correction
A previous version of this article misspelled the name of the Andersen window brand. The article has been corrected.
“That was the first teardown I’ve ever done in my career,” said Bradley, who is the house’s developer as well as its architect.
He designed a six-bedroom, nine-bathroom house — on the market now for more than $5.5 million — and he said the outcome proves that he made the right decision.
The lot size, about a tenth of an acre, presented some obstacles. “The challenge was building on a lot that was half the size of other bayfront lots I’ve worked on,” Bradley said. “I started work on the little features I’d like to have here, what I can squeeze into this lot.”
Bradley said he found room for interesting features and details — after scrapping about 25 floor plans. To make up for the modest footprint, he went higher. The house’s roughly 4,550 square feet of living space is spread over three floors. And the pool is shaped to overcome the limited site options.
The house’s color was also painstakingly chosen, with about 10 people debating whether sea-mist green would be best. Instead, they opted for a white house with black window frames, a look that Bradley described as “timeless.”
The backyard — looking out at Assawoman Bay from Ocean City’s thin barrier island — was designed for entertaining. A cabana area has two televisions, two refrigerators and a hot tub. There is a firepit area beyond the deck and a 50-foot pier. An L-shaped saltwater pool with a swim-up bar and stools was inspired, Bradley said, by a trip to Cancún, Mexico. Resorts along Quintana Roo state’s Caribbean coast have larger variations of the same concept, he said.
The front door opens to a foyer that has a built-in bar with a wall and countertops of Portrush quartz. (Bradley calls it “Orange Crush bar” after a cocktail that bartenders say originated in Ocean City’s Harborside Bar & Grill). Across from the bar is an office with a wall bed.
The open-concept living and dining area has a fireplace and a wall of windows and sliding-glass doors overlooking the bay. The adjacent kitchen has bar seating, stainless-steel appliances, two sinks and marble and quartz countertops. White Fabuwood cabinets have under-cabinet lighting and floating shelves are made of reclaimed wood. This floor also has a pantry, a laundry room, a powder room and a mud room.
White oak stairs and a glass elevator lead to the second floor, which has three bayfront bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom. The fourth bedroom on this floor, also with a bathroom, has custom bunk beds combined with a trundle bed. A coffee bar, refrigerator and laundry are on this floor. A balcony overlooking the bay is accessible from three bedrooms.
The primary bedroom suite, on the third floor, has two walk-in closets, cathedral ceilings, a coffee bar, a fireplace and a covered deck. The third floor is also served by the elevator. The primary bathroom has a walk-in shower and a jetted tub that overlooks the bay through a six-foot-diameter circular Andersen window, which Bradley said is the largest he could find. An adjacent space that he called the “party room” has a refrigerator, bar seating and a sliding-glass door that leads to a balcony. A powder room and a laundry are also on this floor.
$5,599,900
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: 6/9
- Approximate square-footage: 4,550
- Lot size: 5,100 sq. ft.
- Features: This new house, on Assawoman Bay, has three floors, an elevator, several bars and a laundry area on each floor. The cabana area has two televisions, a hot tub and an L-shaped saltwater pool. There is a firepit on the way to a 50-foot pier. There is parking for six cars.
- Listing agent: Nancy Reither, Coldwell Banker Realty