Confessions are meant to be heard; secrets are best kept silent.

Pristine sylvan beauty. This is a sanctuary for the senses, a refuge for the mind, a haven for the heart. Truly stunning.

From a distance, a modicum of charm appears evident. In reality, both outside and inside, the photos are but illusory. To suggest that the property needs work, is a grievous misrepresentation of actuality. Water damage and pest infestation are rampant. ‘As-is’ is-not. The land, too, much of it inaccessible due to standing water, appears to be permanently inundated. From the vegetation and the water fowl, without the installation of an aggressive drainage regimen, much of the land could scarcely be recovered from the marsh that now claims it.

The property on Lincoln is quaint, or strives for quaint, but lacks that whimsical quality which might render it more appealing. Owing to seeming contrivances of renovation, a conflict exists with its natural character. There is a contradiction of aesthetic. Form and function are not in balance. The importance of the kitchen and dining room has been diminished by a misguided focus elsewhere within the home. It is disconcerting, disquieting somehow. If defies any desire to place oneself at rest.

Diminution, Bainbridge-style, with all its advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps most suitable for those intent upon moving up to Bainbridge while moving down in both scale and expectation. This property is enough, certainly, but not an iota more than that.

Charm, grace, sophistication, without superfluity, without extravagance. With its age, this home has found its essence, and is at ease therein. One feels immediately comfortable, as if the home were opening itself in welcome, in embrace. By all appearances, this home has never felt the pangs of neglect, never languished from maintenance deferred. It is lovely, because it has been loved. The views of water, and the eastern sun and light, are not hindered but enhanced by the conifers rising majestically from the slope leading down to Eagle Harbor. To its already unique history, this home beckons the commencement of a new chapter, a new era.

Evening showing under rain heavy clouds, greatly subduing what light the southern sky might normally have granted. The age of the home bestows upon it a dignity, a soundness, a perseverance. Evident in its age are also all those years of endurance against the elements. For the most part, the home has prevailed with merely the telltale signs of age. Despite and still, there is much life here. One gets a sense that this noble home is simply undergoing a changing of the guard.

Every line of sight pursues its greatest distance, height, and depth seemingly unhindered. Like the lobby of a five-star hotel, an unfettered lavishness of space encourages a concomitant opening of the spirit. The mind is eased, the heart uplifted, burdens may be left at the door. In a space this open, all machinations of intent, all artifice of design, would find no place to hide. Candour and assuredness prevail.

This property, in its every aspect, defies characterization. To convey that it is unique is an understatement. It is one-of-a-kind. To suggest that it is merely exceptional is a minimization. It is prodigious beyond compare. The quality, the aesthetic, the craftsmanship are unassailable. In nuance, in refinement, in distinction, it is truly exquisite. This is not simply a must-see; this is a must-see-to-believe.

Ample – every space, every room, every height and depth, every capacity, every light, every sense, every view. This much liberty is deliciously, deliriously appealing. And it is on Lemolo!

Between renovation and transformation, there is innovation. Stunningly, inimitably realised, this home has traversed decades to straddle the enduring and the prospective. As Seattle grows across the water in plain view, this home is poised to accompany it into the future.

If the essence of art is confession, the essence of craft is gratitude. This home, not just here and there, but everywhere, is an expression of gratitude, to earth, perhaps, especially, but also to heaven; to the heart, stronger than the strongest hand; to the spirit, imbued with inspiration to rival any temporal motivation. The art, the confession of a declaration of intent, of purpose, of perseverance.

When the idiosyncratic and the whimsical lead to joyful, audible surprise at every turn, the imagination stimulated, the interest enthralled, one has escaped the confines of one’s comfort zone, and made foray into the realm of adventure. This home boldly shouts the question, Why not?

This home is endearing. One feels a bond of gratitude with a home that gives more than it asks. To be in its embrace, one senses the nurturing cadence of life well lived, in just the right amount of space, with just the right conformation of balance and variance.

Disconcertingly absent of concord, equilibrium. Try though it may, no pretence can camouflage neglect.