While I am not a fan of this style of home, I included this one in my showcase because it’s a relic of a bygone era, even though the house was completed in 2006. That’s right…it’s new construction. But it was built to look 100 years older than it really is. This is a Downton Abbey kind of home, the sort of place that you’d expect to be the residence of one family for generation after generation. When homes like this one were built, families didn’t live in separate domiciles. They didn’t have to because the house was so big that there was plenty of room for everyone. It wasn’t uncommon for mom and dad, their parents, all their children, and the grandchildren to live under one roof, simply because they could. 

When I said that it looks more like a fancy prep school than a home, it’s because that’s what’s happened to a lot of great houses like this one, precisely because of the way it’s set up to be occupied by so many people. That kind of house was meant to be staffed by an army of cooks, maids and under-butlers who live on-site. It’s got enormous grounds, its own private chapel, a massive library with an upstair reading area, a variety of what used to be called “drawing rooms”, and an indoor lap pool. And if the owners of don’t figure out why this house isn’t selling, Chelster Hall is likely to become yet another fancy boarding school. Or wedding venue. Or conference center. Or a convalescent home.

The house was only finished in 2006 but it’s already for sale in 2022. And the owner just dropped the price $10,000,000. As in ten million dollars. So is it priced to sell yet? I don’t know. But if I had to guess as to why this new construction sitting on a lake isn’t selling, I’d have to return to my first impression of the house: It’s a $50 million dollar New England prep school. Who’s buying that these days? Movie stars? Tech CEO’s? They have that kind of money, but name one movie star you can think of who’s looking for a house with a private chapel in it. Drawing a blank? Me too. The house is a victim of its own preppy appearance. It looks old. It feels old. And it’s staged to look old, like something from the 1700’s. It’s more museum than house. It looks so pristine and un-lived in that it’s easy to imagine that the owners never really lived there. It’s more like a private hotel. They jet set around, and only stay there whenever they’re in town. This doesn’t look like the kind of place where a young tech gazillionaire would raise a family. And there aren’t a lot of other people who’d be able to afford a house like that.

Clearly, the owners have tried to give it some modern finishes. The kitchen that opens up to the great room is beautiful and very well laid out, but an open-concept kitchen and great room don’t really belong in that house, and they look really out of place. Great houses didn’t have eat-in kitchens because the owners didn’t cook. They were served. That style of house was made to be staffed by people who brought the food up to you…from downstairs. Nobody ever saw the kitchen or the kitchen staff. The kitchen opening up to a great room was intended for a smaller home. It lets the cook join the party, allowing them to socialize with family and friends as they cook. But it doesn’t really work in this house. The kitchen/great room are cavernous. The insanely high ceilings aren’t helping that room at all. It feels so huge that I’m betting there’s an echo. The double islands seat what…about 40-50 people? I’m joking, but the size of that island setup is crazy. It’s just ENORMOUS. It looks ridiculous in a house like that. A kitchen island is supposed to be a food prep space, and a cozy spot where the family can gather around the cook and snack, or catch a quick meal. That ginormous double island setup is probably great when you have company. But for the average family having a meal in that kitchen, it must feel like eating in an empty restaurant. Every damned day.

Don’t get me wrong. The house is perfection in that it is exactly what it was designed to be: A new house that looks like 100-year-old construction. But it looks like you spent $50 million dollars to live at prep school. The fact that it sits on the lake gives it absolutely breathtaking views from every window on the back side of the house. But it’s never gonna shake that prep school taint for me. And let me say this as a Chicago girl with years of experience living right next to Lake Michigan…that house has absolutely nothing standing between it and the wind coming off that lake. It’s got to be wonderful during the summer months, but this is Canada. During the winter, I’m betting that wind must cut like a thousand tiny razor blades. I pity whoever has to shovel all that lake-effect snow off those magnificent grounds so you can get out of the house.