Northern Home & Cottage Oct/Nov 2023

16 / INTRODUCING:

2023 NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE VIRTUAL TOUR

18 / TIMELESS COTTAGE ON LAKE SKEGEMOG

PRESENTED BY: MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION

22 / MAGNIFICENT MODERN FARMHOUSE

PRESENTED BY: ROYAL STAG CONSTRUCTION

26 / VIEWS FOR MILES

PRESENTED BY: SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION

28 / CAMP INSPIRATION

PRESENTED BY: BANDI BUILDERS

30 / CHARMING ON GREEN LAKE

PRESENTED BY: BAY AREA CONTRACTING

34 / GREEN, SERENE, SUPREME!

PRESENTED BY: ENDURA PERFORMANCE HOMES

38 / THE CLIFF HOUSE

PRESENTED BY: COTTAGE COMPANY

42 / BELLA CASA!

PRESENTED BY: MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION

Michael Wnek

Cara McDonald

Elizabeth Edwards

Carly Simpson

Allison Jarrell

Rachel Soulliere

Elizabeth Aseritis

Caroline Dahlquist

Tim Hussey

Theresa Burau-Baehr

Rachel Watson

Julie Parker

Mike Alfaro

Ann Gatrell

Julie James

Meg Lau

Erin Lutke

Ashlyn Korienek

Nichole Earle

Beth Putz

PASSING THE TORCH: WELCOME, RACHEL

Last year , for this home tour issue, I began my edit note with an ode to our beloved Erin Lutke: “Move over HGTV stars Joanna Gaines, Nicole Curtis, Jonathon and Drew Scott … We have Erin Lutke, marketing director for MyNorth Media and star of our Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tours … Erin was made for the camera: She can chat away naturally and intelligently—without a script—and draws you in with her big, beautiful smile.”

The good news is, our talented Erin is back again this year to host three of our eight home tour videos. The other good news is that she is pregnant with her second child and due in early fall. So (more good news) for the last five home videos she is passing the torch to another sparkling on-camera personality: Rachel Rademacher, a lifestyle reporter for 9&10 News’ popular show “the four.” These videos will showcase Rachel’s skill, honed at both Central Michigan University and WILX in Lansing.

Heritage Broadcasting—the family-owned media group that has operated/managed 9&10 News since 1986— purchased MyNorth Media, the umbrella company of Traverse Northern Michigan magazine, Northern Home & Cottage, MyNorth.com and many other products—in January 2022. Since then, both entities have been discovering novel ways to cross-pollinate their talents to tell the rich stories of Northern Michigan. Rachel stepping into the Northern Home & Cottage spotlight is just one of many examples of the collaboration going on here at Heritage Broadcasting.

And talk about storytelling. In this issue, as in the video tour (learn more about it on page 16), we have behind-the-scenes stories about the most gorgeous new residential construction in Northern Michigan. Whether you’re looking to build and want ideas or you just love our regional version of the pastime HGTV has made famous, sit back and read, watch and enjoy!

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

Rachel Rademacher, your new tour guide

artists & makers

BROKEN TO BEAUTIFUL

Brian Girling of Stalefish Design Company weaves scrapped skateboards into fine furniture.

by LYNDA WHEATLEY

BRIAN GIRLING began woodworking when he was in his early 30s and in recovery from alcohol abuse. “I was looking for a hobby or something to put my time and energy into that would be productive and fulfilling,” he says.

The upshot of that search is the resulting handcrafted furniture he makes from the colored veneers of recycled skateboard decks—a formidable medium for any furniture maker, let alone one whose most significant woodworking experience prior to 2019 had been his ninth-grade shop class.

But the pandemic gave Girling the gift of time, and YouTube gave him endless rabbit holes of instruction and inspiration. One video of a conference table made from skateboard decks in California really hit him. “That’s absolutely gorgeous,” he recalls thinking. “That’s what I want to do—to have the ability to take something that is broken and going to be thrown out and turn it into a piece with a stunning visual presence.”

Girling uses the scrap noses and tail portions of skateboards to make smaller items such as jewelry and plant stands. The main, linear, portion of the decks goes into larger pieces, usually tables, that are painstakingly fabricated with six-inch sections of deck veneer. One table with drawers, for example, took 500 pieces— all butted and sanded to make the stripes look like one continuous color.

Tearing apart something broken, rebuilding it into a harmonious, functional design that flows with color … Girling’s blueprint for beautiful one-of-a-kind furniture pieces is also a pretty sweet metaphor for repairing a life.

