This $3.9 million "Dream House" was built by Hendel Homes, a Wayzata-based company that builds high-end custom homes. This was built for a client who owned a hillside overlooking Christmas Lake in Shorewood. The three-level house was built into the hillside so that you can walk outside regardless of where you are in the house, but the focal point of the 8,700-square-foot house is a tall stone-clad tower designed to look as though it has been there for generations, and that the rest of the house was built around it.
Inside, the house has a great room with 27-foot-high vaulted ceilings, hand-hewn arched timber trusses and a wood-burning fireplace with oversized stone mantel. There's also a "tree room" with 270-degree views of the lake and porthole-style windows. But don't miss the master bathroom, which has a private balcony, hand-painted barrel-vaulted ceilings, a chromatherapy steam shower and whirlpool tub with a wraparound bench in the center. Two staircases and an elevator make getting around the house easier.
The house is No. 283 on the tour. A $5 tax-deductible donation (proceeds go to the Builders Outreach Fund) is requested. For more information, go to www.paradeofhomes.org or Hendel Homes at 952-404-7204.
JIM BUCHTA
