Home along the South River has tropical getaway feel

Along the South River’s Broad Creek inlet, the neighborhood of Broadview Estates is a study in stark architectural contrast.

Residents can choose to live in a Colonial reproduction saltbox like their early American counterparts, or they can opt for the slick, contemporary style of alternating levels of wood and glass. In this development of houses that stagger down to the wide body of water, there is very little in between.

Pam and Bob Goldberg chose the latter when they purchased their home in 1989 for $600,000. They were the second owners of the 21/2-year-old home. What the Goldbergs lost in a front lawn — where another contemporary design blocks their view of the street — they more than made up for in the third-of-an-acre waterfront vista at the back of their home.

“I never thought I’d want a house off the road, but it seems very private,” said Pam Goldberg, a 71-year-old associate broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “The idea is that it should be casual and livable. We’re not formal; we’re dog people.”

As though on cue, Brinkley, a 5-year-old springer spaniel, and Daisy, a 101/2-year old labradoodle, bark out welcomes from the backyard deck.

“I wanted the house to feel like an island vacation [with] a tropical ambience,” she said.

That interior design scheme is found in most of the rooms, including the open, U-shaped kitchen and adjacent family room overlooking the back deck.

Walls here are painted a buttery yellow, which provides a warm backdrop to the kitchen’s white beadboard cabinets and stainless-steel appliances. Black granite countertops create dramatic contrast. A two-tiered part of the kitchen island serves as a long hutch, where stemware, dishes and cookbooks sit behind six glass-paned doors.

The yellow walls carry over to the family room, where furnishings such as bright, tropical flower-print throw pillows add a colorful finish to a pair of leather contemporary sofas — one in red, the other in black. The decor is reminiscent of a Hawaiian resort. A large paddle fan is hung from the ceiling over a 3-foot-square, glass-topped coffee table with an orchid plant sitting at the center. Goldberg has personalized the room — and the whole house — with artwork purchased on her travels. Colorful oil paintings in this room include village scenes from Haiti and Jamaica.

On the screened-in porch, a Lloyd Flanders wicker furniture suite includes a glass-topped round table and chairs with bright cushions, as well as a sofa and hassock with matching upholstery. Through hanging exotic ferns and potted palms, one can take in the water, homes on the opposite shore and boats tied at their docks.

“The screened-in porch is my favorite room in the house,” Goldberg said. “A lot of steamed shrimp has been eaten on this porch.”

Goldberg has set her living room and dining room apart from the rest of home’s tropical decor by keeping them formal.

An unusually long, rectangular mirror over the dining room buffet features an eight-sided, beveled star in its center. Four beveled glass panels are worked into the top of the burled-wood dining room table, which seats 10. A blown-glass menorah by David Goldhagen sits on top of old wooden television cabinet that has been converted into a pull-out bar.

A two-sided brick fireplace separates the room from the adjacent living room. A framed, stylized print by Gail Bruce titled “Girl with White Hat” hangs over the dining room mantel. Its use of primary colors and a face without features provides a relative sense of calm over the room.

The home’s sunken living room, foyer and staircase are under a cathedral ceiling with skylights, which provides natural light and a sense of elegance. Goldberg’s eclectic taste in furnishings is evident in the living room’s white sectional contemporary sofa paired with an Oriental rug in red tones. The brick fireplace on this side extends to the ceiling.

A tall maple-and-glass cabinet in the room is a display case for Lladro and Hummel figurines, Waterford crystal, Royal Doulton china, a tea set from occupied Japan, and inherited Meissen figurines.

It’s back to beachy casual on the second level, where the master bedroom features a white island furniture suite from Shofer’s in Baltimore, a wicker Lloyd Flanders rocker, and linens decorated with palm trees. Another fireplace here is part of the same brick chimney found in the living and dining room rooms.

A guest room and sitting room are located at the other end of the open hallway. The guest room holds special meaning for Goldberg — in it she has placed a wooden cabinet with glass doors and shelving to display a doll collection from all over the world, gifts she brought home from her travels as presents for her now-grown daughter.

The Goldbergs’ collection of artwork, objets d’art and family photographs are found throughout their home. A colorful Italian country scene is a favorite of Bob Goldberg, a 73-year-old retired microsystems developer. Pam Goldberg’s favorite painting, of two Western boys with their horses, hangs in the foyer.

Perhaps the most beautiful landscape is the one beyond the back of the house. It is an ever-changing scene of the river, boats, tall trees and a formal garden that they share with their neighbors.

“Last year we thought about moving, but there’s something about waking up and looking at this view,” said Pam Goldberg.

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