Home of the week: Contemporary comfort

Sometimes neighborhoods in the area still offer surprises, as in the houses don’t all look the same, they’re not on top of each other, trees are mature, there are lots of amenities, and few of the homes are for sale — a good sign of happy and content residents.

Right as you enter the neighborhood, you’ll notice the community tennis courts — even better, they don’t seem to be neglected and appear to be in very good shape. At the opposite end of the community, and the reason “on the Magothy” is in its name, there’s the beach and marina.

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This wonderful neighborhood is home to Janet Baer, her husband, Larry Polster, 12-year-old daughter, Hannah, and the family’s rambunctious but ever so cute Portuguese water dog, Sasha.

The family has been in their three-level contemporary Victorian home for 10 years. This is the point in the article where some might say, “Huh? What the heck is a contemporary Victorian?”

It does have a gabled dormer, a front porch and some Victorian lines, but that’s about the extent of it.

“The house was advertised as a Victorian,” Ms. Baer said. “If we had thought it was Victorian, we wouldn’t have come — when we saw the openness when we first walked in, that’s what sold us.”

Enter the contemporary. From the furnishings to the layout to the wall of glass in the casual dining area, there’s nothing Victorian about the interior. Then there’s the recently renovated kitchen, which the couple is very proud of, and rightly so.

“We wanted contemporary, we wanted light wood cabinets, we wanted up to the ceiling, we wanted some glass,” Ms. Baer explained.

And that’s what they got. The alder wood cabinets reach to the ceiling; the glass tile backsplash adds contrast; and pendant and recessed lighting provide illumination as well as drama. The stainless steel appliances, including a six-burner gas stove, pull it all together to create a contemporary and warm kitchen.

“They actually came in with some pretty specific ideas for a much sleeker space than what they had,” said Pam Kanewske, kitchen designer for Annapolis-based Design Solutions.

According to Ms. Kanewske, the couple wanted to keep the existing tile flooring, which provided the foundation for the color palette.

“It was a stepping-off point for the color sections used in the kitchen,” she explained, which also explains the alder cabinets.

“Alder is just becoming more popular,” Ms. Kanewske said. “It has character very similar to cherry, except it stays light — it doesn’t change color like cherry can, or (at least) not as dramatically.”

As for a six-burner stove, it’s always interesting to find out if people use all that capacity. The answer from most is usually “no,” or at least “very infrequently.”

“Only for Thanksgiving,” Ms. Baer said with a smirk. “It looks good — we wanted the red knobs, too.”

The kitchen renovation extended to the creation of a breakfast bar topped with a spectacular piece of wave-shaped granite to provide flair and separation from the dining area just below. Previously the area had been separated by a small table with two chairs and a wooden banister.

“It offered an opportunity to bring the kitchen aesthetic into the dining space,” Ms. Kanewske said.

“Before this, we used to eat dinner every night down there” Ms. Baer said, pointing to the dining area.

Now the family tends to eat most meals at their breakfast bar, with the exception of their Friday night Shabbat dinner — Jewish traditions include setting the Sabbath table with flowers, kiddush cup (filled with wine), two covered challah (braided bread loaf) and Shabbat candles, so extra room is helpful.

Another renovation addition is the shelving unit, with wine cooler, just below the kitchen at the entry to the spacious, light-filled den.

“It is a huge room,” Ms. Baer admitted. “Sometimes I feel like it’s really too huge — it’s what sold the house for us.”

Here, earth tones and upholstered furniture provide warmth, as does the wood pellet stove.

“It’s great — we like it,” Ms. Baer said. “You don’t have to cart around wood, you just put the pellets in and set the temperature — like a thermostat.”

A formal dining and living room round out the first-floor space.

Upstairs holds the master bedroom and Hannah’s room. In these wood-floored spaces, yellow is primarily the name of the game.

Hannah’s room features a bright and cheery sunshine yellow wall accented by rainbow-colored artwork. And, there are frogs — lots of frogs.

“Oh, frogs are her collection,” Ms. Baer said. “They’re everywhere, and everyone gives her frogs all the time.”

A turquoise, butterfly-style chair and a hand-painted turquoise and yellow desk provide the perfect complements for a room that reminds one of the Florida Keys. In the master bedroom the soft yellow walls are complemented by warm reds.

“My theme is red. I like red,” Ms. Baer said. “Everywhere is red, except Hannah’s room — she picked those colors.”

Then there’s the nod to the other member of the family, Sasha. As any dog lover knows, the bed is really theirs — we just get to share it sometimes.

“The king-size bed we got mostly because of this creature,” said Ms. Baer, looking down at her shaggy friend, who had an are-you-talking-about-me look on her face.

A backboard of burgundy and gold fabric squares was a project inspired by a home decorating TV show the couple saw.

“I just said, ‘Let’s make it,’” Ms. Baer explained. “It’s just squares that are stuck up there, and you can rearrange them.”

The second floor is completed by an office for Mr. Polster, who works in the boating business.

In fact, the entire family shares a love boating.

“We lived on our sailboat for a year when Hannah was 1 to 2,” Ms. Baer said. While there is a third-floor attic space which was converted into a guest room, the house was originally considered a two-bedroom home, which Mr. Polster helped clarify.

“When they went to build this community, it was an adult-only community,” he said. “This house was one of the spec houses — it was a two-bedroom house.” As for that third bedroom, there are plans for it.

“When Hannah gets older, it will be her room,” Mr. Polster said.

But that may be a little bit off; the family is currently preparing for Hannah’s spring bat mitzvah.

The future also may bring a redo of the master bath, but for the time being the house serves its purpose well, and does so with flair and creativity. Even if it doesn’t float, the family is still quite happy with their home on the Magothy. ———

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in Annapolis. If you’d like your house considered for “Home of the Week,” contact her at writerdle@aol.com.