Once you live on the water, it’s hard to look back. Area homeowners Diane and John were living on Whitewater Lake, but frequently traveled to the Lake Geneva area to visit. Eventually, they began looking for a home on Geneva Lake, and found a lot in the South Shore Club. The club offered an appealing array of amenities — which is unique to find in a waterfront development — that the couple couldn’t resist.
“We like being able to reserve a boat when we want to and not have to deal with the hassles of owning a boat,” says Diane. “There are tennis and pickleball courts, a pool and a club house, which are all great for entertaining.”
Diane and John worked with Orren Pickell Building Group to help them shape the vision for their new home. Diane loved that their design team provided a footprint, and then she and John chimed in with their preferred design elements.
“Working with Pickell was great — it was very organized,” said Diane.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but they walk you through the whole process, and give you a timetable of when you need to make decisions.”
The designers at Orren Pickell also flawlessly executed the home’s exterior stonework that echoes the elegant style of the property.
“The home’s veneer is Eden-Valders stone, laid in an Oakfield web pattern,” says Thomas Pins, lead architect with Orren Pickell Building Group. “These stones were mined from one of eight quarries in Wisconsin.”
By Tasha Downing | Photography by Norman Sizemore
MORE ABOUT THIS HOME
7,996 square feet | 6 bedrooms | 6 bathrooms
- Gorgeous landscaping by ILT Vignocchi provides a lush backdrop for the English Tudor-style home.
- The wood floors are wire-brushed, five-inch American white oak. Orren Pickell Building Group achieved the floor’s rich brown hue by water popping the wood and adding a custom satin color and Loba semi-gloss finish. Principal interior designer Janet McCann of Janet McCann Associates helped select the home’s furnishings.
- The sunny, four-season porch is one of the couple’s favorite places to have a cup of coffee or entertain guests. White shiplap walls meld perfectly with the lake views, and white furnishings add to the lightness of the space.
- Classic two-over-four vertical windows maximize gorgeous lake views in the bedroom. The elegant ceiling beams are hand-hewn Douglas fir timbers stained in weathered grey.
- Hexagon tiles add visual interest to the shower and bathroom floor. “I wanted the primary bathroom to have great lighting and storage, a makeup area and a beautiful shower with light colored tile,” says Diane. “It’s a very spacious, bright and light-filled area.”