1. Both the setting, and the view had to be one that we would never tire of,
2. The lot had to be the most private and secure one in the neighbourhood,
3. In this, the world's nicest climate, the natural beauty of Mexican gardens had to surround us every day of the year,
4. The tranquility around us - from the on-site waterscapes, the breezes off the lake (morning) and the the mountains (night), to the surrounding pastoral setting - all had to be part of the character of the property,
5. The home itself had to provide all the "comforts of home", North American style, and
6. The home's design had to be sufficiently flexible to handle an active lifestyle or a more sedate, retired one. We wanted a home for life.

Living in this home is just really a nice, nice way to live.

If you have read this far, then you'll probably also be interested in the 30-odd special features of the home:

Location of lot: we are positioned

1. approximately 60 meters above lake level, which is ideal for capturing those nice cool lake breezes,
2. in front of a deep natural ravine (an "arroyo"), for the ultimate in privacy - no-one will be building in front of you,
3. at the end of a bricked roadway, perfect for providing the maximum in quiet and security.

This is what you can wake up to, every morning...

Outside Features:

1. Gated entry, for privacy and security
2. Mid-size pool, facing the lake, including a large flagstone terraza and outdoor shower
3. Solar heating system for the pool
4. Stone walls and walkways throughout, using hand-picked stone from the surrounding mountains
5. Man-made stream on the east side, re-circulating over a waterfall by the pool
6. Two large (30,000 liters) underground water aljibes (cisterns) on west side, one for potable water and another for dam irrigation water (the dam is located about a ½ mile further up the mountain and provides garden water from November to May)
7. Colourful, low maintenance, low-water-use and drought-tolerant gardens surround the home on all sides
8. Underground watering system, to minimize garden maintenance
9. Numerous fruit trees in the orchard facing the lake
10. Red bougainvillea hedge surrounding almost all the property
11. No grass (and no noisy lawnmowers)
12. Large courtyard with parking for 5 vehicles (4 in carport and 1 outside laundry/storage area).

Inside Features:

1. Construction is 4,872 sq feet - the home itself is 4,112 sq feet, and the oversized attached car port is 760 sq feet
2. NO STAIRS in, or into, the home
3. The home is shaped like a bow-tie, for maximum views of the lake from all main rooms  (the guest bedroom is the only one with a courtyard view)
4. The concrete walls are wider than normal, and the ceilings higher than average, for good temperature control - there are also ceiling fans in just about every room in the home, including the pantry and master closet
5. The entire home has an open design, for easy traffic flow and a feeling of spaciousness.
6. The home is very bright  - a lot of light everywhere, including several skylights over bathroom vanities, in the master closet and the pantry
7. Cupolas in both living and family rooms provide an elegant accent to Spanish style architecture of the home
8. Indoor terraza has bi-fold glass doors which fold out of the way, to bring the outdoors in
9. Keyed entry into the home - no need to carry around a pocketful of keys, and very secure and easy to change when there is a change in your indoor help (maid).
10. The kitchen looks out to Mezcala Island, and features an all-drawer (no shelves) custom solid-wood cabinetry and an adjacent oversized pantry
11. The office/den/3rd bedroom (your choice) is oversized, with its own private entrance
12. The master bedroom faces south east, with a view of the sunrise 365 days a year
13. Off the bedroom is an oversized master closet
14. A laundry and storage room is conveniently located adjacent to the master bedroom, with its own entrance
15. A wet bar is built-in adjacent to the living room
16. A built-in swivel entertainment centre lies between the family room and master bedroom
17. The home is tiled throughout in a neutral colour, making the home easy to accessorize.

Other features of note:

• We were on-site for every day of construction - as with home construction in any country, paying attention to detail results in better quality construction
• Although our neighbourhood is said to have the finest quality water on lakeside, just to be sure, the home also has a UV water purification system

We took pride in our home from the very first day of construction, and have been very, very comfortable living in it.

We believe that you will be, too.