we're not in the internal emotional struggle of giving up our home over this home, this is an easy yes for me. Now I need to go find a metal detector and start searching the beaches for buried treasure to pay for this home. Anyone have a good treasure map the could lend me?

Wendy: Even though I wish the home had a bit more privacy as well as fronted the water, I would definitely buy this home as a weekend/summer getaway. The location is great (it doesn't get more charming than St Michaels after all), I love the age and style of the home, and the yard and carriage house is so luxurious. As Alex said, this property seems to have just the right amount of projects that we could dig into, without feeling like we couldn't relax and enjoy the home. I'm already itching to start taking down some of that dated wallpaper. 

What do you think? Would this house fit your bill for a nice vacation home. Do you think you could relax and enjoy yourself in a place like this, or would you be interested in more open area, more privacy, and more beach? Obviously it all come's with a price, but hey, this game is all about forgetting about the price of the house.

If you'd like to see additional details, they are available on the home's full listing page.

Interested in reading about other interesting homes for sale? Want to offer your take on "would you trade"? Check out the Open Housing section of Old Town Home.

Photo Credits: Benson & Mangold Real Estate and listing agent, Sharon Woodruff where MRIS is noted.

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It definitely feels like summer here in Old Town Alexandria. The temperatures have topped 90 degrees the last several days and the humidity is already wreaking havoc on my hair. Thanks to a generous offer from a friend, we hightailed it out of town to spend a night in her home on Tilghman Island, approximately a 90 mile drive away on the Chesapeake Bay (but only 40 miles as the crow flies). 

Saturday and Sunday were absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining, there was a slight breeze, and the heat seemed more bearable near the water. We also made the wonderful discovery that Lulu can swim! Although timid at first, she soon got into the action trying to eat waves, dunking her head under, and even doing a little doggie paddle to get out to where I was standing in the water. As a competitive swimmer and former lifeguard, I was a proud mom to say the least. Here I am, coaxing her into the water for the first time.

She also reveled in her time off leash (no city traffic here to be weary of) and spent time exploring the tall grasses and running along the rocks.

We spent Saturday evening relaxing over a home cooked meal with a bottle of sparkling wine brought back from our trip to the Napa Valley earlier this month.  

On our way back to Alexandria yesterday, we stopped for lunch in Saint Michael's, Maryland. This charming waterside town is a great destination for a day trip if you're ever in the area. 

Its quaint shops and restaurants make for a wonderful day of exploration, and in true Old Town Home fashion, we even hit up a couple local open houses. Our favorite was this 1850s Victorian, complete with water views and a darling carriage house. (For anyone interested in seeing the full tour, stay tuned, we have an Open Housing post planned later this week.)

But now that we're back home, we're back to work. Alex made a quick trip out to the local home improvement store last night to pick up a few essentials. 

I'll be replenishing our basil supply, thanks to the greedy and reckless back yard squirrels, as well as replanting the space in our organic square foot garden where our pathetic cantaloupe once held on for dear life. (Sadly he lost his battle several weeks ago.) Alex, on the other hand, will be spending a good portion of the day insulating the attic space above our master bathroom. 

Summer already feels like it's in full swing. All we need to do today is to fit in a little hammock time and I'd say it was one heck of a Memorial Day weekend. 

Does it feel like summer yet in your city? What are your plans to celebrate the season, both indoors and out? Any good DIY projects planned? We hope we're not alone in our excitement for all the good things to come. 

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If you're not familiar with the area, the Easten Shore of Maryland represents the collection of islands and land mass that sits beyond the east bank of the Chesapeake Bay. While Tilghman Island, Kent Island, St. Michaels, and other popular destinations on the Chesapeake side are rather close to Washington DC (only about 40 miles as the crow flies), the drive ends up about 90-100 miles because the only way over the bay is via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, a hulking 4.3 mile long and nearly 200 foot tall steel structure that can be a bit intimidating in bad weather. But this trip across the bridge is well worth it as it allows entrance to an area that operates at a slower pace with more pleasant personal interactions.

The particular island we stayed on, Tilghman Island, is about 30 miles beyond St. Michaels. This whole area is deeply rooted in the fishing, oyster, and crab industry, and Tilghman Island is still a small community largely made up of watermen (fisherman) with a small town attitude that feels a bit like you've stepped into a different era when you arrive.

On our trip we were fortunate to have a host who is quite familiar with the local hidden jewels and highlights that we absolutely needed to see while we were in town. We had a wonderful weekend (with a bit of drama when Wendy lost the diamond in her necklace, sadly it hasn't been found), but one stop in particular really stands out for me as a tremendous find and true highlight of the weekend.

