Home of the Week: Gary Monetti

A narrow, ambling creek in the backyard, lots of mature trees bursting in an abundance of autumn color, a beautiful house full of family history, and even Elvis - this is the West River home of Gary Monetti.

Let's first address Elvis. He's a fish; albeit a striking koi, but a fish nonetheless. He lives in a fishpond in Mr. Monetti's sunroom with several koi friends that Mr. Monetti, for good reason, refers to as his pets. They come when called and are full of personality, though they are somewhat shy around strangers.

"They're like floating dogs," Mr. Monetti said with a laugh. "I call him Elvis because he has a big silver suit."

As for Mr. Monetti's property, it's a gorgeous piece of land which offers privacy, space, woods and water.

"I'm the only one that has community property on both sides, so it's very private," he said.

There's history in these woods and waters, too.

"Back in the Revolutionary War, the only battle that was fought in the West River was fought about a quarter of a mile down the creek," Mr. Monetti said.

It's true. About 100 British marines landed on Chalk Point in the West River on the night of March 31, 1781, and raided Stephen Steward's shipyard, where swift gunboats were being built to harass King George's warships on the Chesapeake Bay.

All these years later, there are still Revolutionary War ships at the bottom of the creek.

"They used to take the boats that were aging from the battles and they would sink them here," Mr. Monetti said, pointing out to the creek just beyond his shoreline. "So, about 12 feet under, there are remnants of those ships."

The 4,100-square-foot, three-bedroom home features extremely comfortable surroundings, with extensive custom molding and built-in cabinetry compliments of the previous owner.

To the right of the Italian marble entry, the formal dining room provides a showcase for an impressive selection of family photos.

"My brother - he was a hotelier and restaurateur. He ran the Tavern on the Green and the Waldorf-Astoria," Mr. Monetti said, referring to the tworenowned Manhattan spots.

While his brother is no longer alive, Tom Monetti's memory surely lives on here in photos of him with Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis and James Stewart, just to name a few.

The room features a soft salmon color on the upper walls, below which is stark white wainscot. The spectacular custom molding around all the windows and doors matches the built-in shelving and cabinetry. A chandelier hanging from a ceiling medallion casts a beautiful glow.

To the left of the entry, a formal living room features many of the same elements, from the color scheme to the built-ins. Here, though, we begin to see the fruits of Mr. Monetti's extensive travels around the world for both pleasure and his work in the telecommunications industry.

A picture over the couch features women dressed similarly to one another in different poses.

"I picked that up in the Dominican Republic - I was in Punta Cana," Mr. Monetti said.

Upon the shelves are a wide variety of collectibles from different areas of the world, including chopsticks, money, vases, shot glasses, matches and other assorted knickknacks.

"Here's a picture when I worked in Saudi Arabia," Mr. Monetti said. "Bahrain, Vietnam Abu Dhabi - I was in five continents and 24 countries."

Toward the rear of the home, the kitchen features cherry cabinetry and granite counters spruced up for fall with autumn-colored accessories and dried flower arrangements.

"I love to cook," Mr. Monetti said.

The trait seems to be an inherited one, for clearly there's a family tradition with food. In addition to his brother's work in the restaurant business, his uncle was co-founder of Nathan's hot dogs.

"He made the fries and Nathan made the hot dogs," Mr. Monetti explained.

The kitchen opens to the living room, which features more of that beautiful built-in cabinetry, though in this room it's mission-style cherry. The flooring for this part of the house is in matching cherry. A map print wallpaper was put in by the original owner, but it works for Mr. Monetti as well.

"When I saw the wallpaper I said, 'That's all me' because of all the traveling," he explained.

A solarium that spans the entire rear of the house features a sitting area and an informal dining space. A sunroom off the side is where Elvis and his friends make their home. In addition to the extensive windows in these areas, there's also a number of skylights here and throughout the home.

"There are 13 skylights in the house," Mr. Monetti said.

He explains the sunroom decor this way: "I used to live in Arizona, so you'll see a Southwest influence in here."

With a heated Japanese terra cotta floor and a fishpond complete with waterfall, it's a great spot for both fish and man, though it seems Mr. Monetti is open to the idea of another person to share it all with, or at least someone to help him with the little touches.

"I need a woman's touch to pull it together for me," he said.

Upstairs are two guest bedrooms, an office and the master bedroom. The master features more of those skylights and a deck overlooking the wooded backyard and creek.

"It's a modest house. It's not a million-dollar house, but it's interesting," Mr. Monetti concluded.

Though he's lived around the world and has traveled to many far-off, exotic places, Mr. Monetti seems to have found a place to call home and is quite content here. With a home and property like this, that's completely understandable.

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in the Annapolis area. If you'd like your home considered for "Home of the Week," e-mail her at writerdle@aol.com.