People spend so much time trying to fix themselves, when all they really have to do is sit still in the woods and let nature do the work. Reed Morrison said something like that.
Nature made him say it, Morrison said. Morrison is a trained psychologist. But more importantly, he lives with his wife, Sheila, at the edges of the gloriously wooded Patapsco State Park — a beautiful place with an ambling river, shy creatures and an atmosphere that influences thoughts and triggers profundity.
The bucolic wooded scene in the Morrisons’ backyard is punctuated by the occasional sound of a passing train on the B&O railroad tracks in the near distance. It’s the Morrison’s favorite place to be. In the house, broad windows, skylights and a screened sunroom bring the outdoors into just about anywhere in the two-story, four-bedroom home bordering historic Oella and Ellicott City.
Experiencing the unspoiled backyard and tree-rich surroundings feels like sitting on an observation deck or theater balcony with a nature movie playing on the JumboTron.
The couple, who met 35 years ago at the Savitria commune in Baltimore, says they are drawn to nature, whether it’s the nature of people or the woods that surround them.
Before they discovered their house on the perimeter of the Patapsco Park, they had been living in the suburbs of Ellicott City.
While out for a drive and not really looking for a house six years ago, Sheila recalled, they bumped into this one, accidentally finding their soul space. They made an offer that day.
Inside, the house is airy, welcoming and artistic. Painted furniture from the Southwest, mirrors framed with Kokopelli and Native American symbolism reflect the Morrisons’ spiritual grounding. A rare pre-Civil War stained-glass window, hand-painted in the center, hangs in front of the living room window.
A resized stained-glass door separates the sitting room, where chairs and artifacts made by Sheila’s grandmother share space with sculptures of dogs and angels made by artist Gary White early in his career. The window and door were gifts from Sheila’s father.
On the walls, professional-looking watercolors and photography created over the years by the couple’s three young adult children, Talia, Olivia and Josh, and Reed’s mother, Ruth, dominate.
“I call it relative art,” said Sheila, who is co-owner of Original Souls, an Ellicott City gift shop.
Looking around smiling, she added, “We like to surround ourselves with the works of family and friends.”
Sheila and Reed Morrison
• Style philosophy: Live close to nature, the park and the river.
• Style secrets: Have art and objects of meaning throughout the house.
• Got style from: Our desire to make our home warm and personal.
• Comfort vs. style: We are all about comfort.
• Color vs. texture: Use of both, warm, inviting and close to nature.
• Favorite color: Blue and green.
• What does color say to you? It must be warm and comfortable.
• Must-haves in your house: Relative art, that is art done by family and friends, art that reminds us of places we have been and where we have revitalized ourselves.
• Most beloved object: The view of the river.
• Most unusual thing about us: Our life stories.
• Life advice: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” — Gandhi
• Words to grow by: “The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.” — C.G. Jung
This couple stumbled upon their dream home six years ago and made an offer the same day. With Patapsco State Park as their backyard, they revel in all of nature’s wonderful offerings.
