A home with views of Spa Creek
Designed to capture the waterfront view
uffie and Rolf Schou chose the site and design of their house on Spa Creek 11 years ago for a specific reason.
“We created this space to take advantage of the view of Spa Creek,” Muffie said. “We can also experience Eastport and downtown Annapolis after a short walk, or view all the wonderful water activities.”
The couple’s house, built on a quarter-acre, has three finished floors, including the lower walkout level, and 31⁄2 bathrooms.
Three bedrooms occupy the top floor. The main floor incorporates an entry foyer, living room, family room, kitchen and a dual office, plus a pass-through fireplace between the living room and family room. The lower level features a second and more casual family room, a bedroom suite and a laundry room. All three levels have clear views of the water and downtown Annapolis.
“The past three years, there have been increasing numbers of people out on the water on paddleboards,” Muffie said. “Sometimes groups of a hundred people. And we have a great view of the Eastport Yacht Club’s Lights Parade in early December.”
“The windows facing the creek are huge,” Rolf said. “We put cathedral ceilings on the upper floor along with high ceilings to give the illusion of space. On the main floor, there are 8-foot-tall doors and 9-foot-high ceilings.”
The main floor of the home has hardwood floors. The upper and lower levels are carpeted.
In the couple’s office, the builtin white wooden desks and surrounding bookshelves coordinate with the cabinetry in the kitchen and throughout the airy, lightfilled house.
Upstairs, the master bedroom has an ample view of the water, especially from the couple’s fourposter bed. This room is painted a pale hue of blue, accented with white trim. The room’s carpeting and some of the upholstered chairs are cream tones or neutral shades. In contrast, the two other rooms — used by their adult children — are painted a shade of lime.
Two levels down, the bedroom is painted aqua. The family room, equipped with a black metal
MBowflex Power Pro XTL home gym, is painted white.
And the large laundry room features broad countertops, an island and built-in cabinets.
Furniture and accents throughout the house are contemporary pieces that blend with classics and antiques, like the brass fire screen and tools on one side of the two-sided fireplace, a contrast to the black marble-lined hearth on the reverse.
“In the winter, we live in the family room and living room because of the two-sided fireplace,” Rolf said. “In the summer, we live in the backyard.”
The four-level grounds surrounding the house are an important part of the overall design. A visitor pulls up on a stone-paver driveway and walks up several levels of stone steps to the front door or to go around to the rear, or water side, of the home.
The couple collaborated with landscaper Ron Wilson of Wilsonscapes to design the landscape and “hardscape” from the street level down to the water. One level was built by stacking large boulders. When: Cost: More information and tickets: Elsewhere, retaining walls were used. The levels and tiered stone walkways are surrounded by shrubbery and other plantings.
The Schous also built a stone block fire pit rimmed with a stone ledge that provides ample seating. From there, they have an expansive view of dozens of boats bobbing at their moorings and the water scene just above the Eastport bridge.
“We created a whole world here,” Rolf said.