The placard outside the property reads: “Where the Past is our Present to You.”
Kitschy? I suppose, a little bit. Isolated? You bet. But…majestic?
I can’t say I was prepared for that one myself either. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t really enjoy the opportunity last week to photograph “Little Norway” in Blue Mounds, WI — about a half-hour drive from downtown Madison — for the “What You Get” section of the New York Times. This particular installment displayed real estate currently selling for $1.9M, featuring two other houses — one in Miami Beach, and another along the Maine coast.
Once I was able to get used to the stark (yet ‘museum-ey’) restored Norwegian homestead buildings (eight, in total) that dot the landscape of the property, I really started to enjoy “Little Norway” even more. Walking around the property inside and out with the owner, Scott Winner, I was able to feel the character of “Little Norway.” The house itself: gorgeous hardwood everywhere. The grounds: perfectly serene on this chilly Fall afternoon. And perhaps most important of all: There be dragons…
I’d take this property over the other two listed in the article any day of the week. Not that I’ll be buying any multi-million dollar properties anytime soon, however…
All in all, I had a wonderful time being able to use my (albeit limited) real estate photography skills (big shout-out and thanks to Aaron Schumm for giving me a chance to practice that a lot last summer!) Hard to believe I’m now being a five-time contributor to the New York Times. Craziness. Here’s hoping the work keeps heating up as the temps keep dropping.