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This Dreamy New Michigan Lake House Feels Like It's Been There For Ages
Reclaimed materials, weathered furniture, and patinaed collections give this impressive family retreat a relaxed, age-old feel.
When your career requires frequent cross-country moves, it can be difficult to put down roots in any one place or even make
a house feel like a home. But a vacation retreat is another story—a getaway is a getaway no matter where you’re getting away from. For the peripatetic owners of this new-build Michigan lake house, creating a constant in their always-on-the-move lifestyle was paramount. The couple—whose three sons are now in middle school, high school, and college—were visiting their then-vacation cottage on the lake when they became enamored with a neighboring property, this one on a peninsula with spectacular 280-degree views.
The husband and wife (she’s a native Michigander) always knew they wanted Michigan to be their forever vacation spot, and now they finally had the perfect parcel of land on which to build their own forever summer retreat. “They wanted this house to be a refuge for them and their boys, a place where they could come every single summer and that would be in the family for years and years,” says California-based interior designer Amy Meier, who worked alongside architect Matt Rossetti of Detroit-based Rossetti to help the couple create their dream getaway.
Speaking of forever, the home-owners wanted the house to feel like it had been there for ages—both inside and out. So Amy, a self-described “voracious antiquer,” set about finding the perfectly imperfect materials and furnishings. “For the wife, it was the crustier and rustier, the better,” she says. Timeworn touches include reclaimed wood ceilings, salvaged brick floors, and weathered tables with wonky legs and peeling paint. “Barely anything in this house is new,” says Amy. “We figured that, if a piece has lasted this long, odds are that it will last another 50 years.”
The home’s age-old feel also means nothing in the house is too precious. “No coasters are needed and you put your feet up on things,” she says. “Tons of family and friends come visit, and they really wanted people to have a sense of ease here, to feel comfortable and welcomed.”
Keep reading to see how Amy accomplished that age-old feel:
Dark Siding + Metal Roof
The homeowners’ No. 1 goal when choosing features for the exterior of their new-build Michigan lake house was making sure it would blend into its tree-filled landscape. So they painted the board-and-batten siding a green-tinged black and opted for a green metal roof by Pac-Clad and plentiful windows. “They wanted to build something that felt organic and natural to the environment,” says interior designer Amy Meier. “By painting the exterior a darker color and using all the windows to reflect the landscape, the house feels like it was built into the ground.”
Get the Look:
Exterior Paint Color: Greenblack by Sherwin-Williams
Steel Frames + Salvaged Barnwood
The great room’s lofty 22-foot cathedral ceiling (made of salvaged barn boards) helps the space feel open and airy and allows for a huge wall of black steel-framed windows to bring in stunning views of the lake. To create multiple living areas in the open-concept space, interior designer Amy Meier used a mix of antique and new clean-lined furnishings, including a split-leg reclaimed wood dining table that she surrounded with vintage Paolo Buffa chairs topped with mismatched seat cushions. An extra-long rustic table sits in front of the even longer sofa that Amy had split in two to create a walk-through.
Get the Look:
Steel-framed windows: from Hope's
Cozy Seating + Walls of Windows
A rustic daybed with a plaid cushion provides a cozy spot to take in views from a glass-walled corner of the great room. The midcentury chairs are by Paolo Buffa.
Get the Look:
Daybed: from Mulligan's
Plaid daybed fabric: by Rogers & Goffigan
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Antique Vessels + Fresh Flowers
An antique crock holds an arrangement of dahlias.
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Granite + Bluestone
Mimicking the home’s exterior, a mix of two types of locally quarried stone installed with thick mortar and a thin German schmear covers the spacious kitchen’s (and accompanying great room’s) outside wall. The natural stone is complemented by the moody Belgian bluestone backsplash behind the range and the room’s various woods—including reclaimed barn boards on the ceiling, vintage French white oak on the floor, and band-sawn knotty white oak on the flush-inset cabinets. Guests love to gather around the walnut-topped island thanks to its room-for-a-crowd size and fun handmade counter stools.