As we ventured out on Saturday morning, our first stop of the day was at a small unassuming building in Wittman, Maryland that looked a bit like a barn. The name of the shop is McMartin & Beggins, and it has a large trunk of a tree laying on its side in front of the building. I had no idea what to expect as we entered, but I was told, "this stop is for Alex."

As soon as we walked through the showroom door, I knew this place was, in fact, for me. There was a handful of absolutely stunning pieces of beautifully finished and obviously carefully crafted wood furniture pieces situated around the perimeter of the room. But I'm not talking just any furniture outlet types of items, I'm talking about high quality and one of a kind pieces that looked like museum quality antiques.

From desks to dressers, and end tables to bed frames and cannopy posts, every piece was as nice as the last.

I later learned that this shop was the furniture builder responsible for the creation of the Maryland Governor's "Wye Oak Desk" from the 460 year old Maryland Wye Oak that fell in 2002. You can read more about the Wye Oak Desk here. 

One of the shop's owners, Jim McMartin, came out to introduce himself. We talked with him a little bit about his shop and learned about the furniture he makes and process he follows, and the fact that they do a significant amount of antique restoration as well. The whole time I was eyeing the amazing wood shop just beyond the dividing glass. I think he saw me staring and invited me back to take a look. To be completely honest, what I saw made me unbelievably envious. I wanted, then and there, to be his best friend.

This was a shop to rival all other shops. I've worked in a few nice shops, and have walked through a few others, but few could hold a candle to the functionality and usefullness of what is going in at McMartin & Beggins. It was broken into two primary sections, one for hand tools, prep, and assembly, and one for larger (and presumably more dirty) power tool driven jobs like planers, sanders, and saws. There was also a staining/finish area in a separte building to keep all of the dust and particles away, a necessity for fine furniture finishing.

Just look at this amazing collection of clamps in the assembly area. This alone is drool-worthy.

I spent several minutes wandering around and dreaming about having a wood shop that wasn't in a rather small 15' x 20' basement space with 7' ceilings. I also think most of my time in the shop was spent with my mouth hanging open.

The hand tools and assembly portion of the shop was beautifully organized and full of rough sawn lumber stacks just waiting to be turned into a desk, cabinets, a dresser, or anything else. 

This photo represents just one of the several stations full of great tools that help make what they do possible.

Right in the center of the shop were several pieces of crotch Chinese walnut (at least I think that's what he said, remember, I was too busy admiring the shop) from a tree a customer had taken down. These fine furniture makers were turning this beautiful wood into custom kitchen cabinets. To say this will be beautiful when complete is a pretty significant understatement. The figuring on the wood is spectacular and will look amazing once finished.

In addition to the wood that occupied the shop floor, a nearly complete desk project was waiting for its final drawer assembly in the adjacent portion of the shop. The desk was another custom order from a customer asking for a more delicate desk.

I talked with Jim some and shared some of my woodworking interests and projects that we had worked on. He was a great guy and obviously very knowledgeable about furniture building. I asked him a few questions about how they work with people to come up with designs. He pointed out a drawing on the wall of the shop and said that every project they do gets a scale drawing of the finished work. Take a look at how detailed the drawings are.

I told him how our napkin and scratch paper drawings are all we have to go on, but I can see how these detailed scale drawings might be slightly more effective.

I continued looking around at both the finished furniture pieces and the items they had set aside for future projects. Just look at this beautiful glass salvaged from a church, planned for a customer's front door.

This type of custom furniture and antique restoration shop is something I really wish was closer to Alexandria, and belonged to someone that I was very good friends with so I could drop by and use it frequently. I'd probably spend hours there every weekend working on whatever project needed a bit of craftsmanship. To say I was jealous of this shop doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg.

We wrapped up our visit with a bit more gushing about the shop and work they do, and with me saying something like "this place is amazing, do you mind of I talk about you on the Internet?" I'm such a nerd.

If you every find yourself in the St. Michaels area, take a little drive down the road toward Wittman and look for McMartin & Beggins. They're on the left side of the road and are absolutely worth a stop, if only to drool over the wood shop and finished projects. This is the sort of place you don't see every day, and it seems to be a place that puts quality of workmanship as their #1 priority. You'd be hard pressed to find a furniture maker anywhere that does a nicer job.

Have you every stopped by their shop on an Easten Shore trip? Or do you have a local fine woodworking shop that you absolutely love? They're a rare breed these days, so count yourself lucky if you do.

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