Waterfront Homes Have Private Beach & Dock. Eight Luxury Detached Houses With Boat Lifts

By FELICITY STONE, Postmedia News

Peachland boasts Lake Okanagan’s longest uninterrupted beach, yet homes with direct access to the water are rare, and those with private beaches, rarer still. Much of the beach is public, with Beach Avenue separating many properties from the waterfront — unlike Stonewater on the Lake, a collection of eight homes on 200 feet of private lake frontage at the north end of Peachland.

“When we designed Stonewater, we had about a two-acre parcel of land that had been sitting there for a long time,” says developer Rob Moyor. “It was completely overgrown, and we envisioned a couple different ideas for it, but we settled on a high-end residential development with eight individual detached homes in a strata so they would share in the beach and with a boat dock and so on.”

Norm and Leslie Wilson of Vancouver had owned a vacation home in Peachland for about three years when they discovered Stonewater last summer. Their previous residence was what Peachlanders call semi-waterfront, across the road from the water, which made getting to the beach problematic for their then-six-year-old grandson.

Leslie Wilson was captivated by the house, as well as the location. “She loved the décor, the stairs, the glass, the kitchen, everything about it, so it was a no-brainer for us,” says Norm Wilson. “We just fell in love with the whole thing.”

Each of the homes has its own 6,500-pound boat lift, another attraction for the Wilsons. “On Okanagan Lake, you pretty well have to have a boat lift,” explains Rob Moyor. “You can’t leave your boat unless you’re in a marina where they have a breakwater because the wave action would damage your boat. With a boat lift, you basically pull into your slip, push a button, your boat lifts out of the water, and that’s how you store your boat when you’re not using it.”

The Wilsons, the first purchasers at Stonewater, bought what was then the show home. With three bedrooms and 2,384 square feet of space over three levels, it is one of three Stonewater floor plans. The new show home, which has just been completed, is 2,237 square feet over three levels with two large bedrooms, each with an ensuite.

The third design is a 2,342-square-foot five-level split. “The site had a drop in that section so rather than fill it, we created an extra level,” says Moyor.

It has an 18-foot vaulted ceiling in the great room with steps up to the dining room and again to the main entry. The whole top floor is a retreat with a spacious master bedroom, ensuite, lounge with wet bar and decks at both the front and the rear.

Decks and patios are a feature of all the Stonewater homes. The show home has a huge — 19 feet wide by 9.5 feet deep — main floor deck off the living room, an even larger ground floor patio and decks off both bedrooms. The main floor deck has a built-in barbecue, and both it and the patio have a retractable screen that can be lowered should insects intrude on the scene.

The homes sit on a rise about 50 feet above the water with views of the lake in all directions. And that view continues indoors, where 14-foot-wide floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass Slung doors on the main and ground floors bring the outside in. The views are unobstructed from all areas of the home, which is open plan and filled with light.

Glass is used extensively inside and out. Railings on the decks off the living room and master bedroom are frameless glass. Frameless glass balustrades add to the airy feel of the open-riser stairs. There are two skylights on the upper level: one in the guest bath and the other over the stairs and the built-in computer desk on the landing. A window over the front door floods the entry with light, there are frosted glass transoms over interior doors, and even the master bathroom has a view of the lake.

Interiors are luxe, with either walnut or maple used for the sleek stairs and flat-panel cabinetry mixed with painted Shaker-style interior doors and living room cabinets.

The main level floors are hardwood, and all counters are granite, even on the computer desk. There is a laundry centre on both the ground floor and top floor, and each home has its own geothermal heating and cooling system which is prepaid so there are no leasing costs.

Other smart green features include low-maintenance, low-water landscaping and a green roof over the two-car garages.

The beach and part of the hillside are riparian setback areas so must be left in a natural state, although there are also terraced planters and a lawn.

The garage is tucked into the hill behind the homes, maintaining views from the street above it — and the semi-waterfront properties beyond.

View Stonewater Lakefront Homes in Peachland