Historic Colonial with Studio/Workshop

This stately home was purchased nine years ago and lovingly painted, repaired and rejuvenated form top to bottom all the while retaining the original charm. Most of the woodwork has been brought back to it's original condition or replaced with perfectly matched new wood. The exterior porches have all been re-built and the slate roof has been repaired as needed. All of the interior surfaces have been painted in period colors and the exterior is a classic yellow, with cream trim and dark green windows and mutton's.

In short, all the work has been done and it is now ready for you to enjoy. If you an old home lover , this home will really catch your attention, as it has all the positive qualities of a center hall colonial of that era, large center hall with stairway, large four square floor plan, large windows, wide pine floors and understated, but classic, window and door trim details. Speaking of doors, the interior six panel doors in on the two front rooms are a full 36" wide, something I have never seen in any other home of it's kind.

Some people have questioned my classification of the house as a center hall colonial due to the Italianate Exterior roof trim and the hip roof design. The answer for that is that around the turn of the century , this house was on a different part of this two acre lot, and for some reason , it was moved one winter over the hard frozen ground by a team of oxen and placed on it's current foundation. I believe at that time, the roof was replaced with the current hip roof and the Italianate features added along with the porches and most likely the attached portico and studio.

Speaking of the portico, this is my absolute favorite aspect of this truly wonderful home. This covered patio connects from the north kitchen door and the west porch to the studio/workshop. In the summer it functions as a large open and airy patio that is protected from foul weather and the hot summer sun by a post and beam supported slate and metal roof. Fully opened sides on the east and the west allow for the cool breezes to flow through and make this area a truly magical one all summer long.

Directly across from the kitchen door and at the end of the breezeway is the studio or workshop. This space was originally an unfinished barn but the current owners have transformed it into a radiant heated fully insulated cabinet shop. With it's large windows and open story and a half interior, this would make a terrific studio for any artist, or a fantastically private in home office . I could see this space lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling and into the half loft that runs along the east wall. With the double french doors to access from the drive, this is space could easily be transformed to accommodate any hobby or work interest.

Buying Lakefront Homes

When Buyer’s think of owning a year round or seasonal waterfront residence, Vermont is not often the first state they look. But those who do, soon discover what a natural wonder and under utilized resource Lake Champlain is. From the long winding channels and locks that serve as your approach from the Hudson River to the multiple "gunk hole" anchorages throughout the Lake Champlain Islands, sailing, kayaking, fishing and boating this wonderful waterway is as varied and diverse as the homes that you will find scattered along its shores. Many of these "homes" started as seasonal cottages or "camps" as they are called by the locals. The origin of the term camp most probably originated from the fact that the original use of the lakeshore lots that these structures now occupy was nothing more than a camp site with a tent platform to provide a dry level spot for your trusty war surplus canvas tent. While you won’t find any tent platforms for sale these days, the homes that are offered will run the spectrum from seasonal, un-insulated cabins with little or no luxuries to large year round luxury homes complete with all the amenities you could imagine.
Just as the structures and homes will vary - so will the quality of the lakeshore itself. Some homes, while located on lots that go right to the waters edge, will have such steep banks that there is literally no way to get from the house site to the water without negotiating the bank on your hands and knees or installing an actual staircase to the water. The depth and quality of the lake water off the shore line can also be different from one bay or beach to another. True sand beaches, as you would normally picture them, are rare and hard to find. More likely the "beach" being offered in any advertisement will be horizontal slabs of ledge or "skipping stone" quality rocks mixed with large to sand size particles. Once you have re-adjusted your definition of beach, this wildly diverse lake offers everything from shallow slow flowing marshland teaming with waterfowl to extremely well protected deep water mooring spots. All of these things are possible; you just have to know where to look.

451 Sunset Ln, Ferrisburg

This is a really magical Victorian Camp that was actually built as a duplex "back in the day". It is two identical three bedroom , two story units under one Victorian roof. Built around 1902, it is located just north of The Basin Harbor Club on the shores of Lake Champlain. Follow the link to Basin Harbor Club to get more information about it. The neet thing is the Basin Harbor Club is actually open to the public and local folks get a Seasonal Social Membership that costs around $700 a year. It entitles you to the use of the waterfront beach and swim area, tennis courts, swimming pool and general use of the 700 acre resort. For an extra fee, there is an 18 hole Golf Course and motorized water sports. For the aviators out there, the have a nicely maintained grass airstrip.
Getting back to the " cottage", this is a great opportunity to establish a family, extended family or friend and family lake shore compound. This building lends itself perfectly to shared, multi-ownership, or timeshare style ownership. It has two spacious units with third floor expansion possibilities. The front of the building has a full length old fashioned porch big enough for a barn dance. The gently sloping lawn wend at the top of a field stone retainer with built in stone steps down to the real sand beach; Not pea stone, or shale or slab of ledge, but a real sand beach. The concrete dock extends out from the beach into deep water with a swim ladder built into the end. This whole package is situated in a protected cove with great mooring spots and huge views to of the Adirondack Mountains just across the lake. It truly does not get any better than this.

So check this out, call your friends and get together a group of six people or so and give me a call. With two units, six families could each enjoy a month on the lake in one of the signature lake shore properties in Ferrisburg, VT for a little more than $200,000 each.

Check in again soon where I will feature another truly unusual Vermont property.