List price: $3,200,000

Year built: 2008

Real estate agent: Henry Olaya, Northrop Realty

Last sold price/date: $1,100,000 / July 24, 2019

Property size: 20.82 acres

Unique features: It’s not where one might look for a stylish 20-acre waterfront estate. But this three-level home in Bowleys Quarters, on Middle River, offers a chic and futuristic residence along the eastern cusp of Baltimore County. The porcelain tile floors, white walls and ultra-modern motif evoke scenes from “Sleeper,” the Woody Allen film.

With more than 5,600 square feet of living space, the home has seven bedrooms and nine baths. To ward off the bone-chilling winter sea breeze, there are four fireplaces (wood, gas and electric), heated floors and a whole-house generator for back-up. Two hearths grace the primary suite, which has a cathedral ceiling, skylights, double walk-in closets, and its own deck. In the kitchen are double ovens and 42-inch custom-made cabinets with soft-close drawers for tiny hands. The lower level is almost a home in itself with a bedroom, bath, kitchenette, fireplace, rec area and private wine room.

The generous tract, conveniently flat, boasts established trees, a three-car garage and a stone-covered path leading to a pier and 800 feet of shoreline. The walk takes one past the outdoor pool, covered patio, fire pit, pavilion, goldfish pond and children’s tree house. The dock has two boat slips, a 10,000-pound lift and a jet ski lift for thrill-seekers.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List price: $1,195,000

Year built: 2002

Real estate agent: Dave Hudson, Cummings & Co. Realtors

Last sold price/date:  $550,000 / Nov. 7, 2002

Property size: 1.72 acres

Unique features: Privacy abounds at this three-story colonial, which sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac and backs up to several hundred acres of preserved farmland in northern Harford County. Crops, not condos, are one’s neighbors for life.

The brick-front home has nearly 6,400 square feet of living space, including two kitchens, six bedrooms and five full bathrooms. In the main kitchen are granite counters, a double sink and a pantry. There are hardwood floors on the main level, carpeting in the bedrooms and ceramic tile in the baths. The master bedroom boasts a two-sided gas fireplace, whose flip side connects to the primary bath and — get this — sits atop a jetted tub. One can enjoy the glowing hearth during a soothing soak.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the family room look out at the rural acreage. The lower level features a home theater, a mirrored workout room (with Nautilus station) and that convenient second kitchen. Outside, the nearly 1¾ acre estate has a ground-level patio, a screened rear deck and a heated in-ground pool surrounded by a decorative wrought-iron fence. Established trees and shrubs grace the landscape. Lounging in the pool, one sees nothing but farmland for one mile, maybe more.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List Price: $3,150,000

Year Built: 1913

Real estate agent: Jason Perlow, Monument Sotheby’s International Realty

Last sold price/date: $1,775,000 / Oct. 15, 2013

Property size: 3.4 acres

Unique features: Window seats, leaded glass and an antique chandelier? This three-story Colonial Revival flaunts its age, cozying up to the past on a nearly 3-½ acre estate in Ruxton. There are decorative carved mantles on the fireplaces, reclaimed heart pine flooring in the kitchen and original double-pocket doors in the living room.

Built in 1913, the stucco home beckons with a covered, wrap-around porch and stone gazebo out front, plus a small hill for winter sledding. There are hardwood floors and bay windows, both upstairs and down. The two-story foyer features a curved staircase leading to the primary suite, with a spacious bedroom, dressing room and bath. The latter has Italian marble-topped vanities, wall toiletry shelves, a walk-in closet and custom plantation shutters. Of the six bedrooms, three have ornate fireplaces. On the third floor is a large carpeted playroom with storage cubbies for kids.

The sizeable kitchen includes 42-inch custom maple cabinets, marble counters and a cast iron farm sink. Out back are wide bluestone walkways leading to a rear patio with a handsome brick fireplace for grilling. Beyond, under dappled sunlight, is a heated, in-ground 50-foot swimming pool. A lighted breezeway joins the detached two-car garage to the back porch, and a nearby storage shed awaits its fill.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List Price: $1,800,000

Year built: 2002

Real estate agent: Creig Northrop, Northrop Realty

 Last sold price/date: $473,000 (land alone) / May 9, 2000

Property size: 4.05 acres

Unique features: With multiple turrets and an Old World charm, this custom-built mansion has the look of a Bavarian castle. The sprawling brick-and-cedar home sits on four woodsy acres, at the end of a quiet road near Ellicott City. With nearly 7,300 square feet of living space, there’s enough room to celebrate Oktoberfest, or any other gala, in grand style.

