Friday, June 3, 2011

Lake Lanier Retreat

I recently obtained a Listing Agreement for a three bedroom stone home on beautiful Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta.  Most homes we list on the lake have the normal issues with the less than stellar condition of the wooden decks and docks, but not this home.  The deck and dock are not new, but were in remarkably good condition.  This tells me that the owners work very hard on maintenance of their home.

The lake and single slip dock are down the hill from the home and can be easily walked or accessed by the golf cart included in the sale.  When installing a “For Sale” sign on the dock for passing boaters, I saw a huge largemouth bass swim past the dock, so I plan to do some fishing prior to my open house tomorrow.  The dock is on a very quite cove so you don’t hear the normal sounds that often intrude into other lake homes--boat and Jet Ski noise.

The driveway to the home is very long and curved, so guests have lots of parking and never need to park on the private street.  The first thing you notice while in the driveway is the home is very well maintained stone structure, with some very interesting architectural angles on the roof line.  The next thing you notice is all the stonework on the property.  There’s a huge retaining wall made of very large rocks creating a level front yard.  The steps from the parking area are made of stacked stone and flagstone.  The flagstone sidewalk meanders toward the hand carved wooden entrance door.

Once inside, you’ll be amazed at the details of this peaceful home.  Skylights over the entranceway and in all the bathrooms provide lots of natural light, eliminating the need to have lights on during the daytime.  The master bedroom is large with a four-season sitting room just perfect for reading and relaxing.  The home has what the owners call their coffee room.  It’s a small screened room with French doors contiguous to the dining room.  When entertaining the owners open the doors to make the dining room much larger, but without guests, they enjoy their morning coffee, newspaper and the absolute quiet.

Finally, there is a large covered screened porch with a built-in swing, just perfect for relaxing and recharging from Atlanta’s urban living.  The owners sit with their children reading, relaxing, playing games or watching TV almost every evening.  Outside the screened porch is an open deck for cooler days at the lake and a custom stone fire pit.

All in all, this home is a perfect weekend retreat from work and stress, or a fulltime residence that’s thirty minutes or less to Atlanta and forty minutes from Buckhead.  For more information click on:  http://www.georgiabrokersrealestate.com/Featured%20Listings.htm



Monday, April 4, 2011

Lenox Park, Military Reunion 2011

I know I’m telling my age, but I am planning a reunion of the Company I served in between 1969-1970.  Yes, it was Vietnam and I spent one year as a grunt in A Company, 1/12th Cav.  Why is this in my blog, you say?  Well, I couldn’t think of a better place to have my fellow Troopers meet than in Lenox Park. 
I have blogged about Lenox Park before and mentioned it was a Planned Unit Development located in Buckhead, Atlanta’s preeminent shopping and restaurant neighborhood.  Within Lenox Park, the residential and commercial areas were defined in the plan, and a hotel was part of that.  The Residence Inn Marriott was built many years ago and now offers a quiet retreat within the bustling Buckhead neighborhood.  The men I served with can stay in a nice hotel and use the meeting room facilities off the lobby, and when we host the reception in our home in the evening, they can walk to the event.  Atlanta is a city that you need a car, but once in the hotel in Lenox Park, you can take advantage of the free parking and not be behind the wheel unless you wish to travel unrelated to the reunion.  I should add, Atlanta’s rapid transit system is a short walk from the hotel, and the hotel offers free shuttle to it, and local shopping malls.      
We are meeting over Memorial Day weekend and I’ll blog more about this after the event.