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When Tracy Guarino thinks of her lake house on Center Hill Lake, she imagines the tree-lined road that narrows to a private peninsula.
“The road gets narrower and rockier,” she says of the hidden hideaway. “Then you pull up to this beautiful gate.”
The words “Siren’s Lure” and three mermaids are etched into that stone gate. Guarino, a Nashville entrepreneur; Vanderbilt University MBA graduate; and mom of three sons, named the estate after the half-bird, half-woman sea creatures of ancient Greek mythology. Like mermaids, sirens used music to tempt sailors into crashing their ships against rocky shorelines.
The creatures perfectly encapsulate the bewitching personality of this estate. It offers worldly temptations while remaining what Guarino calls “a quiet retreat where one can write and reflect for personal and professional development.”
An amenity-filled compound on 3.6 acres, Siren’s Lure is surrounded by broad expanses of water and undulating hills. The estate is anchored by the main house, a 6,100-square-foot beauty that perches on a bluff above the treetops. It is a New England shingle-style home with classical porch columns, arched Palladian windows, numerous verandas, and three levels. Imbued with romance, it calls to mind the grand oceanfront “cottages” of the tony Hamptons that were built in the 1920s.
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Inside are five bedrooms, six baths, two kitchens, a 10-seat theater, multiple stone fireplaces, and a Yamaha Clavinova digital baby grand piano. Guarino’s sons enjoy the bunk room, which features four built-in beds. The lady of the house loves the master, which sits atop the manse like a jewelry box. Outfitted with velvety white carpet, 360-degree views and two balconies, it’s the perfect place to take in both a sunrise view, and a sunset panorama.
Guarino favors clean, contemporary interiors, so there is a strategic use of semi-sheer drapes throughout the home, as well as furnishings with modern lines and natural shades of white, greige, amber, and caramel. The main floor is a soothing mélange of knotty pine floors and walls of windows that frame the lake.
Outside the home, a heated saltwater pool hugs the front porch, and a one-bedroom cottage sits nearby for staff. (Caterers use the kitchen for parties). A helipad tops the six-car garage, making the 70-mile commute to and from Nashville a breeze.
“If you want to be there for a week in the summer, but you’ve got to buzz in for a meeting in Nashville, that’s an easy way to do it,” Guarino says.
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While the peninsula ensures privacy, the Blue Water Grille at Hurricane Marina is conveniently around the corner.
“We boat over and have dinner there,” Guarino says.
Below the house, a path meanders to the water’s edge. There, a dock accommodates multiple boats for water arrivals.
The peninsula is trimmed by 1,346 feet of shoreline, beachy in some spots and rocky in others.
“I love walking around down there,” Guarino says. “I feel like I’m somewhere else.”
This lakeside retreat reminds Guarino of her childhood spent in upstate New York.
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“Lake Ontario was my playground. I have always loved the water, and the calm and happiness it brings through fishing, boating, waterskiing, and taking frozen-custard-filled walks along the pier.”
Such outdoor fun is why, before Guarino bought Siren’s Lure, the singer-songwriter Alan Jackson played music and relaxed there with his family. They called it “The Real World” after the title of Jackson’s debut album, “Here in the Real World
Like Jackson before her, Guarino is now ready to share the beauty of Siren’s Lure with new families; she is making it available as a luxury rental. She knows renters will feel the same emotional connection to the property that she and her family have.
“Over the years, we have celebrated many holidays and family events here. My boys learned to fish, boat, wakeboard, and kayak. They also learned the life skills of chopping wood, starting fires, and, of course, bunkhouse living.”