REAL ESTATE- ON THE BLOCK- Cape combo: Traditional meets modern on Chesapeake Street

Address: 1342 Chesapeake Street

Neighborhood: Woolen Mills

Asking: $417,500

Assessment: $261,600

Year Built: 1950

Size: 2,000 fin. sq. ft. / 780 unfin.

Land: 0.21 acres

Agent: Grier Murphy, 817-0395, RE/MAX Assured Properties

Curb Appeal: 7 out of 10

Blending traditional and contemporary architectural elements can sometimes create weird results, but choosing just one can be limiting. While some contemporary spaces can seem cold and uninviting, traditional spaces don't always fit the way we live today. Here, traditional and contemporary elements blend to create a fresh aesthetic and good flow for living. 

Chesapeake Street is sloping hill lined with tiny Cape Cods off Meade Avenue just around the corner from the new pool. The view from the street is modest, in keeping with the facades of the rest of the houses and does not betray the unusual interior. Landscaping is limited to a few shrubs and trees, and a buyer will probably want to bring more greenery. 

Visitors enter from the front porch to a living or dining area open to the kitchen. A built-in nook/hutch wired for cable and Internet could work as a place for the TV or just as easily store extra dishes as a serving area. Original oak floors have been stained a rich ebony.

Two smallish bedrooms on the first floor could better work as home office space or rooms for older kids. In a full bath adjacent to the bedrooms, the original tub has been refinished, and new subway tile on the walls, penny round tile on the floor, and a pedestal sink freshen things up even further. 

In the kitchen, a wall of reclaimed Spanish cedar blends with a poured polished-concrete counter to create a combined modern/rustic feel. Appliances are Kenmore Elite stainless. An apron sink, usually found in more traditional settings, looks bright and utilitarian here, and clever pullouts reveal pantry storage. A slick glass-tiled backsplash and ash butcher-block island amp up style and reappear in different forms in other parts of the house: glass tiles mimic the subway tiles in the baths, and the lines of the island reappear in storage on the second level.

Beyond the kitchen is another living space where  built-ins slide away slyly to reveal the heat pump. Although this part of the house is new, the ebony floors have been continued for continuity. A small side deck could be extended to wrap around back where a large cedar provides shade. The overhang from the master deck above provides additional summer sun protection.  

Upstairs, in the shared master bath, where pocket doors provide access from hall and master closet, long planks of Carrara marble mimic the hardwood downstairs. The deep front of the long narrow trough sink is like the one in the kitchen, and the tiled shower uses the same entertaining mix of tiles from downstairs. The ceiling and doorway of the master are oversized, expanding the feeling of space upward. As added bonuses on the second floor, the second bedroom has a wall of built-in storage, and a frontloading washer and dryer hide behind doors off the hall. Transom windows on two sides of the house allow light while maintaining privacy.

Aside from design, utilitarian elements have also been revised, including spray foam insulation, wiring, plumbing, windows, and siding. Where possible, sustainable materials were used. 

Over near Woolen Mills, traditional gets an update, and it looks good.

PHOTOS BY SARAH JACOBSON

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