Find out more about Girling’s work on Facebook: Stalefish Design Company.

photos by Dave Weidner

BEAUTIFULLY CHECKERED HISTORY

By EMILY TYRA

SPYING this patinaed, cheeky checker set at the antiques and décor shop August in Petoskey, we instantly imagined it at home on a cozy porch, beckoning a pair of players to unplug and kick back for a moment.

That’s the spirit in which August’s owner, Jenna Zerbo, curates her store at auction, online, or on the side of the road: filtered through her buoyant personality—and that of her grandfather August Zerbo, who emigrated from Italy to Detroit in 1927. She shares his name—August is her middle one— and a passion for family and togeth-

erness. “My grandfather deeply influenced my affinity for collecting pieces that enhance our lives together at home,” she says. “I like to imagine it sitting on a table surrounded by halfsipped glasses of wine and the bellowing laughter of its players.”

We’re smitten, too, with what Zerbo calls the “wabi-sabi” nature of the terracotta board and pieces, handcrafted by the design studio Flaÿou. The aesthetic embraces imperfection and the beauty that comes with age. “Each piece is perfectly imperfect,” says Zerbo. $200.

photo courtesy of August

photos by Tara Hallman

my favorite space GREAT MINDS

Interior designer Kristyn Lent and an art-loving client team up to take a dated great room from traditional to terrific.

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

THE CLIENT for this remodel is a lover of art and has quite an extensive art collection, so along with incorporating his collections into the design, he wanted an Up North, rustic feel with a modern, eclectic twist that would also feel textured and cozy.

The client selected the Kramer Chairs from Century Furniture. The hides were sourced from Saddlemans, a company that sells ethically sourced Brazilian cowhides. Set just off the foyer, they are real focal pieces.

Between the chairs is a set of Bernhardt nesting tables. The tops are petrified wood— an element that is juxtaposed with the modern feel of the very angular steel bases.

The homeowner sourced the pair of custom coffee tables in front of the chairs from a craftsman in Gladwin in a rustic style—hand-hewn from red oak.

The pair of sofas are also from Century, and Lent went with gray salt-pepper tweed to add a bit of texture but not to fight with the movement in the cowhide. The pillows add more layers of textures and patterns; the solid blue pillows are bouclé fabric woven in Belgium

and the striped fabric is woven in India.

The lamps were selected to add a little substance given the scale of the room. From Currey and Company, they are wrapped in an abaca rope that pulls in a coastal feel. The chandelier is the Rainforest Branch–style also from Currey and Company.

The flooring throughout the main floor of the

home is 24-x-48-inch large format tile by Happy Floors X-Rock in Natural. The area rug was handknotted in India and is from the Loloi Elixir collection. It speaks a bit to the essence of the room— blending everything together.

The wall color throughout the main spaces of the home is Benjamin Moore Calm and the trim color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.

Drawing on her background living and working in such diverse places as Mexico, Curacao, Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis, interior designer Kristyn Lent of The Quiet Moose in Petoskey infuses all of her projects with her affinity for color, textures and comfortable, custom furnishings.

The 2023 Northern Home &

Virtual Tour gives you insider access to eight of the North’s most amazing new builds and remodels, including

Cottage

this stunner by Scott Norris Construction.

OFFICIAL SPONSOR

northern home & cotta ge 2 023

VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

WHETHER you’re looking for design inspo, home improvement ideas or getting ready to build your own dream house, there’s nothing more delicious than a behind-the-scenes look into our region’s most beautiful homes.

And we’ve got eight beauties to share with you on our 2023 Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour. Mark Oct. 27 on your calendar, and block off time to relax and enjoy video tours of these gorgeous houses. (Read on for a sneak peek at all eight showstoppers.)

FEATURED SPONSORS

The virtual tours allow an intimate look inside, as well as in-depth interviews with the homeowners and builders about their successes, challenges and favorite design elements. This year, our virtual tour-goers will again find out how our homeowners turned their dreams into reality and meet the local builders, vendors, contractors and architects who helped.

We couldn’t host these tours without our official sponsor, Northern Garage Doors, providing the finest in garage doors, garage door openers and home storage systems for both residential and commercial properties in the Northern Michigan region. We also want to thank our featured sponsors, Advanced Inc. Awnings & Upholstery, Honor & Onekama Building Supply, PMI Grand Traverse and our supporting sponsor Thomas & Milliken Millwork.

