An old cabin inspires a new vision for family lake life in Northern Michigan.
This Up North lodge is a part of the 2024 Northern Home & Cottage virtual home tour, which features immersive video tours of nine incredible homes and interviews with local contractors and builders. Take a sneak peek inside, then get your event tickets.
Contractor: MAC Custom Homes
Location: Traverse City
When longtime homeowners of a cottage south of Traverse City on Arbutus Lake saw a For Sale sign go up in front of a cottage down the road, they moved quickly to purchase it. The couple was ready to build a new, larger home for their family and guests, and the lot for sale had a dilapidated cabin that needed to come down. Yet, as they were very aware from their history in the area, the cabin was one of the oldest on the lake. “They wanted to honor that history,” says Marcy Hurst, executive assistant of MAC Custom Homes, the firm that worked with the couple to build their dream home.
The old brown cabin blended in with the wooded shoreline, so inspired by that, the new home is sided in cedar with a brown-gray transparent stain that blends in just as well, but with a subtle modern attitude. True, the new home has a distinctive lodge feel in comparison to the old cabin, but a varied geometry of roof lines and dormers—topped in steel to contrast with the shingled roof—give it the appearance of an old cottage that has been gradually added on to over the years.
All of that harmonious design belies the challenges involved in siting the home on the property’s steep grade. To make matters more complicated, the homeowners wanted the main living area and their primary bedroom on the ground floor so that they had easy, unobstructed access to the lake. The beautiful solution is a grand entry on the driveway side that opens on to a switchback staircase that offers a view of the lake beyond. The upstairs level houses the guest quarters and includes a fabulous built-in bunk system with knotty pine paneling accents salvaged from the old cabin.
The main living area and primary bedroom are on the lower walkout level. But don’t confuse this space with the rec-room walkouts of the past. Here, cathedral ceilings rise to a lofty 12 feet and full banks of windows flood in light and lake views. The main living area stretches across the lake side from the kitchen, outfitted with rustic-modern alder cabinetry and black soapstone countertops, through the dining area to the living area that revolves around a fireplace, faced floor-to-ceiling in charcoal-colored ceramic tile. The hardwood hickory floor can stand abuse from water, sand and dogs, while anchoring the home’s modern organic feel. Just beyond the fireplace is a spacious screened-in porch that is the true heart of the home three seasons of the year.
Other standouts in this home that honors the best of the past and present are an outdoor shower, an outdoor kitchen and a perfectly appointed mudroom, complete with a dog gate pocketed into a wall to contain the family’s beloved labs while they shake off the waters of Arbutus Lake.
Discover more on our Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Tour.
