A weekend retreat was not on the menu for Ralph Brabham and Drew Porterfield back in 2020. The Washington, DC-based restaurateurs, who own District hot spots Jane Jane, Bar Betsie and Beau Thai, found themselves spending time in southern Maryland during the pandemic, and fell in love with the area. “We could envision our life there; it was an accessible getaway where we could be with friends, entertain and not be in the city,” Brabham recalls.

Both eager for a project, the couple began to search for a home of their own. In 2022, friends who lived in Leonardtown introduced them to the owner of a 1950s-era riverfront summer cottage that ticked all the boxes. It clearly needed a serious restoration, but its inherent character—not to mention the beautiful view of the Potomac River—sealed the deal.

Potential was one thing, but the property was in very poor condition. The pool was full of dirt and debris. The foundation was non-existent. The interior was dark and cramped and the wood exterior was deteriorating. “Once we started peeling back the layers with a contractor, we realized that we’d need to take the house down to the studs,” Brabham admits. Today, the roof on the front half of the house and the wood-burning fireplace are all that’s left of the original structure.

Enlisted to spearhead the project, architect Ana Zannoni immediately fell in sync with their vision. “We all wanted to work with the existing house but take it to the next level,” she explains, “Playing up the connection to the water and bringing in more light was a part of that, but everything we did was under the umbrella of respecting a home that has been here and loved for so long.”

As they scoped out the new floor plan, the architect and owners were confronted with the challenge of building out critical living space while maintaining the home’s original footprint. A pitched window at the rear of the house suggested an elegant solution. By raising the roof, they turned a once-underutilized, low-ceilinged attic into “found” square footage that generously accommodated a new primary suite and guest room plus an impressive wall of windows facing the water. For Zannoni, it was the “biggest win” of the entire project.

The two-level, 2,682-square-foot home is now clad in vertical wood siding along the front façade and textured fiber cement panels in the rear, with standing seam metal roofing. It occupies a 20,000 square-foot lot where landscape architect Ryan Moody has integrated a visually arresting array of native grasses, greenery and planters of herbs, vegetables and flowers. Bluestone paving surrounds the heated saltwater pool, and steps lead to a wooden dock that extends from the shoreline.

The open interior spaces are awash in natural light. “We rarely need to turn on the lights or heat,” Porterfield remarks. “The sustainability aspect has been a nice surprise.” There are four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, and, at the center of it all, a spacious exhibition kitchen and great room that highlight the owners’ passion for entertaining.

Unsurprisingly, the couple was very focused on their kitchen, designed by architect and cabinet designer/fabricator David Charlie Brandon of East West Cabinet Co. The owners brought their own design sense to the project and knew exactly what they wanted. The result of this happy collab? A sleek and sophisticated workspace that invites guests to partake of the view and the culinary activity. Furnished with professional-grade appliances and Shaker-style sequential grain oak cabinetry, the kitchen also includes a sliding-glass pass-through above the indoor bar that opens to the pool deck. “It’s a playful nod to their bar world,” notes Brandon.

The great room features the original brick fireplace, which separates the open, glass-fronted entryway from the rest of the house. A wall of windows behind the sofa opens, accordion-style, to the deck and pool. Wood accents and cool, beachy hues with pops of green evoke the surrounding water and landscape, creating a serene color palette throughout. Lovingly curated art and furniture, purchased through a variety of sources and gifted from friends, maintain a minimalist but welcoming aesthetic.

The primary suite and guest room reside on the upper level. In the primary bath, color-blocked gray and blue ceramic tile surrounds the oak double-sink vanity and lines the large, well-appointed walk-in shower. Oversized porcelain tile runs end to end.

In the guest room, a cathedral ceiling with its tall, sharply angled window (brought to life by the challenging roof-raising early in construction) elevates the view to the trees and river beyond. Supported by beams and wood struts, it frames an upholstered bed that’s covered in luxurious fabrics and flanked by intense blue sconces.

After 14 months dedicated to permitting and construction with weekly trips to the site, Brabham, Porterfield and their Husky mix, Wolf, officially moved in and felt immediately at home. Now they split their weeks between DC and Leonardtown, where they host frequent gatherings. “Our first Thanksgiving was a feast of abundance,” Brabham boasts. “We had so many casseroles with family cooking and assembling dishes. It was just what we had dreamt of six years ago.”

Renovation Architecture: Ana Zannoni, AIA, NCARB, Zannoni Architecture, Bethesda, Maryland. Kitchen & Cabinetry Design: David Charlie Brandon, East West Cabinet Co, Frederick, Maryland. Renovation Contractor: WM Davis, Inc., Hollywood, Maryland. Landscape Architecture: Ryan Moody, Moody Graham, Washington, DC.