Last night I had a meeting with one of my clients. Rather than go to their office, I went to their house.
It’s in West Lake.
I’ve been to West Lake before, but I entered on the Fury’s Ferry side, and the house I visited wasn’t grandiose, it was just a little big, and old. It was one of those rustic cedar houses that would fit on a mountaintop.
My client’s house, on the other hand, is on the Steven’s Creek side, which seems to be newer, and filled with sprawling homes on oversized plots of land.
The home is massive. And gorgeous.
It’s beige/pink stucco, with Spanish-style arches. It’s two story, but the first floor was very tall. I’m talking 15 feet or more. I parked on a huge pad that curved in towards the house around the broad front lawn, and entered the estate at a side door that seemed a little more welcoming than the grand front entrance with its high porch and incredibly thick columns.
The side door opened on a small foyer and wide staircase. I was led off to the left, through a kitchen larger than my living and dining room area, and to a small marble-topped desk nestled against a wall between the kitchen and a sitting area.
What I didn’t notice until I was leaving was the view from the kitchen. Beyond the huge marble island there was another sitting area, and the back wall was dominated by three massive, ceiling-to-floor oval windows. These looked out on a huge pond surrounded by grassy yards, gardens, and forest. The scene was breathtaking, especially in the dusk.
As I got into my car I had to force myself not to take a picture of the place. I discussed aloud with myself how amazingly huge and beautiful it was all the way to the exit gate.
(By the way, to enter West Lake you have to get a permit that you hang from your rear-view mirror. You just have to tell the guard who you’re visiting and they’ll give it to you. West Lake is the only gated community I’ve ever been to; I’m still not sure what I think of the concept.)
I used to want to live in a mansion. Big houses always filled me with covetous thoughts. Of course, that was back before I had my own place, and realized that you have to clean your house. Now I’m a little more pragmatic, and would prefer to simply have enough space to live comfortably. Which I do.
What I do want, though, is to be able to visit beautiful places…so seeing that mansion was pretty nice :)