We’re thankful for their support and those of our tour-goers for a very special reason: This year’s tour revenue, as it has for the last decade, will go to Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Since 2013, this tour has raised more than $135,000 to help their team provide a critical safety net for Northern Michigan’s most vulnerable children and families. The generosity of our readers, viewers and homeowners has helped so many children, and we’re profoundly grateful.

1. HEAD TO LINK.MYNORTH.COM/TOUR23

2. MAKE A SUGGESTED DONATION OF $10 TO SUPPORT CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES OF NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN AND GET YOUR TICKET.

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by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photos by EAGLE EYE MEDIA

TIMELESS COTTAGE ON LAKE SKEGEMOG

TUCKED IN A WOODED SITE ON THE SHORE OF A QUIET LAKE, THIS HOME HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS OF A QUINTESSENTIAL C OTTAGE PULLED TOGETHER WITH A FRESH, CONTEMPORARY FEEL.

with its cedar shake exterior, this three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot cottage has a storybook feel— cozy charm that rolls into the interior as well. The warmth of wood carries through with white oak flooring, black walnut ceiling beams and a handsome black walnut–wrapped wall in the foyer. That unusual wall both screens the stairway and acts as a backrest for a bench created by the stairway’s final cascading steps. More character: An antique door adjacent to the stairway that leads discretely to an office.

CONTRACTOR 

Built by Mapleridge Construction in Williamsburg, the home’s open-plan main floor with soaring windows reveals exquisite views of Skegemog Lake, and a three-season, screened-in porch with radiant heat extends the lake-living feel. The living room’s handsome stone fireplace warms on one end and at the other is a well-equipped kitchen, with oversize-island seating, highend appliances and custom cabinetry. The dining area with built-in cabinets is in the center of the room, making a great layout for family cook-offs and holiday entertaining. More custom cabinetry—a signature of Mapleridge Construction— is scattered throughout the house.

CONSTRUCTION

Photo

Photo

MAGNIFICENT MODERN FARMHOUSE

WITH VIEWS OF VINEYARDS, HORSE PASTURES AND MILES OF WATER, THIS LUXURY COUNTRYSIDE H OME HAS EVERYTHING YOU’D EVER DREAM OF— RIGHT DOWN TO MAN’S BEST FRIEND.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

by TWO TWISTED TREES PHOTOGRAPHY

with 360-degree views of East Grand Traverse Bay and Old Mission Peninsula, this sumptuous home, built by Royal Stag Construction of Williamsburg, is surrounded by Yuba Vineyard and an equestrian practice area, right in the heart of horse-show country.

The 5,000-square-foot home was conceived as a highend rental for groups, and features seven bedrooms, five baths and double patios—all with an eye for entertaining.

The gourmet kitchen can service a crowd; it has an underlit, black-granite-topped island; black-finish cupboards and appliances that serve as a backdrop for a striking backsplash; and a rustic punched-copper range hood that sits above a copper-handled six-burner Bertazzoni stove. A walk-in butler’s pantry hides small appliances and the chaos of meal prep.

The living room invites gathering, with massive beams and a floor-to-ceiling Del Mare LedgeStone fireplace, while the lower level offers another entertaining area with a game room and custom wine cellar to keep the parties rolling.

But beyond spaces for coming together there are wonderful luxury touches throughout, including a dustand climate-controlled garage for upscale rides. And to invite guests to enjoy the 160-acre property, visitors have the option to ask for a canine concierge—a Labrador retriever named Molly is available and specially trained for pheasant hunting right on the grounds.

photo

VIEWS FOR MILES

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN (ALMOST) SEE FOREVER FROM THIS INSPIRATIONAL HOME.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

CRICK

with stunning vistas of Good Harbor Bay, North and South Manitou Islands and Pyramid Point from every room in the house—even the garage—this 3,200-square-foot Craftsmanstyle home north of Cedar makes watching the sunset a magical experience.

Built on a steep, sloping bluff by award-winning Traverse City homebuilder Scott Norris, the two-level, three-bedroom home is narrow and long, stretching out like a mountaintop getaway. “It was a difficult site,” says Norris of the precarious bluff, “but it also affords these terrific views.”

The handsome exterior has a light-filled front entryway with stone-clad columns and a massive, welcoming wooden door. Inside, there are countless creature comforts, among them a floor-to-ceiling fireplace wrapped in 24-by-48-inch tiles, surrounded by both built-in and floating cabinetry. The oak-floored kitchen-dining area features high-end GE appliances, an hexagonal tile backsplash, and a quartztopped dine-in island. A graceful arch divides the large space, and a wall of doors on the water side leads to an upper deck to let the outside in. A lower-level kitchenette is handy for grabbing goodies on the way out to the patio.

