Home of the Week: Home with a view - 24 hours a day

If you're thirsty for an unimpeded view of the Chesapeake, that scenic route - a drive along the bay in the Churchton community of Franklin Manor Beach - is a long, cool drink.

Part of the community's beach is in the process of being restored to a natural living shoreline. There is a large playground and a baseball diamond along the nearly mile-long beach. Out on the water, a large flock of mute swans preened.

Less than a block from the bay, Borchardt's 34-year-old wood frame rambler overlooks wetlands leading to Deep Cove Creek. The creek, the lower end of the larger Deep Creek, spills into the bay. "I look out and I can see small boats going through the reeds," she said.

The one-story pewter gray home is fronted with a broad white deck, the better to enjoy the dramatic, ever-changing vista. Borchardt, a professional photographer, finds the view an irresistible subject - one scenic photo serves as a screen saver on her office computer.

Four of her photographs are currently on display in a show at the River Gallery in Galesville, and Borchardt is an active member of the Muddy Creek Artists Guild, which she has helped grow from a membership of 30 to more than 100. She also teaches a photography course at the Providence Center in Millersville, volunteers as a tax preparer for AARP and is a member of West River Rowing.

"I like to keep busy and keep doing things," she explained.

Borchardt purchased the three-bedroom, 11/2-bath home late in 2001 as a weekend retreat, a getaway from her apartment in the bustling Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Borchardt moved to Churchton permanently when she lost the apartment in a freak fire, caused when another tenant in the building accidentally set off a blaze.

Borchardt renovated her home, creating a warm backdrop to display her photos and her collection of art from around the region and the world.

"The more I put into this house, the more I grew to love it," she said with a smile.

Early on, she replaced all the doors and windows. She knocked a hole in the living room wall into the bedroom on the other side to create an office with two entrances. The new office entry has a paned glass door, allowing more sunlight to flow into the combined living and dining room area.

The sunroom on the rear of the house was torn off and replaced with a fresher-looking screened porch with a vaulted ceiling. A storage shed in the backyard was renovated inside and out. It still serves as storage space, but it also doubles as a cozy, extra guest room or a photo studio.

Throughout the home are mementos of Borchardt's extensive travels. "With a friend from California, I've been to China, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bolivia and Europe," she said. "I've been inside the Coliseum in Rome, to the Great Wall of China, the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia and the Taj Mahal."

On each trip, she brings back memories: unique artwork in the form of small tapestries, textiles, statues, porcelains and paintings.

Many stories

Everywhere one turns in Borchardt's home, there is a piece of art with a story. What appears at first glance to be a pastel painting hanging over the fireplace is an "accelerated landscape" photo, "Palouse (Idaho) in Spring," by Eastern Shore photographer Gunnar Plake.

Inside the fireplace, instead of logs, Borchardt has puckishly placed a small flat-screen television. Nearby is a sculpture she purchased in college. It has the look of an ancient fossil or a blasted meteorite.

"A friend made it," she explained. "He dug a hole and poured plaster into it."

Next to the fireplace stand several old wooden printer's trays. But instead of being lined with lead type, the tiny spaces are filled with series of small photos by Borchardt. Viewed closely, each tray has a distinct story to tell. From a distance, the trays resemble the colorful, intricate ikat tapestries that hang from carved wooden frames from nearly every wall in the house.

Another wall holds a sculptural black-and-white photograph of a tropical plant by Don Worth, simply titled, "Succulent." Also displayed are several Cambodian Buddha statues and a sparkling array of stained glass suncatchers.

Beyond the front room, the hallway bisects the rest of the home. The compact kitchen can be reached through the hall or from the far side of the dining area.

The window in the smaller of the two bedrooms has a sarong for a curtain. The fabric is a batik print of a large orange sun. A crayon-colored fan hangs from the ceiling, echoing the hues of the multicolored sarong.

Across the hall is a cinnamon-and-cream-colored bathroom with a large Jacuzzi tub. The previous owner made a handsome bathroom mirror out of an old wooden farmhouse window with an antiqued, crackled finish.

The piece de Wow! in the master bedroom is a six-paneled hardwood screen that Borchardt purchased in Xian, China. Each panel is divided in two, making room for 12 different still lifes created in cloisonne and carved ivory, soapstone, jade and a composite of abalone shell.

"I had to ship it home on a cargo liner," she said. "It smelled of gasoline for six months afterwards!"

Across the room, she's draped an Indian coin necklace around a swelling earthen vase from South America, which stands on an Asian tapestry. Above it hangs a painting by Kevin Fitzgerald that Borchardt purchased at the Main St. Gallery in Annapolis.

A black-and-white print of the classic photo of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge by the late Marion Warren dominates the small powder room off the master bedroom.

A closet-sized room at the back has room for an easy, overstuffed armchair, a TV on a stand and more wonderful artwork.

Returning to the back porch, there's a shocking pink Adirondack chair and footstool atop tweed sisal rugs, a comfy salmon-colored couch and a wicker couch. In a corner rests an inviting, striped hammock.

In the expanse between the house and the shed, Borchardt has created a garden of native plants that wind about the perimeter of the yard.

She loves to garden, but, if it's a nice day, the best place to find Borchardt is in her 9 1/2-foot kayak, taking the scenic route around the bay.

Would you like to see your house, townhome, condo, apartment or cottage featured as The Capital's Home of the Week? To nominate your home, e-mail Wendi Winters at wendi@quantumstep.com. Include your contact information and details about your residence.