Hot House: 227 Greenspring Valley Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117
American Colonial style house, wood clapboard with slate roof, circa 1914 with newer additions. Over 10,000 square feet over four levels, all well and completely renovated. Five bedrooms, 5 full, 2 half baths, 7 fireplaces, with formal living and dining rooms, library, solarium. Historic log cabin family room with large stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen, ground floor master suite. LL wine room and gym, new systems, 2 bedroom guesthouse, zoned heating and central a/c, heated pool, pool house, patios, extensive stonework on 4.74 acres backing to farmland: $2,750,000
What: Some houses wear their price on their sleeve. This house is more like a fur-lined rain coat – deceptively simple on the outside, deeply luxurious on the inside, for a buyer who wants all the bells and whistles but prefers not to shout about it. As the Nantucket-like façade opens into a light-filled entrance hall, it becomes clear that this is in fact a grand residence. Sunny windows along the back of the house pull you through into the solarium, with views of landscaped patios, pool and glassed-in pool house, as well as farm fields in the distance. Heated limestone tile floors, a limestone fireplace, and skylights add to the sleek effect, as do polished random-width, quarter-sawn oak floors on the main floor. The gourmet kitchen, with Sub-Zero and Viking appliances and granite island, opens to a breakfast room. The adjoining family room is unexpected and nicely integrated — a historic log cabin, moved and reconstructed here by the developer Marty Azola, whose current project is the Ivy Hotel in Mount Vernon. It has a huge stone fireplace, high, wood-beamed ceilings and stairs to a balcony. Over the moose head, a hidden screen descends to create a home theatre. On the other side of the house is an impressive master suite. It has separate walk-in closets and a big modern bathroom, with soaking tub and separate glass shower. All other bedrooms are upstairs, including an au-pair suite,. Each has its own new bathroom. The excitement continues outdoors, where a soccer field, basketball court and trampoline vie for attention with the 50’x 20′ heated pool.
Where: The address is Greenspring Valley Road, but this house lies down a private, tree-lined side road with equally lovely houses barely visible around curving hedges. It’s less than a mile to the busy Reisterstown Road corridor, but the feeling here is all rural splendor. Public schools are Woodholme Elementary, Pikesville Middle School and Owings Mills High School. Nearby private schools are Garrison Forest and McDonogh School. Depending on traffic, it’s about 20 minutes to Roland Park and Ruxton, 30 minutes to downtown Baltimore.
Why: Solarium, pool, log cabin family room.
Why Not: No fountains, no statues, no columns. How will people know you’re rich?
Would Suit: Banker type flying under the radar.
NB: Be sure the farmland in back is going to stay farmland.
