After many years vacationing in various towns and cities along the Chesapeake Bay, a busy New Jersey-based couple decided it was finally time to purchase a waterfront home for themselves and their three teenage boys. While that decision was easy, their real estate search was not. “We loved the St. Michaels region and the many quaint towns,” the husband says of their desired location. “But everything we liked had an issue. When we saw this property in Royal Oak, it had a really nice westerly view. No other homes we saw had such great vistas.”

With the nine-acre property settled upon, the couple needed a team that could bring their vision of a casual family getaway and future retirement spot to life. “We wanted a place where people could put their feet up,” says the wife. “It also had to look nice
but be comfortable.”

The owners had purchased a set of architectural plans, but “they were not great in terms of flow, and we needed help with that,” the husband explains. Enter designer Laura Butler of Butler Interior Design and builder Robert Gearhart of Focus Construction. Having worked together many times over the years, the two had an ongoing professional relationship, making a perfect pairing. Solidago Landscapes was brought on to shape the grounds.

For the design team, the secluded location set along the banks of the Choptank River was the cherry on top of an already exciting project. “It’s one of my favorite sites we’ve worked on,” Butler says. “It’s tucked away down this tree-covered driveway and then the water views open up. Each time we drove to the site, I fell in love with it more.”

To synthesize with that setting, the owners had a vision of what they wanted. “The directive was to nod to the farmhouse look,” says Butler. “But we wanted to make sure that it would stand the test of time and not be date-stamped.” Her clients also emphasized that the house not be overly large or too formal to ensure it was a place to gather both inside and, more importantly, outside.

“Laura came in and made a number of suggestions,” the husband says of the now-complete, 4,500-square-foot, four-bedroom home. Updating the plans, she reconfigured the staircase, transformed the original loft design above the garage into a hangout space and added a covered patio in the backyard where the owners could enjoy the seasons and scenery—rain or shine. “We have coffee out there,” the wife says. “We see the fishermen come by in the morning and watch the boats go by in the afternoon.”

The layout itself leans towards open-concept spaces, but not so open that there is no feeling of separation between rooms. Guests are greeted by a texture-filled foyer with a sisal rug, wood console and accessories in a mix of materials, establishing the casual look that echoes throughout the interiors. “It needed to be very relaxed,” Butler says. “They have dogs. They have teenage boys. That meant oversized, deep seating everywhere, and durable fabrics and smart flooring choices were important.” In the living room, shades of sand and slate nod to the river that can be seen through floor-to-ceiling windows. Continuing on through the adjacent dining room, one discovers a rustic dining table balanced by a sleek iron lantern above, creating an elegant but approachable scene.

Perhaps an even better example of how Butler reinterpreted the modern farmhouse style was her color, material and hardware choices in the kitchen, where a slate-blue island takes center stage. “The clients brought us this idea of doing a deeper, grayer blue on the island rather than the beachier blues you often see in this style of home,” she says.

Butler also shied away from the high-contrast elements often associated with the look. While keeping the typical black-frame windows, she chose metallic hardware instead of black knobs. “Using metal on the cabinets lightens and brightens the room,” she says. “I think if we’d repeated the black on all the knobs, it would have read much more farmhouse. That subtle detail makes a difference.”

Per the homeowners’ request, the bedrooms aren’t huge, but are gracious in spirit. The first-floor primary suite opens to its own private patio, lending it an airy feel. Upstairs are three bedrooms for the boys and guests. On the same level, a spacious gym-office hybrid—well-used by the husband and their college-age son—continues the main living space’s masculine-leaning color scheme with deep blues, warm wood and touches of leather. The most popular gathering spot—besides the much-loved back patio, of course—is the loft above the garage. While it may have been assumed that the teenagers would get the most use out of it, “We congregate up there more than we thought we would,” confesses the wife.

Reflecting on the project’s success, Butler muses, “This was such an opportunity to work with people who trust us to do what we do, and you can see that in the result—it’s fresh, welcoming and very calming.”

That sense of calm is no doubt a major part of the appeal. Adds the wife, “Even though you have neighbors, you feel like you’re very secluded when you’re there.”