WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) - Whether you call it the Hansel and Gretel House, the Blue Jay House or the Smurf House, the newest home to hit the market in West Bloomfield is sure to turn heads — and we're not just talking about the price tag.
The stunning, Cotswold style 7,476 sq ft. home nestled on Pine Lake landed on the market Tuesday for almost $4.2 million. The property boasts seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms —5 full and 3 half baths— nine fireplaces and a unique, wavy roof that has become the source of the house's many nicknames.
"That's the one thing people say is, "Wow, look at that roof!" Associate Broker Gwen Schultz with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in Birmingham said to WWJ's Cassandra Llamas-Fossen.
"The owners restored this house over the last 17 years and their understanding from historic records is that the roof has always been blue."
Schultz said the characteristic wave to the shingles, made from durable Golden Cedar Shake, is to emulate the waves of the lake, which shares 187 ft. of shoreline with the nearly 3 acre property.
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Built in 1920 by the Snell family, the house has only had four owners, but it certainly has had many admirers over the years.
"My phone just kept going off, like "Gwen, wow that's just the coolest house,' and 'I've always driven by that house', 'I love that house,'" Schultz said. "Everyone's referred to it by a different name, such as the Gingerbread House, the Blue Jay House, the Smurfy House, the Hansel and Gretel House, so it has a lot of history and a lot of attention."
Schultz said the inside is just as impressive as the outside with the owners taking great care to restore and match every delicate detail using ceramics, stone, leaded glass and plaster.
Even the roping on the sconces were matched to the interior with painstaking detail, all of which keeps the original charm of the home intact over 100 years after its construction.
Schultz described her first time walking into the home's grand foyer as a "magical" moment.
"It takes you back in time in regards to when life was very formal," she explained.
As potential buyers tour the home, Schultz said they walk through a room off to the side of the house's Grand Ballroom, where young ladies used to sit and wait to be asked to dance. Five of the bedrooms also have "sleeping porches," where people would sleep to stay cool in the hot summer months prior to the invention of air conditioning.
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"This house is a very special home," Schultz said with a smile in her voice.
The property was listed first thing Tuesday morning and Schultz already has several requests for showings for the end of the week.
To learn more about the property, you can visit here.
Where: 2690 Pine Lake Road, West Bloomfield, MI
How much: $4.19 million
Bedrooms: 7
Baths: 5 full, 3 half
Square feet: 7,476 sqft, plus a finished lower level.
Key features: The home sits on almost 3 acres of property and offers 175 feet of all sports Pine Lake frontage, and 187' on Pine Lake Golf course, a 7 car garage and Bloomfield Hills Schools. 175 feet of sandy shoreline includes a 100' dock with sitting platform.
Contact: Gwen J. Schultz with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel-Birmingham at 248-644-6300.