Really a house in the woods and completely designed for its site. the massive stone in the fireplace is truly astonishing.

its all charming, especially the pool and outdoor areas.

This is handsome pretty much all around, which is difficult because many newer rustic cabins skew kind of twee.

Reminds me of a home I toured at Northstar Tahoe years ago while under construction, but that wasn't lakeside. Really lovely.

BTW, I really hate the high contrast color enhancement in these pictures.

Beautiful location. I like the outdoor areas much more than the inside.

Wonder how much of the 400+ acres is in the lake? That is just a gorgeous place. Rocks and woods….my happy place! Gotta buy a lottery ticket or 2….

The whole place is very lovely! Agree with Sushi’s comment about the high contrast photo’s. I do find the upper lighting choices distracting but that’s an easy fix. This would be a great place for children. lots of family memories to be made.

Now that's my idea of a house in the woods. Everything is perfect, I love how the home fits into the surroundings so seamlessly.

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That is a lovely home. I especially like how comfortable, inviting and private it feels. No pretense.

Looked at photos and loved the place and then went back and saw the video.. and was truly impressed. now i want to know why they are selling, the owner seems to love it..

Wow - really cozy, comfortable, woodsy feeling, and it's huge!

But not as big as the one near you, I'm guessing...?

Oh! It’s Camp Good Taste. I wanna go!

One thing I really liked is that they made the bedrooms much smaller than most new high-end construction, which gives them a warmth and coziness. In a way they gave the place some "flaws" that make it seem more authentic to the mindset of the Maine woods. And be still my heart, did I see Formica in the kitchen?

I’m with Lyban, why are they selling, unless forced to for financial or health reasons.

i fell head over heels….( with some small hesitstion over all the mosquitoes that must dwell within all the lovely, dense greenery. ) Perhaps they,re not so sentimental and simply want a change. Maybe a white washed cottege by a Cornish cliff. 😊

I agree, the video really made it much more appealing for me, but I felt very sad that this family is losing the place that he says they tried so hard to make the place of childhood memories and a family legacy for their children. He obviously loves it and the videos of the children enjoying it made me wonder why they would let it go. Financial ruin? I can't imagine.

Cannot believe I did not even see the video, I don't know if they had that in the WSJ piece.

Gee, I guess that kinda puts to bed the old advice about "...remove personal photos. so potential buyers can visualize themselves living in the home...." I guess as long as everyone is good looking? LOL

It's practically a Ken Burns documentary.

I agree, it seems very odd that they would sell! They don't even have grandkids yet it seems, and it'd be perfect for that.

So beautiful in every way - wish I had $10 million to make it mine.

I had to laugh at wanting people to mistake if for his grandparents'; DH and I say the same about our Maine house, down to wanting a screen door you could hear slam.

I have no trouble understanding why they want to leave. I would not want to spend more than a week there, unless I was very good friends with people there.

I love the woods, but I don't want to live there - just visit briefly.

I have no problem with the contrast in the photos - it might have something to do with screen settings.

Well, this all took a turn. Excerpts from the video come from a video in this article. Very sad story, kudos to him for raising awareness.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/kenneth-irving/article33791019/

Wow. Who would have known, watching him in his video about the property for sale that this has been his life experience? Sounds like he is doing well now; I still wonder if there is a financial update to the globe and mail story and it's being sold for financial reasons.
When I watched the property sale video, I almost commented that if I could buy it, I'd want him included...he seems so grounded and spiritually tied to the place (as he surely is). Nary a hint of his struggles.

Oly, I thought so too... my thought was he was so likable.

It's hard to imagine he could need $10mn, given the dynastic wealth, even if he was cheated in some way. AFAIK he was arguing in court about how to divide up $1bn in a particular trust among 3 or 4 siblings, and he did win a case saying he should get more than a pro rata share

Maybe he is liquidating assets to put them into more philanthropic pursuits. His new firm Luum is in Seattle, so he may want something closer. Good riddance to the whole of New England perhaps. Oh wait no Luum was just sold to the HSA people.

I feel like i just binge watched a mini series; I wish it were so; the true story is very sad.

