Classical Baltimore pied-à-terre for sale

One of my many hobbies is tracking real estate (yes they are all architectural!) so when a friend sent me this apartment for sale in the Mt Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore I knew immediately I would have to share it here with you!

My first condo was a studio and I look fondly back on that time as maintenance is so easy.  There is something to be said for 1 room living -all of your favorite things are right there at all times!

This studio apartment has it all: location, charm, and space.  One of the great things about this apartment is the separate gracious entry hall which features much needed shelving and closets but also beautiful moldings and a window seat before a Palladian window.  The door to the bathroom is located to the left of that dresser.

Looking back towards the front door.  I think a curtain pulled back along the door wall would hide the asymmetry and undersized door which doesn't fit the scale of the space.

 Book storage is always needed and these deep shelves would hold a lot of design books!

The moldings are even more impressive in the main living space including a bay window AND a fireplace!

Notice the trimwork making 3 arched 'openings' along the inside wall with the kitchen to the left and the entry hall to the right. While I don't show the bathroom and kitchen they are totally nice spaces and wouldn't need much (the real estate listing includes those photos).

 Antique marble surrounds the firebox with lovely plaster moldings as mantel and overmantel.

 The moldings all appear to be restored and in good shape, not over-painted through the years.

 I even like the yellow wall color so move right in! (If only I had a reason to live in Baltimore)

 Close up of one of the pilasters with fretwork chair rail.

 Imagine the detailed overmantel picked out in more than 1 color....

I have nothing to do with the sale of this unit but if you want to check it out it is located at 8 W Madison Street, unit #25 in Baltimore, Maryland - REDFIN listing HERE.
All images courtesy of the MLS listing and not my own. 

Private Classical Baltimore home tour this weekend!

This upcoming weekend I'm helping to host a home tour in Baltimore for our local chapter of the ICAA which I've decided to name Private Classical Baltimore.  Read here for a little information about this tour which I'm so excited for!

The tour starts at the Homewood Mansion on Johns Hopkins University campus.  Built and designed by Charles Carroll Jr. for his family in 1801, the house has a Palladian 5-part plan. While planned and massed in the Georgian style of the time, it uses Federal-style detailing reflecting the influences of Robert Adam. The flatter details seen here distinguish the federal style from the English Georgian style and this is considered one of the best federal examples in the country.  Lunch will be served as part of the tour in the garden, weather permitting.

After lunch the tour will progress to 2 beautiful historic houses in the Homeland neighborhood. The stone house seen here was designed by Palmer & Lamdin in 1928. They were the preeminent residential architects in Baltimore between the wars.  Edward Palmer was an 1899 graduated of Johns Hopkins and in the 1903 class of the University of Pennsylvania school of architecture.  In 1920  William Lamdin joined his office after leaving the firm of Wyatt & Nolting. Lamdin had graduated from Cornell in 1913. 

This brick beauty above was designed by Laurence Hall Fowler in 1930. Fowler graduated from both Johns Hopkins and Columbia before leaving for Paris in 1904 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.  After returning to Baltimore he briefly worked at Wyatt & Nolting before striking out on his own in 1906.  Upon returning in 1945 he left his extensive architectural library of over 450 books plus his entire work's archives to Johns Hopkins.  

Located in Guilford the next house on the tour was designed by John Russell Pope in 1916, known as Charlcote. Designed for James Swan Frick the brick house has cypress wood trim painted to resemble stone on the exterior (image top of post).  The interior has been beautifully decorated by Mona Hajj and has been published multiple times.  The renovation work has been done over the years by a sponsor of the tour, Winchester Construction.

The last stop on the tour will be at an apartment in the historic Warrington Apartments decorated by Mona Hajj and renovated by Winchester where cocktails will be served following the tour.  I hope to see many of you at this delicious tour of Private Classical Baltimore (tickets may be purchased HERE).