Text and styling by Charlotte Safavi
Call it coincidence, but it’s apropos that this waterfront retreat in Sherwood, Maryland, claims the colors of the Stars and Stripes in its crisp, welcoming palette. “It’s fitting that a Capitol Hill-based power couple with political careers would end up with a home that feels so very patriotic,” says Jamie Merida of Bountiful Interiors, who collaborated on the project’s remodel in 2015 with his lead designer, Denise Perkins. Other professionals involved in the project included local builder Kurt Hermann and kitchen designer Barc A. Upchurch.
The design team was hired to take the choppy builder-grade home and upgrade it into a weekend getaway for the couple. The process involved updating the kitchen and bathrooms, adding architectural details, improving overall circulation, and creating a fluid connection between the indoors and outdoors.
“We started in the bland, beige foyer by adding paneling all the way up to the second floor,” says Merida. “Then we painted everything, including the oak staircase, a clean, bright white.”
The original cherry-and-granite kitchen was closed off, and the only access to the waterfront was through a door off the family room. The design team opened up the kitchen to the family room and reoriented the island to line up with the fireplace on the opposite wall, creating one large, contiguous space with a timeless symmetry. They also added a custom stainless hood, glass-tile backsplash, and blue-painted island with shiplap detail. “The new kitchen is definitely nautical-inspired and serves as a fresh focal point,” says Perkins of the space.
No waterfront house is complete without connectivity to the outdoors, so the designers added two sets of French doors, one off the master bedroom and one off the kitchen. The doors open to a spacious screened porch overlooking the pool and bay.