How are you all seeing that last link from mtn. did you pay to read it.

@Lyban zone 4, no paywall for me. It’s a Canadian publication, if you are in Canada you would be their target subscriber?

Sad story.

That is just gorgeous! Talk about a house being at one with the surroundings. I see so much to love about the outdoors with the chairs on the rocks, the outbuildings, the landscape, and then the blending of the casual nature of the inside and well, just everything. The large stones of the fireplace scared me little at first look but i think it was just the angle of the photo

That is beautiful and the story is so sad. I think it is so tastefully done and well loved.

Loved the video. Heaven on Earth.

fwiw, the property map does not show the lake as part of the acreage.

I found this older article.

Kenneth Irving recently retired as chief executive officer of Irving Oil after a 30-year career. There, he earned a reputation for innovative growth in building world-scale energy infrastructure. Ken has hit the reset button, and left industrial endeavours for the pursuit of his passion in the networked information economy.

The story Mtn posted, from 2017, is hard to read. Is his father dead now?

The Maine home and setting is so lovely.

Love the sleeping porches and that outdoor shower! Some of the dense "lodge" look is too much wood for my tastes, but that fireplace that was cut out of that huge stone slab was incredible!

After watching the Globe video I wondered how often he was able to enjoy his Maine retreat. It is such a lovely setting, harmonious and serene. I would have a difficult time leaving - except I'd be out of there before snowfall accumulates. I'm not an ice fishing kind of gal. But I readily see the appeal - it's a soothe your soul home. My son is looking at a very modest 80 year old 'cabin/cottage?' on a lake on CT and he has fallen for the pine and cedar, the stone foundation, the Adirondack chairs on the porch overlooking the water, the pungent aroma of pine needles - his wife refers to it as 'the siren call of nature'.

It is a sad tale and while it does seem that he's in a better place at the moment it must be difficult to leave that behind.

Here's another view of the corporate activities - it offers a little more detailed view on the business ventures and the family entanglements. From The Strand 2019.

https://thestrand.ca/on-the-family-that-owns-new-brunswick/

Source: From The Strand's masthead:

The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 1200 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.

The home is incredible, but his story even moreso. Wow, could not have seen that coming. In the video he comes off as the most well-grounded guy, and I love the story he tells about the house and nature.

Oh well, if I ever win the lottery . . .

Just beautiful, and at one with the setting. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, that was quite a read. The video really gave the house story context, and then the tragic turn of events with his struggle with mental illness. It just shows proves again that mental illness does not spare the poor nor the privileged, it can touch any family. The last article on the family dominance puts the struggles within the family in context.

Seeing their intent on creating a compound that looks like it has been built over generations was highly interesting. The closeups really showed the level of custom detail on the things like the doors, the latches, the larder and even the milling on the windows. I loved the exterior and naturalistic landscaping more than the interior (this is more common in nor cal). I guess I'm not used to the three season concept -- I'd like to have a section fully insulated to enjoy a snowy, isolated winter week.

For those that did not see it, here is the link to the home website, including compound map and video link: LINK

I couldn't read the linked article, but found this.

https://ssristories.org/irving-dynasty-son-kenneth-reveals-his-dark-depression-and-fight-to-health-the-globe-and-mail/

A home at one with its setting, just beautiful. The article demonstrates once again that mental illness doesn’t discriminate. It crosses all lines including socioeconomic ones. His father sounds like a soulless person.

I read through the whole thing. Interesting to learn about this individual and his family. I can’t begin to imagine what his life must have been like. Hopefully he has found peace and joy in life after such a difficult time.

After watching the video I thought "what a caring, sensitive man-someone i would enjoy". Then reading the rest of the articles it was just heartbreaking to read of his journey. It does sound like he has undergone years of therapy and came out on the other side. He is fortunate to have such a loving wife and daughters. I was glad to see he has re-united with his mother and siblings. Really sad that the dad couldn't understand and be there for him. What a loss!

It inspries awe, in its most essential sense. The ”cathedral” leaves me speechless. A house im total harmony with its surroundings.