Inside Story: From Builder’s Blueprint to a No Worries Empty-Nest

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We recently had the rare opportunity to walk the job site with award-winning custom home builder, Brent Paquin of Paquin Design/Build of Grasonville, as his team prepares to put the finishing touches on the forever home of a Pennsylvania couple ready to retire to the quiet environs of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. 

No stranger to meeting and exceeding client needs, Paquin says the plan of this home, which is one of several new residences taking shape on a rural peninsula in the village of Bellevue, is designed with quality family time in mind. The style of the home is contemporary coastal, or as Paquin notes, “I called it a modern coastal, a...modern coastal home with a Charleston-like side porch inspiration.”

Unlike many of the new home builds Paquin designs, he was not certain which family would be residing there at the time, but he made several astute and intentional choices with this floorplan that he felt would provide flexibility and address many of the wish list items requested by today’s savvy homeowners.

“We built what we believed to be a good layout to be utilized by many different types of couples or families,” Paquin explains. “For example, it has a first-floor primary bedroom, and then there’s also a second-floor primary bedroom. There are also two secondary bedrooms on the second floor, and both of those have attached baths.”

Paquin says this would provide the ultimate option for whomever would move in there to choose where they would like their primary suite to be, knowing that guests would have first-class accommodations, as well. 

“With these homes that we build here on the Eastern Shore, even a majority of the empty nesters want to be certain that friends and family feel comfortable when they come to visit. So, we made sure that those bedrooms had bathrooms attached, so that they could feel comfortable in their own little space.”

And all that space comes with a premium feature.

“All the bedrooms have really good water views,” Paquin adds.

That Location, Location, Location

The 10-acre parcel of land that affords those views across the Tred Avon River to Oxford, is a historical and important part the community of Bellevue and the greater area. It was once home to Valliant Farm and the former W.H. Valliant Packing Company, a seafood and vegetable cannery first established in 1899.

Woven into the significant cloth and African American legacy of the Eastern Shore, the plant, later known as the Bellevue Seafood Company, was the successful enterprise of William H. Valliant. He helped establish the surrounding community by being its sole employer until an additional facility, the W.A. Turner & Sons Packing Company was established in 1946.

According to the village’s official website, Bellevuemd.com, the W.A. Turner and Bellevue Seafood companies operated in the area from 1945 to 1996, and 1964 to 1998, respectively. The two seafood processing facilities represented the only two African American owned businesses on the Eastern Shore during that era.  

This community is also well-known for being the home of the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. Established in 1683, it is known as the nation’s oldest privately-owned Ferry Service. So, the new home’s owners will also have the ease of conveyance to historic Oxford and St. Michaels via a celebrated ferry route. 

Another benefit of its location, explains Paquin, is its exemption from more modern-day building prerequisites like the standard, 100-foot buffer zone from the waterfront.

“Because the rest of the homes, as you go north of the waterfront here, were all built a long time ago and at that time had a 50-foot buffer, they extended that line through this property, as well.” 

This rare situation with waterfront real estate was one that enabled Paquin’s team to get creative with this home’s footprint and its sublime positioning along the water.

Strikingly Clean Design

To execute the exterior of this modern coastal home, Paquin Design/Build, started up top with clean, standing seam metal on the lower hip roof portions, and chose horizontal lap plank siding by James Hardie in Light Mist as the primary exterior material accompanied by board and batten vertical siding accent panels in Light Mist. 

Upon entry into the main level foyer and open great room plan, the striking waterfront view unfolds with every step toward a series of large casement windows and sliding glass doors that open to that Charleston-style porch that measures 60 feet long, spanning the entire back or waterside of the home. These tranquil sightlines out to the waterfront and the hardscaping around a luxurious, saltwater swimming pool are balanced on the interior with calming, neutral Iron Ore wall paint throughout the great room. Durability in the form of cumin-colored luxury vinyl plank flooring runs through the space as you progress from the entry to the spacious living room to the left with its crisp, white mantle and gas fireplace with built-in cabinetry and accent shelving on either side.

This space transitions into a custom kitchen with a large center island and two-tone wood cabinetry by Shiloh in the Lancaster style with natural white Oak stain and a rich, aquamarine hue for the island and remaining cabinets—outfitted with toney modern hardware. Spacious counters and the island, that seats four, are topped with a creamy, white quartz.  

A pearlescent Stack Bond style backsplash of white Carrara marble, a complete GE Monogram appliance package including a six-burner gas range, and a spacious adjacent formal dining area, help complete a style and substance-based checklist in this space for the new homeowners. As does the incredible water view they’ll have from the entire great room.

Ultimate Coastal Retreat

With two primary suites the new owners will never feel the need to compromise when it comes to hosting friends and family. Should they choose to, they can opt for the main level retreat which was furnished with some first-class amenities including its private entry to the porch and waterfront, and en suite bath that rivals any spa experience.

This retreat, with its custom dual vanity by River Run, luxurious glass shower with White Matte tiles by Verona, and its sumptuous soaking tub perfectly positioned to overlook the waterfront, is one of the many reasons this home went from spec to sold in record time. 

In addition to the primary suite on the second floor, there are two more guest bedrooms with baths that benefit from that waterfront-facing floorplan. Each bedroom flows out to a spacious second-level landing that can double as a bonus family room, sitting room, or common office space.

Our guess, though, is that the new owners will most likely be sitting in their awaiting Adirondack chairs that face the private pier of their personal paradise in Bellevue, relaxed in the knowledge that their home is brand spanking new and guaranteed by their builder to be worry-free for the foreseeable future. 

“It always makes life easier to have a brand-new home,” Paquin says. We’re relatively sure those new owners already agree. 

Home Staging & Interior Design by Andrea Moragues & Sonia Alignani of Muralizeit Interiors.