The thought of a vacation home can, at times, invoke powerful images of solitude. Flash to an ideal afternoon, and many times the scenery is selfish, involving no one but yourself and perhaps a rowboat tethered to a wobbly white pier. My own moments of selfish inflection tend to paint me as Henry David Thoreau, and find me alone, with a fishing pole, on my own Walden far from the whines of my children and the burden of responsibility. I have enjoyed solitary vacations in my life, perhaps more than most (pre-wedding), and while I enjoyed the quiet times spent inside my own head, I usually found myself wishing I had someone to share the scenery with. When I have vacationed as an adult (post-wedding), I have often found myself looking for exactly the opposite. Typical beach vacations, where arm fulls of beach toys and beach going apparatuses stop to rest to scan the scenery after the first steps onto sand. The scanning is now no longer geared towards finding a restful spot where, perhaps, I might read a book in relative peace, but instead the goal now is to find children so that my children might be occupied. Solitary vacations were nice while they lasted, but today, now, with children in tow, I demand company that might afford my children a new group of temporary friends.
There’s a magic in Lake Geneva in the way it allows complete flexibility for how you prefer to vacation. If you’re looking for lakefront solitude, I can find you a densely wooded property where your only neighbors are deer, turkey, and fall run brown trout. If you demand action, I can plop you smack dab in the middle of the Lake Geneva lakefront, where short strolls to your morning coffee are measured in paces, not minutes. If you want lakefront solitude in a condominium setting, I can send you to Stone Manor where you’ll while away your summer and winter days nearly oblivious to the happenings of the unimportant world around you. I can find you want you want, and in the case of my new Geneva lakefront listing, I have found you vacation home utopia. You’re welcome.
My newest lakefront offering is located at 412 Harvard Avenue in Fontana’s Glenwood Springs. This lakefront location was carefully chosen by the current seller for it’s exciting atmosphere and plethora of families vacationing in the immediate vicinity (there are also singles, old people, young people, obviously). The lakefront at Glenwood Springs is unique in that the lakefront homes in this classic association actually front on the 1800′ of common association park frontage that runs the length of the lakefront boundaries. The owners still have piers (this home has one pier that accommodates the seller’s 27′ and 16′ boats) but their homes open onto a huge grassy swatch that runs narrowly along the lakefront. This park setting creates ample opportunities for children and adults alike, as kids can readily run and play all across the lakefront lawn, instead of being narrowly hemmed in by a hedge-rowed 50′ lakefront lot where playing catch with your son disintegrates quickly into a foray through your neighbors Hydrangeas in search of that little white ball.
The home, pure and simple, is absolutely perfect. There are homes with fine appointments, where the superb tastes of the owners are on display from room to room, but rarely is a home as complete and thoroughly charming as this barely two year old vacation home. There is Plato cabinetry and cut-granite masonry fireplaces (2), there is a living room that opens to a dining room that opens to the intentionally oversized kitchen (Wolf range, Subzero refrigerators- kitchen in header photo), which all open onto the covered and screened lakeside porches. If you’re looking for proximity to the water, there is nothing but a few feet of grassy lawn that runs between your lake house and your private pier. Oh, and that grassy lawn? It’s association property, so not only do you not have to maintain it, but you don’t have to pay taxes on it either (taxes are just $13,235!)
The custom designed home (Jason Bernard, Architect) features four bedrooms, each with their own supremely appointed bathroom. The walls are paneled, as in classical lakefront homes from another century, and the home has been finished with the most refined fit and finish. The private den, anchored by a magnificent granite fireplace (see above) would make for a perfect office for those unable, or unwilling, to leave their work in a zip code initiated with a six. The finished basement features a large exercise room, full bath (there are six full baths in this house), and a play room that makes for a perfect spot to stash kids or unruly adults. Perhaps best of all, there is a sand beach not more than 300′ from this lakefront home (give or take), so the incessant cries for a beach are finally satiated by this sandy oasis just down the shore path. Equally important is the fun location in Fontana, where a walk to Gordy’s or Chuck’s might take all of 7 minutes, in sandals.
Rarely do interior elements combine as effectively and perfectly as they have in this lakefront home, and today, for you, the price of $2.49MM buys this bit of lakefront heaven. The current owner has since moved down the lake a ways to another lakefront vacation home, but he has still felt a lasting attachment to this newly built home. His children will miss their friends, he says, and he’ll miss the warm vacation home feeling that Glenwood Springs so easily conveys. Consider his loss your gain, and come take a look at this picture perfect shingled vacation home this weekend. I might even tuck my shirt in if you do.