A peninsula that points due south into the Chesapeake Bay has lured summer sojourners to Annapolis since the 1920s. Back in those pre-air-conditioning days, the scenic spot was a warm-weather resort boasting several dozen small cottages where DC and Baltimore residents converged to beat the heat. Over the years, the cottages disappeared as a new era of vacationers purchased lots and razed dated buildings to create their own getaways.

Among these were Jill Daschle and Richard Cuite, Washington-based financiers who built a spacious retreat for their family of four in 2010. Seven years later, they scooped up the lot next door to construct a guest house on site. Then in 2020, the last lot in the resort went up for sale—one that abutted their property. The couple added it to the mix, envisioning a new pool and a cabana there.

The journey to the three-acre compound they now enjoy—full-time since covid—was circuitous, due to critical area restrictions. Thankfully, architect Marta Hansen, who’d designed her own house a stone’s throw away, provided the roadmap the couple needed. “I’d been in Marta’s home. It’s all about being a part of the water and the environment, which is what I wanted to create for us,” Daschle recalls. “And Marta had a lot of experience working with the county on permitting.”

The couple hired Hansen to conceive the guest house and cabana. Having completed the owners’ previous residences, DC-based interior designers Jose Solis Betancourt and Paul Sherrill were also on board. And Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, who designed the main site, returned to tame and integrate the new parcels into a cohesive plan.

County regulations required each new structure to occupy the footprint of what stood before. Two cottages were razed to make way for the guest house and cabana, while a swimming pool replaced a third cottage.

The four-story, 3,450-square-foot guest house went up first. “We abstracted a traditional, gabled form with simple massing and minimal detailing,” Hansen says. “In the new building, wall-to-wall windows on the south face take in the coastal setting on three levels, with smaller windows on the east and west sides for privacy.” A main-floor deck and second-floor balcony provide al fresco options for lounging.

The 700-square-foot cabana mimics the guest house’s architecture and material palette. A bar at the far end hides pool storage and a luxe bathroom. Both buildings are clad in durable Boral siding and trim to withstand the estuary environment—and painted to match the main house. Horizontal ipe panels accent both structures and form all the decking.

The guest house encompasses an open-plan main level with a 
Poliform kitchen, plus dining and lounge areas. A basement contains storage and a full gym. Second and third floors feature a total of four ensuite bedrooms. “They are all more or less the same,” says Daschle, noting, “We were going for a boutique hotel feel.”

Solis Betancourt and Sherrill masterminded the interior architecture. “We worked with Marta and Jill, tweaking the kitchen layout and adding subtle details,” Sherrill recounts. The designers conceived a sculptural, floating wood stair that spans three floors; in lieu of railings, glass panels meet the ceiling for a cleaner look. Throughout the house, linear trays on the ceilings contain recessed lights, sprinklers and speakers, adding interest while keeping the expanses quiet and uncluttered.

The designers followed their client’s mandate on finishes and furniture. A modern aesthetic prevails, with clean-lined, low-slung furniture in quiet hues that send attention out to the scenery. “Jill wanted the interiors to relate to the main house, which is serene and comfortable,” says Solis Betancourt. Shiplap siding, gray-washed oak floors and a palette of blues and grays are among the repeated elements.

Landscape architects Kevin Campion and Meredith Forney Beach extended their plan for the main house to encompass the overgrown additional lots. “The clients wanted more privacy and the feel of an oasis,” Beach says. Working around a challenging 100-foot buffer, she and Campion collaborated with Hansen to position the pool, with its bluestone surround, conveniently between the main house and other structures. Shoreline plantings including grasses and hydrangea lean native, while Loblolly pine, swamp white oak and river birch punctuate the grassy yard.

A spring-fed wetland now thrives at the water’s edge—thanks to Daschle, who has labored for the whole community to eradicate invasive phragmites that would otherwise swallow it up. Such vision and effort have reaped rewards at her family’s welcoming retreat. “This place affords us the chance to have all the people we love in our life around us,” she enthuses. “We use it to bring people together.”

Architecture: Marta Hansen, AIA, Hansen Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. Interior Design: Jose Solis Betancourt, Paul Sherrill, Solis Betancourt & Sherrill, Washington, DC. Cabana Builder: Emory Construction LLC, Annapolis, Maryland. Landscape Architecture: Kevin Campion, PLA, ASLA; Meredith Forney Beach, PLA, ASLA, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Annapolis, Maryland. Landscape Installation: Olmo Bros. Construction & Landscaping, Annapolis, Maryland.