A Great Estate
Maury People Sotheby's Clarence Doucette $16,450,000
Waking up in the master bedroom

of the estate at 37 Squam Road, you have before you the vast expanse of ocean, the dunes in the foreground and nothing but the skies above. In Squam, you get the mornings over the Atlantic Ocean. As any sailor knows, you can plan your day from the morning sky. Let someone else have the sunsets.

As you drive up the curving shell driveway, through a gauntlet of flowering trees, you come upon a house that is understated in its presence and elegance. This is a house created for comfort and to take advantage of the site.

Except, perhaps for the sound of breaking waves, you are not really aware of the ocean's presence until you step through the front door. That changes immediately upon entering the great foyer with its faux-painted floor and vaulted ceiling. Your eyes are drawn through the formal living room and the more casual sitting room beyond to where the Atlantic emerges as the focal point of the house on the other side of a curved wall of glass and an expanse of dune. With large banks of windows across the front, upstairs and down, the view is incorporated throughout the house.

The living room, one step down from the foyer, with the largest of the five fireplaces as its focal point, is a perfect place to gather with friends of an evening. The bright sitting room is where you would spend the part of your day when you are not outside or on the beach, with a book or in casual conversation while you take in the vista. Unique, curved, sliding doors open to the wrap-around deck.

Sharing the view, the dining room is large enough for a great dinner party, yet cosy and intimate for two, as well. The kitchen, with its black granite countertops, center island, brick framed, eight-burner stove and stone floor is open to the dining room to take advantage of the ocean backdrop.

Behind the kitchen is a hallway off which are a separate prep kitchen with its own refrigerator and sink, a pantry, two powder rooms and a laundry/mud room. Stairs lead to the basement where there is another washer/dryer and a wine cellar.

On the north side of the house are three guest bedrooms, one with its own bath (with a spectacular view from the tub) and the others sharing a connecting bathroom.

The master suite is the upstairs. Grand circular stairs take you from the foyer up to a library/sitting room with a fireplace. Next is the spacious master bedroom, with its high ceilings, marble encased fireplace and huge walk-in closet. Finally, the master bath, with a soaking tub, large glass shower stall and sea green tiles on the floor, rounds out the suite. Each of these rooms shares the view, and each has a pair of French doors leading to a large porch overlooking the whole scene, including the path across the dunes to what must be a very private beach.

As you would expect in such a house, there is plenty of closet and storage space.

Back down the driveway, you come upon the guest house, a masterpiece in its own right. The pleasant living room, with a high ceiling and fireplace is its center. On the first floor there are two full bedroom suites. Upstairs is an additional bedroom and bath, while another room with its own private bath could be an office or overflow bedroom. Porches wrap around both floors and there is a large, private deck.

Across the driveway from the guest cottage, above the two car garage currently used as a workout room, is a studio space with full bath and wet bar.

This spectacular property in a very special location with, in all, at least eight bedrooms, eight full baths and two powder

rooms, is offered for $16,450,000. I