DOOR COUNTY LOG HOME CRAFTSMANSHIP IS UNSURPASSED

Starting with logs from the north woods and hand-stripping off the bark, every detail of this home was built from start to finish by hand by skilled craftsmen.

Shown here is a corner of the dovetailed, chinked construction of the home.  The log construction is also exposed on the inside walls, and the total effect is a warm, cozy, solidly built home.

This home is offered for sale and the asking price is $339,000.  The present owners (two couples) have made it available for weekly rentals when not using it themselves and have turned it into quite a profitable venture.  They already have 92 nights reserved for this coming season.  That certainly helps with the cost of ownership!

The home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a great room with soaring tongue-in-groove wood ceiling and expansive windows filling the interior with light.  One bedroom and bathroom is on the first floor and the other bedrooms and bathroom are on the second floor with access to the second-story covered porch. Another covered porch extends the entire length of the front of the home.    

Beautifully situated amongst cedars and evergreens, the home is nicely screened from public view creating an oasis of peace and tranquility.  From the home it is only a 1/4-mile stroll to the shore of Green Bay and about a 10 minute drive to the village of Egg Harbor.  It could be yours!    

What is a fantasy home?  It’s a type of home I’ve dubbed “fantasy home” because it creates or is created from a fantasy.  They are homes that usually have a theme, have unusual architectural features, and the decorating is usually elaborate and carried out to create or enhance the theme of the home.  These are definitely not suburban homes and are not necessarily practical for routine, year-around living.  They are escapes.

For example, I once sold a small, 1-bedroom log cabin in the woods in Ephraim that the owner had purchased in extreme disrepair.  He didn’t change the size or layout of the home but did clean, restore and refinish all the floors and wood in the interior, and make all the repairs it so badly needed.  Then he proceeded to turn it back into a cabin of the period when it was built — around the 1930’s or 40’s.  He completely furnished it with antique furniture and furnishings right down to the smallest detail, got all three fireplaces in working order (a large stone one in the living room and small ones in the tiny kitchen and in the bedroom), did things like stenciling a pattern on the wood bathroom floor and painting  trompe l”oeil books and bookcase on one wall of the enclosed porch.  It ended up looking like a layout from a magazine and was sold as-is with all furnishings!  A Door County fantasy of a log cabin in the woods!

There are many such homes in Door County. Near the Fish Creek entrance to Peninsula State Park is an old barn silo converted into a 4-story home with the living room on the top floor with views overlooking the park.  In Egg Harbor is an old barn converted into imaginative and antique-furnished guest apartments.  Near Sand Bay (east of Sister Bay on Lake Michigan) is a fabulous home constructed by combining two very old log cabins (moved to the site)  into one home and enhancing it with features such as Swedish alcove beds decorated with authentic tole painting. 

Right now there is a home for sale in Ephraim just a stone-throw from Eagle Harbor that is truly a dream cottage. Probably at least 100 years old, the home has been completely renovated true to its original style but with modern amenities. The heart of the home is the keeping room — the room that served as the kitchen and living area. The kitchen portion is now new but appropriately styled, the fireplace is restored and used, and it is again the primary living area for the home.  It is not a large home but does have three bedrooms, a new 3-season porch addition, a dining room, and one very nice bathroom. It is perfectly decorated and immediately steals your heart as soon as you enter!    Rather a combination of Early Americana and an English country cottage, it is offered for sale for $379,000. In addition to the home, there is a garage with a new art studio on the second floor. 

There are also homes for sale that have the potential to be fantasy homes, and some of them are available at very modest prices. We now have a log cottage for sale for $159,900 that has tremendous potential with a minimum of interior remodeling.  There is what was once an open loft overlooking a log-beamed cathedral ceiling and iving room with a 2-story native stone fireplace. Somewhere along the line, a wall was built closing-in the loft and dviding it into two very small bedrooms. Those walls can be very easily removed restoring the cottage to its original ambiance. If one wanted to go further, behind the loft is a large attic area.  If finished off and dormer windows were to be added in the form of alcove beds, that area could be an enchanging sleeping space for children (of all ages!).  Picture it furnished with antiques or rustic Adirondack style furniture — it could be a dream come true!

In a real estate market where buyers literally have a choice of hundreds of properties to see and tend to speed through each one quickly, the first impression can be a homeowner’s only chance to grab the buyer’s interest.  A tidy yard, clean windows, all clutter stashed away, beds made, floors and rugs clean, spotless bathrooms and kitchens — all cost the seller nothing to do and can make a world of difference.  You want the buyers to spend enough time in your home to find what they like about it, and if it is attractive and pleasant, they will.  Remember, the buyers want to find a home to like and buy, so give them the opportunity to do so!

Sellers and real estate agents in Door County enjoyed many years of great real estate markets — the good old days when so many people wanted to own a home here that they would buy almost any home “as-is”.  Those days are gone!  Now there is real competition!  If you want to sell your home and get the highest price possible for it, be prepared to put some work into it.  Cleaning is the first step.  The second step is to make all those minor repairs and touch-ups you’ve meant to do for so long.  Get a pad of paper and pen and slowly examine your home inside and out.  Look at it through a buyer’s eyes and make a list.  A trick is to take photos of your home and look at those.  Often trouble spots that you are accustomed to seeing every day jump out at you in the pictures.

And yes, the buyers will look in your closets, open your oven, and look in your refrigerator!  Clean, clean, clean!  So what else can you do by spending a little money?

Paint.  Nothing freshens up a room like new paint, and painting can also help eliminate “old house” odors.  Simple touch-ups like painting your front door and the frame around it can also make a big difference.

Replace the hardware on cabinets.  Right now, the “in” thing is brushed stainless steel and brushed nickel.  You can spend a lot or you can spend very little — check out Target and Wal Mart where they carry sets of cabinet door knobs for around $20. 

“Dated.”  There is a word we hear every day!  To avoid the “dated” comment from buyers, change to neutral colors (paint, curtains, bed linens, rugs, etc.), consider painting wood paneling if you have it in your house, slipcovers can cover an old sofa and chairs, and replace light fixtures.  With today’s home improvement stores, none of that has to cost an arm and a leg.  You can even replace that old bathroom vanity and sink! 

Don’t forget the outdoors.  Get rid of junk, put a new cover over that old grill, plant a few flowers. And please, limit your “lawn ornaments”!

Sure, we all know the buyers could do all those things themselves after they buy your house, but you are competing with homes where they don’t have to do that work.  A little old-fashioned elbow grease and a spending a little money will get your home sold faster and at a better price!

Spring is just around the corner, so get to work!

Good news from Door County!  We are not only enjoying marvelous Spring-like weather with amazingly warm, sunny days but the number of real estate sales is up significantly from last year.  Real estate buyers seem to have caught on and are realizing that there has never been a more opportune time to purchase Door County real estate!  The selection is great and the prices even greater! 

This is an especially a good time to buy if you are in the market for what have typically been the properties in the higher price ranges such as shorefront and water view property.  Foreclosures of those properties are still rare, but there are some very motivated sellers.  Give us a call if you want information about specific properties and prices. 

Trilliums will soon be in full bloom throughout the county!