MESSALONSKEE LAKE, OAKLAND – Here is a year-round waterfront home as stunning as its setting: a sweetly private .91-acre lot with gardens including roses from Pemaquid, stone walls, lots of lawn – and 156 feet on one of Maine’s finest lakes, and a dock with it.

Behind its sweep of grass, the home is perched high above the water, so that views are all the more expansive. Equally dramatic is the open-plan main living area of the immaculate, one-owner home, which was built in 2002. Step in, and you immediately realize, “so this is why they’re called ‘cathedral’ ceilings.’”

Here the ceiling soars a full 28 feet to a peak paneled in cedar. (A wealth of wood enhances the home’s appeal – you may also notice bamboo, hickory, oak, and alder.) Full-view doors opening to the wraparound deck flank a gas fireplace set amid stone, and tall windows frame the views. Behind the dining area on one side, the bright, cook’s kitchen features DSC stainless appliances including gas range and wall oven, as well as tiled counters and matching dining/work island.

A good-sized bedroom, and a full bath nearby, make single-level living a welcome option. Heat is radiant throughout the first floor, which also includes the laundry, very handy off the mudroom and access to the direct-entry, two-vehicle garage.

Upstairs, past a landing that makes an ideal office, the master suite has the second level to itself, and includes a huge bedroom, also cathedral-ceilinged, and hooked up for gas fireplace; a wonderful, tiled bath with both shower enclosure and jet soaking tub; and a big walk-in closet with built-ins.

Spacious at 3,098 square feet, the home is excellent for entertaining, too. The finished, daylight lower level has a family/recreation room with bar and sink, and walkout to a covered, stone-paved patio facing the lake. There’s an exercise/bonus room, a bedroom with double closet, and a full bath, too – a complete guest/in-law suite, if you like.

Each level has its own heating zone. And still, there is potential to create more finished space. Next to extensive storage with built-in shelving above the garage is another large bonus room, with walkout, that invites possibilities including media room, studio, home office, and more.

As the state Web site notes, Messalonskee (the name means “white clay here”) is the second-largest of the Belgrade chain of lakes, at 3,510 acres and a maximum depth of 113 feet. The 9.5-mile lake’s fishery is best known for abundant landlocked salmon, and bass – and brook trout, too, with “an occasional trophy-size.”

The home at 241 Cedar Village Place, Oakland is listed for sale at $549,000 by Pamela Casavant of Century 21 Surette Real Estate in Waterville, and is being shown by appointment. For more information or to arrange a private viewing, please contact Pam at 873-5634, 649-8234, or at pcasavant@surette-realestate.com.

Produced by the Marketing Department of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, the Home of the Week is provided at no cost.

Send HOW suggestions to jrolfe@pressherald.com.

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