Throughout the house, find Norris’ signature built-ins, detailed millwork, lavishly tiled and appointed bathrooms and, of course, an abundance of windows to take in the extraordinary views.

photos by SAMUEL

CONTRACTOR SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION

CAMP INSPIRATION

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

CONTRACTOR BANDI BUILDERS LOCATION

MULLETT LAKE

when asked to build a low-maintenance home that would feel as historic as the site it is built on, Brett Bandi of Bandi Builders was up to the task. Bandi knew and appreciated that his clients had a long history with the site that was once a boys’ summer camp, Camp Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee, from 1911 to 1941. (Triva alert: One of the campers was James Jewell, who grew up to be the first drama director for the Lone Ranger radio show. No doubt, Jewell imported the term Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee and many of the camp’s concepts and lore to the new show.)

In 1949, the Walter family purchased a stretch of the Mullett Lake shoreline that had been a part of the camp, building a rambling summer cottage big enough to hold their large family. Eventually, they purchased all of the former camp property.

Flash forward to a new century when some of the next generation of the Walters knew it was time to replace the 70-year-old cottage, but with a home that honored the rich history of the camp.

This new home, designed by Stephanie Baldwin of Edgewater Design and constructed by Bandi Builders, is clad in stone and cedarcolored shake, and adorned with a number of other traditional cottage details, including rafter tails, embellished gables, white moldings and even a cupola. All that vintage style, however, belies modern, lowmaintenance materials including limestone, granite and polymer shake and trim.

The heart of the six-bedroom, six-bathroom home is the first-floor great room with its vaulted ceiling, cedar beams, upper-level bridge and stone fireplace that reaches to the ceiling. A floor-to-ceiling bank of windows makes the most of the Mullett Lake view.

A MODERN LODGE-STYLE HOME BLENDS PERFECTLY INTO A STORIED SITE ON MULLETT LAKE.

CHARMING ON GREEN LAKE

Question: How do you take a homely ranch and make it into a quintessential Up North cottage? Answer? Ask BAC Design Group’s Marty Rhein and Bay Area Contracting’s Dean Adams.

The pair began by raising the ceiling in the great room to create a cathedral height and letting in light through a bank of clerestory windows. A pair of dormers set on both sides of the new roofline flood the rest of the home in light.

The interior seamlessly blends rustic and modern sensibilities including contrasting crisp white built-ins and planked ceiling with saw-cut, hand-scraped wooden ceiling beams, white oak floors and a glacier stone fireplace. A stunning chandelier in the great room pulls the look together.

A COMPLETE REMODEL TRANSFORMS A PLAIN-JANE RANCH HOME INTO A COZY BEACH COTTAGE WITH RUSTIC-MODERN VIBES.

DESIGNER BAC DESIGN GROUP CONTRACTOR BAY AREA CONTRACTING LOCATION INTERLOCHEN

The rustic-modern theme continues in the kitchen with its high-end appliances, farmhouse sink and earthy Quartzite island (outfitted with a pop-up range vent) that contains unexpected teal accents. The powder room with its petrified-stone sink atop an Asian burl commode is a one-of-a-kind design statement.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photos by ERIN ATWOOD

The cottage feel is accentuated on the exterior with its vinyl “cedar” shake, fresh white trim and front door embossed with a branch motif. Off the main kitchen, a state-of-the-art pergola system with retractable screens houses an outdoor kitchen that leads to a bluestone patio complete with a firepit. And after coming back from a day on the water, there’s an outdoor lanai with a shower to rinse all the sand and sunscreen away.

kirsten pappas

Photo by Jacqueline Southby

GREEN, SERENE, SUPREME!

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

photos by MIKE DRILLING

from the arched entry to the walkout lowerlevel patio facing the water’s mesmerizing blues, the wow factors in this French Country–style manse that overlooks Traverse City’s West Bay never end.

Builder Ryan McCoon of Endura Performance Homes in Traverse City says the three-level, 6,120-square-foot home features five bedrooms, four and a half baths, 10-foot ceilings on the main floor and basement and nine feet on the top floor.

Step into the 23-foot entryway and great room and take in the huge windows, soaring fireplace, coffered ceiling and beautiful built-ins and millwork that grace every room. The exterior is a combination of LP SmartSide cedar shingles, board and batten and lap siding, with two decks for enjoying the view. White oak floors warm the interior.

