S P R I N G 2 0 21 | M O D E R N M A K E O V E R
Total Transformation Major renovation takes Ludington-area vacation home to new heights By Jeanine Matlow Photography by Bill Lindhout
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t seems the stars were aligned for a remote location near Ludington to accommodate a sophisticated structure that reaches out to the environment in all directions. That’s where architect Ben Franceschi, with Mathison|Mathison Architects in Grand Rapids, turned a modest cabin on Hamlin Lake into a modern cottage retreat. With any architectural design, Franceschi says the connection to the outdoors gets expanded even more fully when it’s located on a waterfront site. For this renovation, he says he values the fact that his team was able to apply solid design principles to the original footprint. “It wasn’t
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just about imagining a new home, but transforming the existing one,” he says. In the process, his client got a more adaptable floor plan. “He wanted the flexibility to maximize this 1,200-squarefoot space so that it would work when he (goes to the cabin) alone and (when) the whole family comes.” An expansive lot serves as a scenic backdrop for the smaller footprint. “Based on the size and the rugged territory, the challenge was how to reuse what we had and take this self-built hunting cabin that kind of looks at the lake and completely transform it without changing the form or the environment,” Franceschi says. “It was a lot of fun to
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