EDITOR’S NOTE

HOUSE STORIES

In the early 1960s my dad was a doctoral student in architectural history at University of Michigan. Any excursion with him—whether it be through Ann Arbor or a trip Up North to Glen Arbor to see my grandparents—was a lesson in architecture. “Look over there, Mare,” he’d cry excitedly to my mom, pointing out the car window, “There’s a Queen Anne!” Other times it would be a Greek Revival, a Gothic Revival, a just plain old Victorian … the list went on. From the back seat, I’d follow his gaze to see what the fuss was about. Invariably, there’d be some sweet, lacy slip of a home sitting demurely in the middle of a cornfield or along a tree-lined street. I grew to love what he pointed out—those pretty, decorative houses began to read like fairytales to me. Certainly they were once inhabited by beautiful young ladies and handsome young men.

When we moved to Paris in 1964 so that my father could pursue a Fulbright Scholarship, the architectural history lessons grew into our family’s pastime. Most families viewed sports together. Each weekend we set out to view architecture. In Paris, those architecture-based fairy tales blossomed in my mind to stories of princesses and princes. For sure, the prince took Cinderella to live in the Louvre.

As an adult, I realized I had developed a skill that largely impresses no one, except maybe myself: Judging by the style, I can often pin the date of a home’s construction to within 20 years. Obviously, my fascination with old homes is hardly unique—all you have to do is tune into HGTV to see that there is a world of people obsessed with the items found inside the walls and crevices of old homes, and with the materials and craftsmanship that defined other eras. You can count Angela and Mike Goodall as two of them. The owners of one of the most successful design firms in Northern Michigan, the Goodalls honed their skills on their own late 19th-century home in downtown Traverse City. Check out the story of their decades-long reno in this issue.

But sometimes, oftentimes, homeowners want the feel and ambiance of an old home with a new build. Read on as architect Joseph Mosey, known for his period designs, deconstructs the details that make a beautiful lake lodge feel like it has stood on the Walloon Lake shoreline since Ernest Hemingway summered there. We round out this issue with a third story about a modern farmhouse—a style that just never gets old. After all, who doesn’t want to feel like they’re coming home to a fresh piece of apple pie every time they pull in the driveway?

UpNorth design inspiration, building ideas, & decorating tips straight to your inbox monthly.

Elizabeth Edwards is senior editor of Northern Home & Cottage. Lissa@traversemagazine.com