Ellen Ruby Blog's: $10M Lakefront Escape Is New Hampshire’s Most Expensive Home

Tuesday, 1 September 2020

$10M Lakefront Escape Is New Hampshire’s Most Expensive Home

A lavish lakefront estate recently claimed the title of New Hampshire’s most expensive home. Listed last week for an even $10 million, the mansion on Wyman Drive near Wolfeboro sits on 6 acres, with 430 feet of frontage on Lake Winnipesaukee.

“This is one of the premier spots on the lake with the biggest views, and it’s an estate-sized lot, so it’s bigger than most,” says the listing agent, Adam Dow.

“The homeowners spent a lot of time and money, and poured their heart and soul into creating something that has high quality, to match the size of the lot and the grandeur of the lake.”

Built in 2005, the 14,458-square-foot home has seven bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms.

The master bedroom has lake views, and the master bath has a Japanese feel. The retreatlike bath has a special wood soaking tub called an ofuro, which has a canopy supported by four smooth tree trunks.

“They wanted to bring nature into the bathroom and make it feel like a lake house,” Dow explains. “In the tub, there are some stones, so you really feel you are part of nature in the bathroom.”

Exterior of house in Wolfeboro, NH
realtor.com

Master bathroom with ofuro tub
realtor.com

Each of the six other bedrooms has a lake view and a private bathroom.

Designed to blend into the trees and surroundings, the main living space has a huge wall of windows to highlight the lake view. There’s also a 30-foot, double-sided granite fireplace to provide coziness.

“When you walk in the door, it’s like you’re leaving wherever you came from and are entering this fantastic home,” Dow says.

He adds that you leave the hustle and bustle of city life once you hit the driveway and enter this tranquil space, and says the home provides a feeling of peace.

The kitchen has an open feel, with several windows, sloping ceilings, and lots of dining space, both indoors and outside on the large deck.

“You’re in the kitchen, but it feels like you’re on the water, because it’s very close to the water,” Dow explains.

Six people can sit at the large granite island when a meal is being prepped.

“[The owners] designed it so you could not only cook, but be a part of the entertainment,” Dow says. “They wanted to have a comfortable kitchen, but they wanted to make sure that when guests were there, they were able to visit with people while preparing a meal.”

The house also has a media room, a gym, a sauna, and an outdoor spa.

For water activities, there is a two-slip boathouse and dock, but no beach.

Dow says the owners could have put a beach in, but instead opted to keep more trees along the property line, for the natural feel and privacy they provide.

According to the agent, property on Lake Winnipesaukee is the new “it” thing.

“We’re about two hours from Boston, and it’s a spring-fed lake, so it’s a super clean lake. It has always been popular, but lately, certainly in the last few months with COVID, it’s been crazy how many people now want to buy a lake house versus travel the world,” says Dow.

He said the idea of a private lake house is less of a burden these days,

“[Before], the perfect buyer used to travel and didn’t want to feel locked down by having a place on the lake and feeling they have to come to it every year. But since COVID, that mindset has switched and [buyers] want to make sure they have a place to escape to.”

For those who are curious about the luxury market around the lake, a house on the other side of the lake ranks as the state’s second most expensive listing. That home of 20,000-plus square feet is on the market for $9.5 million.