Join us for a premier one-day home tour featuring 13 beautiful homes, thoughtfully designed and surrounded by stunning landscapes in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. The Traverse City Area Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour is Saturday, September 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Below is a sneak peek inside the first home!
Proceeds raised during the Traverse City Area Home Tour will benefit Northern Michigan non-profit, Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Save money by purchasing tickets online at MyNorthTickets.com or by calling 800.836.0717. Online ticket sales end Friday, September 15 at noon. Tickets are also available at the door.
Address: 7211 W. Glenmere Road, Empire (on Little Glen Lake)
Directions: Beginning in Traverse City at the intersection of M-72W and S W Bay Shore Dr/M-22: Drive west on M-72W 14 miles. Turn left at the blinking light to remain on M-72 for another 5 miles. Turn right on 677/Benzonia Trail and continue 3.4 miles. Turn left onto Glenmere/M-22.
Designer:Â Kitchen Choreography, 231.932.9700
Fifteen years ago Rob and Judy Meyer purchased this circa 1950s ranch on Little Glen Lake with the intention of using it seasonally for several years then tearing it down and rebuilding. The 1,350-square-foot house wasn’t quite large enough for their family long-term, and the place had a quirky layout, with a two-way fireplace located in the middle of the great room. This interrupted the traffic flow and compartmentalized the kitchen, living room, and dining room spaces. Still … even with the home’s quirks, the two large picture windows that perfectly frame the view of Little Glen Lake never grew old. After spending several summers at the home, its charm won them over, and the Meyers decided to renovate with an addition instead of demolishing.
The end result is a shining example of how the sweet ranch home of yesteryear can function for a modern family. Working with builder Casey Edick, owner of Edick Construction, the Meyers added two wings off the back of the home—an east wing and a west wing. On the exterior, the additions created a lovely courtyard protected on three sides and open to the forested hill behind the home. In the interior, the west wing houses two bedrooms, a bath, bunkroom and a small living area for when the couple’s two adult children and their families visit. The bunkroom is equipped with four custom built-in bunks that are outfitted with lights and outlets so the grandkids can set up shop on their bunks. (Note: tourgoers looking for grandchildren-enticing ideas won’t want to miss these bunks.)
The east wing encapsulates a gorgeous master suite with Jack and Jill walk-in closets and a stunning master bathroom. Kitchen Choreography’s Erica Murdock designed the bathrooms as well as the kitchen—now the home’s centerpiece. To create the kitchen, living room and dining room open concept, the two-sided fireplace that sat in the middle of the space, replaced by a streamlined wall fireplace. The once-outdated kitchen that was plagued by plastic cabinets and beat-up Formica now showcases creamy white painted cabinets provided by Fieldstone Cabinetry, black quartz countertops, new appliances and a wine bar. Touches like floating shelving and subway tiles make this room sing. The head-turning look in this renovated great room is pulled together with a one-of-a- kind reclaimed heart pine floor that once was the roof of a 19th-century tile factory.
Preview all 13 homes on the Traverse Area Home Tour in the August 2017 issue of Northern Home & Cottage.
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