It should come as no surprise that our travels influence our sense of design and style. If I were to travel exclusively to Manitoba, Canada, my design sense would be rather unfortunate. You’d visit my house and wonder about me. But if I were to travel exclusively to the south of France, well, then you’d visit my house and compliment me on my superior choices in furnishings and fabrics. This correlation between our experiences and our homes is undeniable and unavoidable, and it can either result in an amazing level of sophistication or a heavy dose of blah. In the case of my newest lakefront listing, the owner spends plenty of time in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The result is a lakefront home with a design sense heavily swayed by those travels. And that’s obviously a good thing.
Hillside Drive is a unique property for many reasons. The near town location is favored by our market, but most near-town homes are on smaller (most, but obviously not all) entry level sized lots. Forty or fifty feet, maybe more, sometimes a touch less. Hillside sits on a 124 foot level lot, allowing an oversized pier and an oversized level of privacy. There’s a garage that measures three if you’re counting shrewdly, but four if your automobiles are smaller than mine. There’s off road parking for another four or more cars, and a covered (screened) porch that spills out to a larger bluestone patio. In these aspects, this is an in-town house on a reasonably modest lot that plays like a much larger property.
The house itself is a brick fortress that has been softened through a massive renovation undertaken by the current seller. Small rooms were opened up to create larger rooms. Ceilings were blown up where possible. Hickory floors were added. Shilplap wood planing was added to the ceilings and walls. The bathrooms were updated and improved, as was the open and airy kitchen. Nothing in this house wasn’t touched by these renovations, and the end result is a charming lakefront home with Northeast inspired details and finishes. If you’ve never been to Manitoba, you can just trust me on this one, you’d rather a a house be influenced by Martha’s Vineyard. $5,950,000
