Photographer lists remodeled ‘dream house’ on Swift Creek Reservoir for $2M

The remodeled house at 3204 Shallowford Landing Terrace has dual two-car garages. (Images courtesy Dean Berry/CVRMLS)

Roughly a year after remodeling it to be his “dream house,” local photographer and portraitist Dan Butler is selling his 4,700-square-foot contemporary-style home, which stands out among the many decades-old homes that front Swift Creek Reservoir in Brandermill.

“If you look at the architecture, you never would have seen this design in Brandermill until now,” said Andy Wyman, a longtime area real estate agent who helped Butler find his previous two homes in the Midlothian community.

The water-facing side is almost entirely windows and features a deck.

A resident of Brandermill for 37 years, Wyman said the remodeled house at 3204 Shallowford Landing Terrace is the first on the waterfront to replace what he said was essentially a teardown of the previous house built there in the early 1980s. The house includes dual two-car garages and floor-to-ceiling windows highlighting the water views.

“It’s a complete rebuild in many ways,” Wyman said. “There have been some houses renovated, but it hasn’t been a complete teardown.”

And with a price tag of $2 million, Wyman added, “It’s the most expensive property on the lake right now.”

Floor-to-ceiling windows highlight views of Swift Creek Reservoir.

Butler, who operates his Butler Portraits photography business at Brandermill’s Sunday Park, listed the house with Dean Berry, Wyman’s colleague at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty. Butler said personal reasons are prompting the listing, which hit the market in late October.

Dan Butler

“It’s my dream house, but it’s a little bit more house than I would want for just a single person,” said Butler, who designed the house with local draftsman Rick Adams. Tad Hicks with Ty West Builders was the general contractor.

Totaling four bedrooms and five bathrooms, the two-story house has an open floor plan with floating stairway and rooms oriented to showcase the water views. The water-facing side is almost entirely windows, which can be opened for indoor-outdoor living and provide access on the first floor to a wraparound deck with a hot tub and swim spa.

An elevator provides access from the garages to the upper floors, and the house includes upstairs and downstairs kitchens and laundry rooms, a first-floor primary bedroom and an office that can be used as a guest room.

The open layout includes a floating stairway.

The property also includes a 9-year-old dock and is on a cul-de-sac in walking distance to Brandermill’s North Beach Pool.

Butler said the remodel was a challenge in a community largely defined by homes of a similar style and era. The Brandermill Community Association includes an architectural review board that Butler said has been open to introducing newer styles to the community, which was developed in the 1970s and marked its 50th year in 2024.

“I think they definitely want updates on (housing styles),” Butler said. “The biggest challenge was I needed two-car garages. I have two of them, and the only way to do it is to make the garages face the street. That was one of the only major things that we had issue with.

The house fronts Swift Creek Reservoir and includes a dock.

“The back of the house is completely glass. The sunsets are awesome right now,” he said. “I designed the house so the first floor opens up completely to the outside, and upstairs, it opens up completely just like downstairs. It’s nice on nicer days.”

A photo of the original house, which was built in 1981. (Courtesy Andy Wyman)

Butler bought the original house in 2014 and said he rented it to other tenants for eight years before going forward with the remodel. He purchased the property for $261,000, and it’s currently assessed by Chesterfield County at nearly $763,000, records show.

Berry is marketing the listing with a website and in Haven magazine. He said he’s fielded interest from potential buyers and had a tour lined up last week. He said proof of funds is required to tour the house.

“We just want to make sure that somebody’s not just coming in to be a lookie-loo,” Berry said.

The house adds to other multimillion-dollar listings on the market in Chesterfield. Last month, an 8,000-square-foot home at 3937 Old Gun Road was listed at $3.2 million.

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