Amid Lake Michigan’s steadily swelling tides and changing dune faces, the design-and-build team at Mark Scott Homes—based in Niles, Michigan—has created a quaint reprieve designed to minimize coastline impact, while maximizing the qualities of beachfront living. Mark Scott Homes specializes in high-quality homes in southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, offering custom home building and property management, as well as…
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Coastal texture
A ranch house in northern Michigan has been redesigned as the coastal destination for one happy client’s friends and family. Completed in July 2019 and located in Burt Lake, Michigan, the cottage’s renovation was overseen and directed by Stephanie Baldwin, president, owner, and designer of Edgewater Design Group LLC. The result is picturesque: as soon as someone stores their shoes…
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Dream boat
Water, in its many forms, could be considered a first and final frontier. A fundamental element of survival, its freshwater bodies are a priceless resource and have led to vast, complex cities developed at its shorelines. Its waterways have proven to be vital conduits for the transportation of commercial goods and services, and in the Great Lakes region, offer a…
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Purposeful rebuild
Though the idea of sustainability is often associated with environmental impact, an organization in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood is adding social and economic sustainability to the circuit. Rebuilding Exchange is a nonprofit, social enterprise that strives to create value in its surrounding communities by repurposing discarded building materials—from architectural salvage down to plumbing fixtures—and responsibly developing Chicago’s underserved communities through education…
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Revived colonial
“When you work in older homes, whether [people] are going to keep the same essence or want to be a little avant-garde—do something transitional or modern on the inside, but maintain the outside— there is stuff going on in that house from the past. Most people like to find out what is going on, and we kind of disassemble and…
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Contemporary farmhouse
In residential design, personal history and nostalgia can often influence features large and small, gradually creating the identity of a space until it merges into something that clearly signifies the homeowner. In the spring of 2017, Steve Werner, architect and partner at the Shoreline Architecture & Design Inc. firm in Petoskey, Michigan was approached by an unexpected figure from his…
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Modern lodge
Reposed on a cresting dune, this contemporary, coastal lodge is built for the drama of the offshore shoals, turbulent weather, and proud lighthouses that line the Lake Michigan waterscape. It is a home whose beauty is in its implied simplicity, honest materials, and integrated design; where its rich tones are matched only by its memories as a family reprieve in…