Get the Look:
Island Paint Color: Salamander by Benjamin Moore
Backsplash: by Country Floors
Bar stools: by Bicyclette Furniture
Patinaed Shelving + Antique Collections
An old rolling shoe display holds the homeowner’s collection of vintage spongeware, which dates from the 1950s to the 1980s. Identified by its “sponged-on” design, original pieces of this earthenware style date back to the 1800s. Pieces from all eras are having a resurgence of collecting interest.
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Screened Walls + Rattan Furniture
On the screened porch, the vintage French rattan chaise is the wife’s favorite spot to have morning coffee while feeling the lake breezes.
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Salvaged Brick + Planked Walls
Salvaged brick flooring runs throughout the mudroom and surrounding spaces. Tall custom cabinets hold fishing gear and other supplies, and the peg rack is a catch-all spot for jackets and lake house necessities.
Salvaged Fixtures + Exposed Piping
The mudroom houses a vintage bluestone utility sink with exposed copper plumbing. “We found the sink first and then shaped the room around it,” says Amy. The shelf is a display rack from a long-gone shoe store, so it’s more than fitting that it now holds Wellies and boots. The sconce is an old railroad light, and the custom bench seat is topped with reclaimed wood. The vintage English pendant is a rise-and-fall light, so it can be anchored up or down according to how much light is needed in the room.
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Vintage Lighting + Worn Wood
In the petite powder bath, floor-to-ceiling beadboard provides the backdrop for a fireclay sink surrounded by a reclaimed pine backsplash and countertop. “We loved the idea of it feeling casual and like a spicket on the side of the house,” says Amy of the placement of the faucet.
Get the Look:
Sink: from Vintage Tub
Reclaimed Barn Boards + Built-In Bookshelves
Reclaimed barn boards add woody texture to the walls of the primary bedroom, which features built-in shelves and an antique Swedish desk topped with a collection of tramp art boxes. The sconce above the desk is vintage.
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Soapstone + Repurposed Furniture
In the primary bath, Amy transformed a vintage European workbench into a soapstone-topped vanity and carried over the German white oak flooring from the primary bedroom. The large pendant light and Windsor chair are vintage.
Get the Look:
Ceiling mount lights: Morris by Schoolhouse
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Clean Lines + Patinaed Finishes
Patina was the magic word when outfitting the guesthouse bedroom. In addition to the vintage Swedish side table with fading paint and the salvaged floors that came out of an old sewing factory, Amy added wood board-and-batten paneling to the walls. She didn’t treat the knots so they would show through the paint and reveal the natural timber beneath. She even framed the vintage pressed botanicals in unfinished wood so the frames will naturally patina over time, adding a nice contrast to the sleek walnut canopy bed.
Get the Look:
Canopy Bed: from Dunes and Duchess
Wall Paint Color: Mountain Peak White by Benjamin Moore
Sleek Tile + Rustic Wood
In the lakeside bath, Amy paired an old utility sink with white subway tile. The teak shaker peg rail provides a utilitarian, yet chic, spot for hanging towels and swimsuits. “I love it because it’s so utilitarian and yet looks really chic,” says Amy.
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Modern Adriondacks + Natural Stone
Whether they’re watching sunsets or sailboats, the homeowners love to settle into the lakeside Adirondack chairs with cocktails or coffee perched on the stump-style tables.
Get the Look:
Side tables: by Janus et Cie
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Sun-Dappled Dock + Spotty Cell Service
Connecting with nature is the order of the day for stays at the lake house, which means device time is kept to a minimum. Instead, the entire family spends as much time as possible outdoors—whether they’re swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, or skiing. When it’s time to dive in or cast a line, you can often catch the homeowners and their guests on the dock, which sits next to a refurbished fishing shed that was original to the property.
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