By Gretchen A. Peck

Karl Froling said there were “signs”—or parallels—that inspired him to buy a house at 26 Pond Edge Drive in Waterford.

A decade ago, he began looking for a home that was close to his employer. He was intrigued by Waterford. He’d grown up in a town called Waterford, in his home state of Michigan. When he discovered this property—a five-bedroom contemporary—he felt a kinship with the seller, an engineer who’d worked in acoustics at General Dynamics/Electric Boat (EB). Froling was also an engineer at EB. “We hit it off,” he recalled. “And I just fell in love with the house.”

“The proximity to work at EB in New London was spectacular,” he added. “It’s just a 10-minute easy drive, without any expressways, and I’m there at work.”

The previous owners custom-built the contemporary home in 1986. With open-plan living, high ceilings and lots of windows from which to enjoy the surrounding landscape, the 3,735-square-foot house perfectly represents contemporary architecture of the period. The front-facing exterior can be a little deceiving at first glance, hinting at a modest home, but he pointed out how the house stretches back deep into the lot, which borders woodlands.

Nearly five years ago, he met his future bride, Pauline. The couple married last year, and they shared cherished memories with Welcome Home time spent here with friends and family, including a big family reunion.

“It’s a great home for entertaining and family,” Froling said.

“When I go there, I feel like I can breathe,” Pauline Marino-Froling said. “I love the high ceilings, the openness of the stairway, the large rooms and the closet space. This house is a woman’s dream when it comes to closets. … There is a sense of grandeur and openness to the house.”

“The home also has very large windows throughout the house, so it’s very bright and airy,’ she added.

Since the house had been well maintained by the original owners, Froling said that they haven’t had to make many major improvements, but they have installed a new 80-gallon hot water heater, added a new floor to the garage and painted the interiors.

“The reason we added the new hot water heater was because we have a huge [jetted] tub in the ensuite bath, and we wanted to be able to fill that quickly,” Mr. Froling said.

There are five bedrooms in total, including the primary suite on the first floor. Four additional bedrooms are on the second level—all generously proportioned, the sellers noted.

For earnest buyers in need of a home office, there’s a lower-level space that works well.

“It’s downstairs, on the back side of the house, so you can go down there and close the door, and it’s very quiet and secluded. It’s got large windows that open to the woods out back. It’s a great spot to work,” Froling said. Or any of the second-floor bedrooms could be repurposed as a second home office, should the buyers need more than one.

“When I first bought the house, I wanted to be able to sit out on the back deck and feel like there is no one else in the world. When you’re on the deck, you can’t see any of the neighbors’ houses. It’s very secluded, with the woods behind you and the birds chirping. It’s a great place to have a cookout with friends, but my favorite times are sitting out there with morning coffee, listening to the birds and the brook. It’s like you’re in another world,” the seller said.

Realtor Stravoravdis described the house as “immaculate” to Welcome Home, adding that it’s a great example of balanced space, form and function.

The 1.13-acre lot was partitioned to allow for a wooded path to the shared community pond, where neighbors go fishing and kayaking.

“If you have kids, they’ll love playing in the woods,” Froling said. “There’s a babbling brook that leads to the pond. In the mornings, when you sit out on the back deck, you can hear it babbling a little bit, and in the wintertime, it’s very scenic.”

“And no one will build behind you,” the listing agent noted.

“The subdivision itself is very quiet,” Froling said. “It’s well maintained, and there’s great camaraderie among the neighbors. There are always people out walking or walking with their dogs. I’m a runner, so I loved being able to jog around the back streets and never have to go out to a main road.”

The property is within walking distance to Leary Park, where there are sports fields and basketball and tennis courts. The couple has enjoyed having a number of other destinations nearby, as well—in particular, Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford Beach, and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

“We want somebody to have this home and really love it as much as we’ve enjoyed living here,” Marino-Froling concluded.

Property: 26 Pond Edge Dr., Waterford

Bedrooms: 5

Baths: 4

Square Footage: 3,735

Acreage: 1.13

Asking Price: $679,900

Seller’s Agent: Stephano Stravoravdis, William Raveis Real Estate, Niantic brokerage; Mobile: (860) 801-2087; Office: (860) 739-4455; stephano.stravoravdis@raveis.com