AHH! It’s official – this little cottage on the bay I have fallen in love with is officially mine. But first, let me back up and tell you a little more about how I came to love this little house of mine.
I had been looking for a house on the bay for a couple years. I originally knew I wanted to be on the water in Maryland, but wasn’t sure exactly where. I started looking at Deep Creek Lake (which I LOVE), but eventually came to realize it wasn’t that practical. I mean, I love lake life as much as the next girl (and the town is super cute!), but if there is one thing my family consistently does every summer, it’s crabbing – and you can’t go crabbing on Deep Creek Lake.
Next was the random Zillow searches which lead to the more questions I had to think about. What side of the bay do I want to be on? Do I want to cross the Bay Bridge each time I go somewhere? How close to a town can I be without being “in the town” and losing that sense of peace I so desperately craved from the Bay… I looked at multiple towns on both sides of the bridge and eventually picked Cambridge.
Cambridge was appealing to me for multiple reasons…We have family in Taylors Island which is only about a 15-20 minute drive, it’s part of a larger town with both restaurants and grocery stores, it has things to do as a family, like movie theaters and bowling alleys…and it’s the the last “main” town before you start heading to Ocean City/Rehoboth.
Once I picked the area, the search became easier. I knew there were certain things I wanted – a dock, at least 2 bed/1 bath (with room to add on if needed), no HOA, and an open floor plan. Looking back, I think I also had fixer-upper on the list without realizing it because every house we looked at I pre-planned what I would change so it was only fitting we settled on a house that needed a little love.
That said, even with knowing the town the search was not an easy one. Back in June, I found a house I thought I loved. It was a 2 bed/1 bath recently renovated kitchen with a large lot on the water. It didn’t have dock, but it had the framework outlined and even had a boat ramp to the right on the house on the property. I truly thought “this is it!” Well, it wasn’t. This was right during the time when the COVID housing market blew up in certain areas because people wanted out of large cities and were moving to more rural towns since they were mostly working remote (if they could).
Long story short, I was in the middle of written a check for the estate money to submit my offer and my relator called and said they had an all cash, above asking offer with no home inspection – aka, game over.
So back to Zillow I went. A couple months later, I found another house I loved. I truly felt like this house was perfect. It was white and with black shutters, had a large front porch, it was on the bay in the back and a river that overlooked the marina from front so you had both a sunrise and sunset on the water (which is unheard of!) – to say I was sold was an understatement. However there was one problem. I was over budget and pretty far from where I wanted to be. Ultimately, we didn’t get that house and I was a little heart broken but tried to tell myself I would find something else – something better for what I wanted and that worked better for my family.
AND…we did! Only two weeks later I found the house that I would call mine. And ironically enough, it’s the house next door to the first house I thought I loved!
It’s funny to look back on my first visit to the street when I was looking at the other house because I didn’t even notice this one and now I can’t imagine being any where else! It’s 3 bed/1 bath and just over 1700 sq. ft. It has a large living room and dining room/kitchen combo that opens to the mudroom. The lot isn’t perfect – especially because, it’s not flat at all – but it has a dock with water big enough for our jet skis and boat. It also has a large shed and 2 car garage with an outdoor kitchen, which is something none of the other houses I found had.
While there are definitely changes I want to make, this house had really good bones and was clearly loved and well taken care of. It’s the perfect little house on the Bay for us and I am so happy the other two didn’t work out because I truly think this house was meant for my family to restore and make memories in.
The Bay House, as my nephew named it, has character, AMAZING hardwood floors, and is the perfect little getaway for us – and I couldn’t be happier.
All that’s left to do now is…get to work!
xx
Katie
The Chesapeake Cottage 