It Started With a Boat
Our story started about seven years ago with a pretty simple idea: someday, we'd love to have a place on the water.
The first question was what kind of water. Mom grew up around the mountains and lakes. Dad grew up on the ocean, where the fish are much bigger. We went back and forth between lake house and beach house for a while and, having settled absolutely nothing, did the logical thing.
Then COVID hit.
Like a lot of families, suddenly our normal routines disappeared. The boat became our escape, and we spent just about every weekend we could on the water. Somewhere in there, the idea of someday having our own place started to feel a little less like a daydream.
Once life got back to normal, we became part-time soccer chauffeurs and part-time House Hunters (great show, by the way). Between games and practices, we searched the internet endlessly, took drives and toured houses all over New England.
Every house seemed to come with a “but.”
We love it, but it's too far away.
It's perfect, but it's way too expensive.
Great lake, but there's nowhere to park.
We even toured one house where Dad couldn't stand up straight inside. We're still not entirely sure how that one was up to code.
It became an adventure we genuinely enjoyed, even though we weren't really sure if—or when—it would ever end.
Then we found Newfound Lake.
Okay, okay...Dad may have still been thinking about a place on Winnipesaukee for a minute, but who's keeping track?
After seven years of searching, saving, driving, touring and looking at more real estate listings than we'd ever admit to, we both knew.
In our hearts, this was the one.
Finding Newfound
So what was it about Newfound?
At first, it was the obvious stuff—the incredibly clear water, the mountains surrounding the lake and just how peaceful everything felt.
Then we started noticing everything else. Loons calling across the lake. Bald eagles overhead. Fish jumping in the cove. Still mornings, incredible sunsets, and the moon reflecting across the water at night.
For Dad especially, that was a bit of a change. Growing up closer to the city and the ocean, being outside usually meant going somewhere to do something. Newfound reminded us that sometimes just being outside is enough.
Then there was the house.
The A-frame and huge windows bring all of that right inside. Step onto the deck and you're just a few more steps from the beach, dock and water.
The house needed work—we knew that right away—but after years of trying to convince ourselves that other houses were “almost right,” this one felt different.
We weren't talking ourselves into it. We were already talking about what we were going to do with it.
That was probably the giveaway.
Making It Ours
Finding the house was one thing. Making it ours turned out to be another adventure entirely.
We've updated the kitchen, flooring and appliances, replaced the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, furnished the house from top to bottom, tackled a lot of landscaping, and added a new dock and mooring.
We've learned a lot along the way—some of it intentionally, and some of it because something broke and we suddenly needed to become experts on it.
But one of the best surprises has been the people we've met. We've been incredibly lucky to find wonderful neighbors, contractors and people throughout the Newfound community who have welcomed us, helped us out and genuinely cared about what we're trying to create here. We couldn't be more grateful.
And we're definitely not done.
At this point, we've accepted that “done” probably isn't really a thing.
Why We Share It
This is the place we come to with our boys whenever we can—to swim, boat, ski, have friends and family up, sit on the deck and just enjoy being together.
Getting here took years of saving, searching and plenty of work, and sharing the house when we're not here is part of what makes it all possible.
We also genuinely like knowing that when we're not here, another family gets to enjoy the place and make some memories of their own.
And Newfound isn't just a summer place. Summer is hard to beat, fall might be even more beautiful, winter brings skiing and a completely different view, and spring has a quiet all its own.
So enjoy the lake, enjoy the house and make some memories.
All we ask is that you take care of it like you would your own.
Make It Your Newfound
Seven years, one boat, a lot of house tours, a few questionable ceilings and more projects than we'd care to count later...here we are.
And we're pretty happy with where we landed.
If you stay with us, we hope you make the place your own for a little while. Swim off the beach. Take the kayaks out. Listen for the loons. Watch for an eagle overhead. Catch a sunset from the deck or the moon reflecting off the lake at night. Ski, explore, relax, laugh a lot and enjoy being together.
Those are the moments that made us fall in love with this place, and we hope you leave with a few favorites of your own.
After all, the best part of sharing our home is knowing its story doesn't end with ours.