Chris and Sandy Haas are just finishing a 2-mile run as we arrive, their four girls, ages 12 to 20, all off in one direction or another. Between the basketball games, dance classes and other activities, it’s a busy life. But if there’s anything to draw a family together, it’s an infinity pool that seems to pour into Lake Erie. Oh, and the slide, water basketball hoop, Jet Ski lift, fire pit and hot tub don’t hurt either. That’s just the beginning. From the cherry-paneled elevator to the secret doll room to the golf simulator, this house lacks nothing.
So just what is in a house that big? While certainly no rooms were skimpy, neither were they too large or out of scale. It’s just that there are a lot of them. The elegant foyer, with its barrel-vaulted ceiling, opens into a living room, which opens into the kitchen, which opens into a hearth room and family room. Other main-floor rooms include a dining room, office, master bedroom, two three-season porches, a billiards room, laundry room and mudroom. On the second floor, a large in-law suite with its own living room and kitchen add significantly to the square footage. A second laundry room (with two sets of washers and dryers) has a door leading to a doll room that Sandy surprised her daughter with shortly after they moved in.
Details: Beautiful tile, loads of granite, crystal chandeliers and elaborate trim are the norm in every part of the house, from the basement to the dining room to the laundry room, where the home’s one laminate countertop so irked Chris that he had it ripped out and replaced with granite.
Famous visitor: In search of a palace of his own, LeBron James visited the house twice to check out the builder’s work before signing him to build his home in Bath. “People were showing him the woodwork,” Sandy says. “He didn’t care about that.” But LeBron did like the pool, the Pop-A-Shot basketball game in the basement, the candy counter outside the home theater (he ate half a box of Milk Duds) and Chris’s office, although he did comment that Chris, a golf enthusiast, had “too many pictures of Tiger up there” on the wall.
It’s a guy thing: Outnumbered five-to-one, Chris made his mark by putting three urinals in the house.
The basement: It features a large, but cozy sports-bar-themed room, four-hole mini-golf course, golf simulator, decked-out workout room, 14-seat home theater with tiered seating, 2,100-bottle wine cellar and steam-room bath.
How many? The home has 23 plasma TVs. That may sound like a lot, but it’s only one every 1,000 square feet — probably about the same as your house. Jokes aside, Chris points out that he and his family don’t watch that much TV. It’s sporting events that keep them tuned in.
| Year built: 2005 Who built it: Valore Builders Style: Traditional Size: 23, 000 square feet. The lot: The couple bought and combined three parcels to make a 150-foot wide lot. Baths: 13 Bedrooms: 7 Appraised Value: $3,035,900 (No. 2) |
