Whether the mountain home is a primary residence, a vacation ski lodge, or a mountain retreat – a primary consideration is integrating the architecture with the beauty of the surrounding landscape, and designing interior spaces which fluidly interact with exterior spaces to create a connection with nature.
Expansive, beautifully designed glass doors and windows open rooms to the mountain views and allow natural light to flood into interior spaces. Screened-in porches, covered porches, terraces, and balconies are integrated into the mountain home designs to extend the interior living spaces to the outdoors and create places to relax and entertain.
The firm designs mountain homes in a wide range of architectural styles from Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, High-Country, elegant-rustic Old World, to Mountain Modern. They feature indigenous materials brought into the interior architecture for a unified composition; whether the design expression is rustic or modern – natural stone, timbers, and ironwork are prominently featured. For a rustic expression – heavy timber trusses, beamed ceilings, oversized rustic stone fireplaces, wrought-iron stair railings, flagstone and wide-planked wood floors are utilized. For a modern interpretation – a combination of metal, wood, and stone are creatively introduced – but are edited, restrained, and streamlined.
Mountain Home virtual fly-around video
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LAKE HOMES
Their lake homes capture the unique qualities and essence of living near the water – whether it is an energetic all-sports lake or the peaceful solitude of a tranquil conservancy lake.
The lake homes created by the firm vary widely in design from classic Shingle Style, charming Cape Cod, rustic Craftsman Style, and American Vernacular; to French Normandy, Country French, English Manor, and English cottage; to Italian Villa style, Prairie style, and Mountain modern.
The firm’s distinctive lake homes have been built throughout Southeastern Michigan on numerous lakes including: Orchard Lake, Upper Straits Lake, Middle Straits Lake, Wing Lake, Cass Lake, Long Lake, Commerce Lake, Crooked Lake, Brighton Lake, Strawberry Lake, Whitmore Lake, Tipsico Lake and Lake St. Clair, as well as the Detroit River; and on Northern Michigan lakes including Torch Lake and Lake Charlevoix. We have designed lake homes for Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Lake Keowee in North and South Carolina; and for numerous other lakes throughout the Midwest and the Eastern-seaboard states.
VACATION HOMES
Upon embarking on the design of a vacation home, a primary consideration is the land upon which it will interact – as capturing views and feeling immersed in the surrounding environment is such an important aspect of creating an enjoyable and fulfilling vacation experience.
The ocean beach homes and lake houses created by the firm focus on capturing views of the water; while their mountain homes and cottages that are sited amidst forested land are designed to capture the most magnificent views of the surrounding landscape. They feature large expanses of glass doors and windows, wide-covered porches, and open terraces which extend the interior living spaces to the outdoors and create places to relax and entertain.
Vacation homes also provide a unique opportunity to design interior spaces that are playful, creative, and interact with nature without all of the requirements of our primary residences.
Photos of award-winning Coastal Shingle Style home
Photos of award-winning Shingle Style home
Photos of award-winning Craftsman High-Country home
PREMIERE PLAN COLLECTIONS
The collections are a useful tool for beginning a dialogue about style, architectural elements, design components, and the allocation of space. The diverse floor plans enable an exploration of different functional and creative relationships between interior spaces and their integration with exterior spaces. The conceptual color renderings showcase diverse architectural styles, incorporating classic design, traditional detailing, and old-world European charm, and assist in defining the creative vision, which establishes the creative direction for the project.
For clients who would prefer starting with one of these designs as a launching point for building their home, the firm offers an opportunity to purchase these plans, which they will customize to meet the client’s needs and desires, site requirements, and State and local building codes.
