Piedmont Farm, Howard County, Md.

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Erik Kvalsvik

Piedmont Farm's entry hall features an elegantly curved staircas… Read More Piedmont Farm's entry hall features an elegantly curved staircase.

Erik Kvalsvik

The design awards jurors particularly admired the home's circula… Read More The design awards jurors particularly admired the home's circulation gallery.

Erik Kvalsvik

The light-filled gallery accesses both the main entry hall and t… Read More The light-filled gallery accesses both the main entry hall and the garden outside.

Erik Kvalsvik

The home's millwork is scaled appropriately for its tall ceiling… Read More The home's millwork is scaled appropriately for its tall ceilings and generously proportioned spaces.

Erik Kvalsvik

A wood-lined library still feels light and airy, thanks to trans… Read More A wood-lined library still feels light and airy, thanks to transom windows and a large bay.

Erik Kvalsvik

Muse Architects used the same stone that covers the home's exter… Read More Muse Architects used the same stone that covers the home's exterior for this interior fireplace detail.

This traditional country house in Maryland contains a graceful sequence of grandly scaled rooms. The ground-floor ceilings are 12 feet high, with 8-foot-tall interior doors and transoms. Muse Architects designed an appropriately scaled trim package that can carry the rooms’ scale, much to the judges’ pleasure. “Exemplary millwork,” said a juror.

One of the jury’s favorite spaces was a circulation gallery (shown, left) with a library at the end. The marble floor uses simple patterns to break up the long room and to connect to the rooms off the corridor. “They’re like little carpets of marble,” says principal Stephen Muse. The gallery’s stately columns and French doors lend the space an elegance equally shared by the rest of the interiors.

Entrant/Architect: Muse Architects, Bethesda, Md.; Builder: Horizon Builders, Crofton, Md.; Landscape architect: Graham Landscape Architecture, Annapolis, Md.; Interior designer: Carroll A. Frey Interiors, Baltimore; Living space: Withheld; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Erik Kvalsvik.

Resources: Bathroom fittings/fixtures: Kohler, www.kohler.com, Mico Designs, www.micodesigns.com, Santec, www.santecfaucet.com, Sunrise Specialty, www.sunrisespecialty.com; Dishwasher: Bosch, www.bosch-home.com; Doors: TruStile, www.trustile.com; Garbage dispoal: KitchenAid, www.kitchenaid.com; Hardware: Baldwin, www.baldwinhardware.com; Kitchen cabinets: Rutt, www.ruttcabinetry.biz, William Ohs, www.wmohs.com; Kitchen fittings/fixtures: Kohler, www.kohler.com, ROHL, www.rohlhome.com; Lighting fixtures: Lightolier, www.lightolier.com; Oven/range: Wolf, www.subzero-wolf.com; Paints/stains/wall finishes: Benjamin Moore, www.benjaminmoore.com; Refrigerator: Sub-Zero, www.subzero-wolf.com; Skylights: Velux, www.veluxusa.com; Windows: Dynamic, www.dynamicwindows.com