There’s an open, flowing feel to the house, with its two-story ceilings and oversized windows. The grand foyer has a marble floor and a circular skylight. There are four fireplaces, five staircases, six bedrooms and seven stylish baths. The kitchen features 42-inch cabinets, a center island with a handy prep sink and a breakfast nook with lofty windows peering into the leafy landscape.

This one-off home boasts a unique second-floor sitting room at the top of the main staircase, with handsome bookshelves and a tray ceiling. A separate guest suite offers bedroom, bath, mini-fridge and wet bar. plus a private entrance from one of two garages.

The property is marked by a circular driveway, stone patios and brick archways. Japanese maples and brilliant azaleas dot the premises, while a stone path leads to a wooden gazebo set deep in the woods. It’s a fairy-tale setting that would delight the likes of the Brothers Grimm.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List price: $950,000

Year built: 2000

Real estate agent: Elisabeth Yeager, Homes and Farms Real Estate

Last sold price/date: $530,000 / June 30, 2014

Property size: 2.19 acres

Unique features: Nestled in northern Carroll County, the three-story colonial has six bedrooms, five baths, three fireplaces and a spacious office for telecommuters. A private quarter-mile driveway, past an adjoining horse farm, leads to the custom-built home, with its stone veneer and wraparound front porch. A two-story foyer flows into the office, which is set apart by double-glazed French doors. There, one can work late and tumble into the first-floor bedroom without disturbing others.

The kitchen, featuring custom cabinets and a gleaming center island, leads to the pantry, which, in turn, leads to the two-car garage, making unloading groceries a breeze. Upstairs, the master suite features a bath with a vaulted ceiling, a jetted corner tub and dual shower heads. That same bedroom leads to a private covered deck that overlooks the in-ground pool and poolhouse, pergola, stone hearth and hot tub, the last of which beckons beneath a leafy arbor.

Elsewhere on the two-acre estate are a spacious workshop building and a three-stall barn, both with electricity. There’s also a treehouse for kids and wooden sheds for prospective goats and chickens (livestock not included).

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List Price: $2,980,000 (to be auctioned Oct. 22-30)

Year Built: 1929

Real estate agent: Brad Kappel, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Last sold price/date: $2,370,000 / Dec. 6, 2019

Property size: 6.47 acres

Unique features: Live in the brick mansion on this densely wooded island in the Severn River, and your only real neighbors are the osprey, bald eagles and a skulk of foxes.

The 6½-acre estate comprises nearly half of St. Helena Island, a private retreat with a colorful past. In the last 100 years, it has been the site of a private club, a home for handicapped children, a wedding venue, a casino (once raided) and, during Prohibition, a bootleggers’ haven. The Federal Revival-style residence dates to that era (1929) and was modeled after Homewood, the 19th-century mansion on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. It retains many original features, including mahogany floors, hearths of Belgian marble and leaded casement windows. Several antique chandeliers and safes (including a walk-in vault) bedeck the home, first owned by a noted financier.

The main house boasts five bedrooms and six baths. There’s also a guest cottage and a remodeled water tower, now a home office with a panoramic view of the landscape. With 1,600 feet of shoreline (and a sandy beach), the property is easily accessible by water. A pier is flanked by three boat lifts and a deep-water slip that can handle 110-foot yachts. Maybe the foxes were stowaways.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List Price: $2,500,000

Year Built: 1991

Real estate agent: Patty Manly, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, PenFed Realty

 Last sold price/date: $1,300,000 / April 8, 2011

Property size: 10.4 acres

Unique features: On paper, it bears all of the hallmarks of a flamboyant mansion: Five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, six fireplaces and two  garages. In truth, this three-story brick colonial doesn’t fit the bill. Elegance trumps extravagance; this place is proof.

More stylish than showy, the home sits at the foot of a shared half-mile lane that ends in a circular driveway on the 10½-acre estate. With 26 rooms and nearly 7,000 square feet of living space, its enormity should be overwhelming; instead, the custom-built house evokes a sense of tasteful grace, with its patient attention to detail and design. There are cozy hearths and hardwood floors at every turn. The kitchen, nearly the size of a studio apartment, features two islands, granite counters, high-end cabinets and a walk-in pantry.

