6 peaceful homes beside lakes
It doesn’t hurt to look!
Shorewood, Minnesota
This five-bedroom chalet on Christmas Lake is also walking distance to Lake Minnetonka. Built in 1900 and remodeled in 2000, the house features a living room opening to a large deck overlooking the lake, and an owner's suite with full bath and adjoining office space, laundry, and vaulted sitting room with wet bar, fireplace, and oversize windows.
The landscaped lot includes lawns, trees, a firepit, a detached two-car garage, and 90 feet of shoreline on some of the clearest water in Minnesota. $1,750,000. Ben Ganje, Lakes Sotheby's International Realty, (651) 442-6161.
Willsboro, New York
Sunset Farm Estate includes 645 feet of shoreline on Lake Champlain's Adirondack Coast. The four-bedroom home's traditional lake-house colors set off a clean modern structure, with cherrywood and slate floors, central skylight, three sculpted stone fireplaces, chef's kitchen with breakfast bar, billiards room, home theater, and multiple sitting rooms.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The 29.5-acre wooded property includes a landscaped patio and lawns, a barn, and stone steps down to the water. $4,750,000. Jonathon Seguin, Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty, (518) 569-8812.
Lake Arrowhead, California
A private trail leads from Mallard's Landing to a slip dock on the water, and Lake Arrowhead Village is a short walk away. Renovated by L.A. area designer Brooke Wagner, this 1975 four-bedroom A-frame house has wide-plank wood floors, shiplap ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, two en suite bedrooms, a loft, a bunkroom, and lake and forest views through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Outside are two stories of decks with glass railings, dining and entertainment areas, a firepit, and a hot tub. $5,999,000. Christine Williams, Keller Williams BBLA, (310) 923-8952.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this four-bedroom home on Crystal Lake shortly before his death in 1959. The Cooke House has geometric skylights, walls of glazed brick and red cypress, a copper roof, the original built-in 40-foot sofa beside a brick fireplace, an updated kitchen, new plumbing, radiant-heat floors, and in the west-facing hemicycle a curved wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with sunset views.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The property features multilevel landscaping, a patio, a deck with firepit, and a private pier. $2,675,000. Robin West, Rose & Womble Realty Company, (757) 816-1987.
Harbert, Michigan
This four-bedroom home on Lake Michigan comes with access to a sandy beach. Designed by Wheeler Kearns and given a 2015 AIA Chicago excellence award, the house is built of stacked structures joined by a central floating stairwell and features walls of glass, a lofted, open living space, a kitchen with extensive island, and a roof deck with built-ins, hot tub, and lake views.
On the lot are trees, walkways, and natural grass. $3,375,000. George Lucas, RE/MAX Harbor Country, (269) 449-4068.
Becket, Massachusetts
Set beside Long Bow Lake in the Berkshires, this three-bedroom home is also near Jacob's Pillow and other noted landmarks. The house, built in 1989, has wood-clad cathedral ceilings, knotty-pine floors, and an open main space including a kitchen with breakfast bar and a living room with dining area, fireplace, and huge windows framing water views.
Outside are a big deck facing the lake and a grassy, tree-studded 0.6-acre lot sloping down to the water. $425,000. John J. Burns and Shannon Margraf, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/-Barnbrook Realty, (413) 822-5757.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
August 8 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Friday's political cartoons include a Greenland rebrand, a presidential eye test, and creeping inflation
-
Who owns Gaza? Israel's occupation plans
The Explainer Egypt, Israel and Britain have ruled the beleaguered territory
-
Savages: a tragi-comedy set in a 'quirky handcrafted world'
The Week Recommends This new animated film by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Claude Barras is undeniably political, but it has a hopeful message
-
6 sturdy post-and-beam homes
Feature Featuring a wood stove in New York and hand-hewn beams in New Hampshire
-
6 classic homes built in the 1950s
Feature Featuring a firehouse-turned-home in Indiana and an award-winning house in Maryland
-
6 head-turning homes for town house living
Feature Featuring a roof deck with city views in South Carolina and a renovated Harlem brownstone in New York City
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
6 sleek homes for modernists
Feature Featuring a concrete-and-steel home in South Carolina and a renovated 19th-century former carriage house in Pennsylvania
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
The people who raffle their homes
Under The Radar Offer the chance to win your house for £2 a ticket? It's simple and can make thousands but it's not stress-free
-
6 light-filled homes on the Jersey Shore
Feature Featuring a Victorian with a wraparound porch in Beach Haven and a condo with ocean views in Asbury Park