Home of the Week: Libby and Graham Gutsche

The barn, which is actually both a home and a bed and breakfast, stands proud in a setting of lush grasses, woodlands and exquisite gardens, looking out over what could very well be the most peaceful and picturesque of all coves.

Libby and Graham Gutsche have been making their home on this 6.5-acre site for quite some time.

"We've been on the property since 1973," Graham said.

In addition to the barn, which began its life in 1850 as just a rudimentary horse barn, a circa 1900 farmhouse is also on the land. The couple lived in that house when they first purchased the property.

But the barn had the more desirous position on the property, overlooking the water.

"We'd come down here and stand on our tiptoes - it was a two-stall barn - and say, 'Someday we're going to live here,' " Graham explained.

"It was a barn, very rustic," said Graham, who then found an old photo of the barn to prove his point.

"Our middle daughter got married in '76, the next daughter got married in '77 - the next fall we started the work (overhauling the barn)," Graham said, adding that it was "ready for occupancy" in 1978.

After retiring from teaching astronomy and physics at the Naval Academy for 41 years, Graham hung up his professorial hat, and he and Libbie opened the doors to both their home and their B&B.

"We've been doing bed and breakfast for 23 years," Graham said.

They share their memories of those 23 years - photo album after photo album filled with pages of pictures of happy guests who came from all over the globe.

"We have taken pictures of everybody for years," Libbie said. "We have 11 of these books."

Libbie points to one photo.

"That was a lovely couple - they sent us a picture of their baby when he was born," she said.

It's a sentimental journey that's soon coming to an end for the couple.

"I hope to get through another two (years) and then stop," Libbie said. "Our daughter or our granddaughter, I don't know which one, is going to come live here and do the B&B."

The barn is an apropos barn red, standing two levels with four bedrooms in all. Two are guest suites on the second floor.

Through the front entry, a great room encompasses dining and sitting areas with a kitchen just off the center.

Beams original to the barn provide lots of beauty and character, as does a stone fireplace, which a friend built.

"These are all antiques," Libbie said, pointing out various pieces. "They go way, way back from my grandparents and great-grandparents."

She calls attention to a magnificent clock in the center of the room.

"My parents were married in 1920," she said. "It was given to them by my uncle as a wedding gift."

Next to the fireplace, a horse stands guard. OK, not a real horse, but a wallpaper version of one and in keeping with the barn's original purpose.

"When we were converting this barn, my mother was sitting here and said, 'This barn needs a horse,' " Graham said. "She marched over to the wallpaper store and got it."

"We retired that one," Libbie added, explaining this one was a newer version.

At the rear of the home through French doors, a deck and a solarium overlook the cove just off Luce Creek and the Severn River.

While sitting on the back deck, Graham explained the dining options for guests.

"Breakfast there in the winter," Graham said of the solarium. "Out here in the summer, weather permitting."

Outside, stepped landscaping leads to the dock.

"From where you are it's 100 steps down," Graham said.

But who's counting?

"At my age, I do," Graham said with a smile.

At the far end of the first floor are the couple's private den, master bedroom and guest room.

The B&B guest suites are reached via a spiral staircase not far from the front door.

"I go up and down 20 times a day at least," said Libbie, who clearly is used to the narrow ascent and descent.

Both guest rooms come with their own bathrooms. One has an additional loft and separate reading room.

"Of course, everyone wants this room," Libbie said.

In a somewhat unusual move for a B&B, this one gladly welcomes everyone - little, big and even those with four paws. In fact, Lucy, the couple's part beagle, part spaniel, is the dog-in-residence and welcoming committee. As for kids, there's no question about it - they too are welcome.

"I don't understand that," Libbie said of the no-kids policy at many B&Bs. "I mean, can families never go away? Children are part of families."

As for their own children, two of their three daughters live on the property.

Outside, the gardens, which are in full bloom and magnificence, have been created and nurtured by Libbie. An array of flowers, shrubs and vegetables provide a stunning complement to the grounds and barn.

Looking to the future is a testament to parting being bittersweet sorrow; this from the home and business they've known and loved for so long.

"It's hard because I love to garden," Libbie said. "I'm just going to say, 'It's theirs.' I'm not going to look at it."

Donna L. Cole is a freelance writer living in the Annapolis area. If you'd like your home considered for "Home of the Week" (we'd like to feature smaller homes, condos and townhouses, too), please contact her at writerdle@aol.com.