A Torch Lake vacation home was custom designed and built to shine. When the sun reaches its peak in a clear blue sky and reflects its rays upon teal-colored lake waves, there is a certain inexplicable quality in the resulting image. Bright, rich colors intertwine and inspire. It is the intense yellow and blues often found along the shoreline of…
-
-
The beachfront aerie
In renovating this waterfront aerie, nestled between waves and ravines on a mid-bluff along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, the collaborative team of Rock Kauffman Design, New Urban Home Builders LLC, and Bradley J. Boyer Design sculpted a 1950s-built cottage into an open and bright modern beach home in respectful interpretation. There is a tendency toward clean, minimal lines…
-
Building a snapshot
A Traverse City-based contracting and construction firm strives to frame each home by capturing the hidden treasures in each client’s lifestyle. “I have always had a drive for building things: building tree forts or building bridges through swamps,” said Dean Adams, owner of Bay Area Contracting, Inc. and BAC Design Group. “I was always so intrigued about it.” While Adams’ family may have had an affinity for the…
-
Rich welcome at Cass Lake
Set on a waterfront peninsula, this Cass Lake residence is a warm and artful interpretation of a contemporary seaside villa. There is a careful courtship as one moves from the limestone-and-iron front gate featuring a custom design by an artisan in the Middle East, to the circular drive before the grand entrance, where lush, tropical greenery, cement tile roof, glass,…
-
Design for Sale: South Manitou Trail
The abundance of unique residential properties on northern Michigan’s various sandy shorelines often makes the role of the realtor important when matching property to prospective buyer. Different homeowners shape a residence according to their own design values and functional needs, creating homes with unique personalities that add interest to the market. For Tim Schaub, real estate broker and co-owner of…
-
Beachfront remodel
For many residences dotting the Lake Michigan shoreline, the serene, timeless quality of life on the water permeates through its design elements. Views, coastal interiors, and durable materials often define the homes and cottages. When approaching the remodel of an approximately 6,000-square-foot lakefront home near Charlevoix, Michigan, the homeowners and custom home builder—Miller, Poineau & Naumes, or MPN—determined its façade…
-
Aimee P.C. Buccellato, LEED AP
Aimee P.C. Buccellato, LEED AP, partner at Buccellato Design LLC in South Bend, Indiana, and Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, was drawn to the beautiful and complex process of design and architecture early on in life. From Lego building blocks, drawings, and summer visits to her mother’s childhood home—a Pompeiian villa replica—to witnessing…
-
The southwestern contemporary
Northern Michigan residential design often captures the intersection of breezy summer style oriented toward the area’s bounty of lakes and rivers, and the practical features necessary to withstand Midwest winters, which have recently pushed historical records. With a preference for the former, one homeowner in Northport, Michigan collaborated with Mapleridge Construction LLC, a custom home builder in Williamsburg, Michigan, to…
-
Brent R. Dykstra, LEED AP
Brent Dykstra, LEED AP, senior architect and senior associate at AMDG Architects, Incorporated in Grand Rapids, Michigan knew he wanted to be an architect when he was about 12- or 13-years-old; although he didn’t completely know what it meant at the time. “It seemed like the right convergence of practical problem solving and artistic creation. I don’t think I ever…
