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Photography by Celia Pearson
Styled by Jennifer Lilly
In 1994, furniture designer Dan Hale built a house in Severna Park that calls to mind a host of adjectives—but “ordinary” isn’t one of them.
Constructing his residence from scratch in the style of a Danish farmhouse, the nationally famed craftsman imbued it with so many signature touches that current owner Linda Cameron says that, ten years after moving in, she’s still discovering the details. Cameron delights in pointing out the “magical treasures” that Hale created: ceramic faces on drawer pulls, ceiling lights made from drinking glasses, plump birds perched atop bookcases with chicken-wire doors. Just as beguiling are his architectural surprises, such as the porthole built into the stairwell wall. “Every child and animal that comes into the house finds that spot,” she says with a laugh.
Outside, a rounded two-story tower adds a fairytale touch, while a bluestone porch provides water views of the Severn River. Inside, Hale’s handcrafted furniture, clocks, and fixtures suffuse the rooms with obvious charm.
Cameron and her husband, Glenn Gilmor, weren’t planning to buy a new home until mutual friends introduced them to Hale in 1998. The artist, who’d spent four years in the house, was looking for just the right successors for his property and invited them to take a look. “It was July, the windows were open, and the kids were running back and forth from the house to the beach,” Cameron recalls. “We literally spent about ten minutes inside before we decided to buy it.”
Reflecting on their previous address—a traditional colonial in a modern development—she grins. “We didn’t have a creative bone in our bodies,” she says. “This place helped us break out of our mold.”
Hale’s house offered an aesthetic that wowed the new owners. The designer used simple materials throughout, principally wood, tile, plaster, and cast concrete, which conjured an atmosphere that is part European cottage, part American folk art. Custom French doors, casement windows, and ten-foot ceilings provide for an abundance of natural light. “I like things that are less polished, and I’m always finding new materials,” explains Hale, who has since relocated to northern California. “But the big thing on this house was the porch and the connection to the outdoors. I wanted to blur that inside/outside line as much as I could.”
Re-using materials was important, too. For one banister leading to the entertainment area, Hale used a sailboat mast; for another, a hand-carved length of fallen poplar. He continued the botanical theme in the study on the first floor of the turret, sculpting a plaster relief of leaves and branches over the walls.
One room in particular won Cameron’s heart: the kitchen. A wide wooden farm table with stools spans the center, and slate counters and stainless appliances flank the alcove that holds the range. Large, hand-painted drawers with inlaid faces offer “amazing storage,” amplified by tall, glass-front cabinets. Overstuffed armchairs next to the table invite repose. “It’s organic and ultra-simple—special without being expensive,” Cameron says.
The challenge the couple faced was making Hale’s unique residence their own. “For the first few years, it still was Dan’s house,” Cameron notes. Eventually, she and Gilmor, with the help of Annapolis’s Belinda McClure of Belinda McClure Interiors, undertook renovations, removing a wall between the kitchen and family room, and adding a second bathroom to the master suite. To gain space, they raised the roof of the turret by crane, making sure to keep Hale’s hand-painted ceiling intact.
Still, Hale’s spirit emerges in droll touches throughout the house. A gondolier poles his lamp-boat over the dining table; tree trunks stand in for columns on the guesthouse porch; rounded doorways recall the arches of a Moorish palace. Living among such whimsy, Cameron says, has been a gift in itself. “We’ve learned that a house can add fun to your life, and remind you not to take things so seriously.”
Carol Denny writes from Arnold, Md.