Dual staircases in the foyer lead upstairs, with a focus on the master suite — a four-room accommodation with bedroom, sitting room with fireplace, private balcony and two en-suite bathrooms. One has a jacuzzi tub; the other, a soaking tub and walk-in shower. The third floor features a nearly 600-square-foot bedroom, with a bath, great for sleepovers for kids.

Aside from the in-ground heated pool, the backyard is a salute to classic brick, from the deck and patio to the detached four-car garage, which has a guest room upstairs. With bath, natch.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List price: $2,350,000

Year built: 1925

Real estate agent: Hilary Beam, Cummings & Co.

Last sold price/date: $1,900,000 / July 26, 2022

Property size: 0.41 acre

Unique features: A Wimbledon tennis champion lived here. So did a Baltimore beer baron. This three-story brick residence has hosted a bevy of luminaries in its 100 years. One of the first homes built in the upscale community of Guilford, the stately mansion sits on a rise opposite Sherwood Gardens, the historic 6-acre tulip showcase established at the same time.

With six bedrooms and four and a half baths, the home boasts 21 rooms, hardwood floors and four fireplaces on a nearly half-acre, tree-shaded lot. Bright and airy, it’s loaded with wall shelves and kitchen cabinets, with an eat-in sunroom and more than 7,300 square feet of living space. The marble-topped kitchen was once the pride of Arthur Deute, a widely known gourmet and cookbook author who, in the 1940s, hosted festive meals that he prepared himself. Deute also served as president of the National Brewing Co. Another homeowner was Charles Garland, who, with his partner, won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in 1920.

The residence offers a generous home office and — in the primary bedroom suite — a soaking tub, oversized shower and twin vanities. The finished basement features a recreation room and wet bar. The slate roof is nearly new.  There’s a patio out back, a picket fence around the yard and a detached two-car garage.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List Price: $584,500

Year Built: 1955

Real estate agent: Meg Weetenkamp, Cummings & Co.

 Last sold price/date: $166,000 / Jan. 10, 1997

Property size: 5,227 square foot lot

Unique features: This snug brick colonial is everything a McMansion is not. It is unpretentious, yet chic — and affordable to a much wider market. Built 70 years ago, the well-kept, two-story home is attractive to boomers of that age who’d like to downsize in retirement from a large estate while still living an independent lifestyle. Markets and bakeries are close by, and the Towson ‘Y’ is a short walk away.

With 2,500 square feet of living space, the place lacks the sprawl and amenities of larger homes, yet offers a cozy ambiance. The living room boasts a wood-burning fireplace and built-in cabinets. There’s a large bay window in the dining area and a homey, if modest-sized, kitchen. There are hardwood floors throughout, though some are carpet-covered.

Upstairs are three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a half-bath. A separate staircase leads to the attic, awaiting new use: a children’s bedroom, perhaps, or a home office. The basement, half-paneled, is roomy and ready to serve as a workshop, recreation room or home gym. As is, the cellar offers ample storage space for either empty nesters or young families seeking a stable neighborhood in a strong school district, and with a park nearby.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.

List price: $3,890,000

Year built: 2006

Real estate agent: Brad Kappel, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Last sold price/date: $1,700,057 / Jan. 17, 2013

Property size: 2.59 acres

Unique features: There’s a touch of whimsy about this French country-style waterfront home, from the curved floating staircase in the foyer to the secret playroom concealed behind a bookshelf in a children’s closet. It’s a storybook setting with fanciful alcoves throughout, and windows and archways of imaginative shapes and sizes.

The three-story home has six bedrooms, each with its own bath, and more than 9,000 square feet of living space. The gourmet, chef-friendly kitchen boasts a breakfast nook, six-burner stove, built-in microwave and walk-in pantry. In the walk-out basement are a second living room, gym, sauna and guest suite, with a bath. Step outside to another kitchen, made for al fresco dining.

Five fireplaces, geothermal heating and two wet bars help offset the winter winds that whip off Church Creek, which is 100 yards down a wooded path. The property’s 157 feet of shoreline includes a deep-water dock, three boat slips and ample fishing for striped bass and white perch. Swim in the creek or the heated saltwater pool, with its pebble-sheen finish, sun shelf and accompanying hot tub.

Two multi-car garages complete the 2½ acre estate, with its large front yard on a dead-end street. The circular driveway can fit six more cars. Should water encroach, it won’t be from above: the synthetic slate roof has a 50-year warranty.

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.