McCoon says the most challenging part of finishing the home was building and trimming the two-story floating staircase, which drops 31 feet

from the second level to the basement.

Unusual touches in this magnificent home include a lighted display room for the owner’s collection of china, and the primary bedroom’s ensuite bath with an inlaid Carrara marble floor and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The lower level has a full kitchen, movie theater and cozy bedroom.

Perhaps the most enchanting room of all is the granddaughter’s, where a hidden door behind a bookshelf leads to her secret space outfitted with a vanity and Hollywood mirror inside.

Almost as magical is the home’s energy efficiency. “With the house being as large as it is, the architect had drawn the home with two forced air furnaces,” says McCoon, who is a certified Green Builder. “Because of the way we build our thermal envelope [the insulation boundary of the home], only one furnace was necessary, saving the homeowner thousands of dollars in equipment costs, and tens of thousands of dollars in utility costs over the next thirty years.”

EVERY INCH OF THIS HOME COMBINES ENERGY EFFICIENCY WITH EUROPEAN-STYLE LUXURY.

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THE CLIFF HOUSE

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

photo by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

CONTRACTOR

COTTAGE COMPANY

INTERIOR DESIGN

COTTAGE COMPANY INTERIORS LOCATION

HARBOR SPRINGS

when developer Rob Mossburg and his wife, Vee, relocated from the West to Harbor Springs in the 1990s, it didn’t take him long to spot a beautifully wooded bluff on the famous Tunnel of Trees (M-119) where he could envision a one-ofa-kind home. Mossburg asked around about the site and was told by local Realtors and builders that it was unbuildable. Maybe for some folks, but not for Mossburg, who began his career building hotels in the mountains of Colorado and California.

A hefty amount of steel beams later, the Mossburgs had their house on the cliff. As if they needed one more reminder of the sacredness of the location, on their first evening on the porch, they watched in awe as an eagle nabbed a fish from the water far below and brought it back to its nest—just feet away from their home.

Eventually, the Mossburgs sold the home and several years later, tragically, it burned beyond salvage. The new owners, using the Mossburgs’ Cottage Company, have rebuilt in the same footprint. The new rendition of The Cliff House has a distinctly nautical vibe from its deep blue siding and white trim to its Blue Star appliances in Midnight Blue trimmed in brass.

This 1,648-square-foot, not-so-big home is packed with other delights including exquisite cabinetry by Stillwater Custom Cabinetry, a quartz fireplace surround, outdoor kitchen by Kalamazoo Gourmet and tropical-feeling St. Martin porch furniture by Palecek. And since humans don’t fly (eagles still nest nearby), there’s a sophisticated tram system for those who are not up for taking the 65 steps up and down to the home from the road.

THIS HOME PERCHED ON A BLUFF HIGH ABOVE LAKE MICHIGAN OFFERS WIDE, BLUE VISTAS THAT STRETCH TO BEAVER ISLAND.

BELLA CASA!

A LUXURIOUS NEW HOME GIVES A MEDITERRANEAN ACCENT TO OUR AZURE NORTHERN COAST.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

SOUTHBY

CONTRACTOR

MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION LOCATION

TRAVERSE CITY

set high on a hill above West Bay, this stately home brims with custom details—all of which blend together into what builder Scott Naumes of Mapleridge Construction calls a Modern Coastal Mediterranean design.

The look begins on the limestone-andstucco exterior accented with black grillwork balustrades—a striking custom design that was created by the Mapleridge team. Below the massive two-story arched grand entrance is a balcony with Juliette doors, and below that, a covered bluestone patio with a two-sided fireplace that opens into the 12-foot-ceilinged room beyond.

Elegant dark-walnut stained oak floors, eightfoot doors, oversized windows, lavish millwork, lighted built-ins and recesses for art are found throughout the home. The kitchen shimmers with mica-flecked Quartzite waterfall counters and a pyramid ceiling tops the living room. Other luxe touches in the home include a wine room, floating staircase with mica inlays (designed and executed by Mapleridge), and a 450-square-foot “boutique room” closet with floor-to-ceiling lighted cubbies and rods for shoes, purses and other accessories.

The fenced back yard is set up for the owner’s rescue dogs, and the home features a huge laundry room with washing stations to care for the pups. Pocket doors with the exterior grate design keep these (lucky) dogs safe and sound on the property.

photo by JACQUELINE

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