1606 West Main Street

I’ll live my entire life without buying Waterworks tile. I have dabbled with buying a Waterworks faucet or two, but even in that I’ve backed off in the later innings of those financial games. Waterworks tile is beautiful, and it isn’t that I don’t wish to someday have some of it under my feet and on the walls of my someday shower, it’s just that I know myself rather well. I will never, ever, be able or willing to pay the price that this tile commands.

There’s also very little chance that I ever install a pool at my house. I have plenty of room, and several visitors have asked, mostly in jest, where I plan to plant the pool. If I did put in a pool, I’d probably put in some sort of knock-off pool, a rigid plastic form that hides under the water, so as not to reveal its true composition. I’d probably never pay the sort of fees necessary to install a really beautiful pool. Less the pool itself, and more the landscaping and surround work that must accompany such a pool. I’d maybe swing the pool, and then put old plastic lawn chairs on top of my gravel surround.

Enter 1606 West Main.

I don’t really need to write all of the ways that this remarkable Lake Geneva vacation home surpasses most every other off-water home in this market. The pictures do a fine job telling this story. I want to call this house a cottage, because it feels sort of like one, but it lacks cottagey deficiencies, which elevates it from pure cottage form to some greater level of home, one with cottage elements and charm, yes, but it has all of that and so much more sophistication that might need to be seen to be understood. The property is part of Lake Geneva Manor, and it’s a very short walk from downtown Lake Geneva. There’s a large stone wall that separates this home from the rest of the world, and once inside that gate you’re treated to a setting that’s more resort like than summer cottage-ish.

Inside, the home has three (four if you count the one in the lower level) bedrooms, three finished living areas, two fireplaces, a poolside sunroom, and elegance galore. The bathrooms have been, as I mentioned, lavishly upgraded. The home itself feels like a finely polished jewel box, with nothing left undone. But the true magic of this home is in the lush landscape, the way that the terraced gardens create a decidedly luxurious oasis. The pool is accented by a massive outdoor fireplace, and as someone who once sat near that fireplace during an evening party, I can attest to its transformative qualities. All of this luxury just a short stroll to downtown Lake Geneva.

The home is listed at $1.195MM, and it offers value far below replacement cost. If you like the idea of lake access through Geneva Manor, combined with an overwhelmingly charming home, wrapped inside a impeccably landscaped shell, this is for you. If, however, you hate the finer things in life, and you hate pretty things, and you definitely can’t stand high end fit and finish, then I hear Paw Paw lake calling your name.