Wayne and Carol Bredvik
ON A GOLDEN POND

New Hampshire’s Lake Waukewan is the perfect setting for an active couple’s retirement home.

If you venture up to Meredith, NH, on a still summer evening, you’re very likely to hear the haunting call of the loons bobbing on Lake Waukewan.

“That’s one of the bonuses of living on such a peaceful lake,” say Wayne and Carol Bredvik who, without much prodding, are happy to share their experiences of lakeside living.

“After residing in our suburban Boston neighborhood for nearly 22 years, we decided to retire and look for lake property,” says Wayne. “Besides, it was time to do something different after raising three children in a very conventional New England home. It wasn’t going to be all that difficult for us to make the transition from my job as a corporate architect and Carol’s as a career postal worker to retired status.”

On a pristine April morning in l999 after a two-hour drive to New Hampshire, the Bredviks met with their Realtor, Marilyn Ambrose, who showed them a densely wooded lot on New Hampshire’s Lake Waukewan.

Amid the hemlock, pine, and beech trees the Bredviks threaded their way into the woods, stopping on a secluded cove to contemplate what would become their future home site. It only took a moment for Wayne to suggest, “The only type of house that would complement this site is a log home.”

The acre lot was indeed a rare find. “I’d say it was one in a million actually, but luckily we stumbled onto this vacant property on a beautiful 1,000-acre lake. There just aren’t many undeveloped, not to mention affordable, lake lots left in New Hampshire anymore,” says Carol matter-of-factly.

The Bredviks were sold. “We fell in love with the whole environment—lake and land—then immediately delved into researching what log company to select,” Wayne says. Wayne decided he would design and build the home, taking into account the view, solar orientation, site topography, and prevailing breezes.

“We researched everything through magazines and books and through talking to dealers. Initially we chose eight companies and visited each of them. We narrowed our choice to three and finally settled on Real Log Homes based in Hartland, Vt.

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