Set on the wooded shoreline of Lake Michigan, this family retreat has evolved over decades, serving as a living record of gathering, growth, and return.
What began as a modest brick lakeside cottage, the home has been carefully rethought over nearly 30 years of stewardship, with each intervention responding to the rhythms of a family whose children, now adults, are returning with families of their own.
Early projects included window and roof replacements and design updates to improve the existing kitchen and bathrooms. Two larger interventions added a first-floor primary suite and a detached garage and guest building, the latest phase reflects the most pivotal shift, creating space for three generations of families to be together, reinforcing the shared experiences that define life at the lake.
Throughout its evolution, what’s been added remains clearly legible—each addition expressed as a distinct yet complementary layer that preserves the integrity of the original brick cottage. Wood-clad volumes, painted a blue-green hue drawn from the historic windows, feature pitched roofs and maintain the scale and informality of the cottage.
A new two-story addition houses a kitchen, dining and living space, functioning as a screened porch, extending daily life outward and creating a sequence of communal spaces that all face the lakeside. These additions are physically and visually connected to the original cottage through two carefully scaled openings cut into the existing masonry, preserving the integrity of the brick while unlocking a new openness across the public spaces.
The kitchen, formerly separated from the primary living spaces, is now the heart of the home. Designed for a family that loves to cook together, it expands in size and function while maintaining visual connections in both directions—toward the lake and the woods. Equally important is the establishment of a clear and welcoming entry—something the house had never truly possessed.
Rather than entering directly into a compressed kitchen, the cottage now offers a more open and welcoming entry sequence—brighter, more spacious, and oriented toward a framed view of the lake. Here, a centrally located stair becomes both a practical organizing element and a spatial anchor, improving circulation while drawing daylight deep into the entry through the new opening in the second floor.
Throughout the interiors, a lighter palette enhances openness and daylight. Exposed brick marks the connection between old and new, while muted stone floors and bathroom finishes are paired with white oak stair treads and second-floor flooring. The screened porch at the lakeside of the new addition is lined in wood with operable windows, functioning as an indoor-outdoor room—open in summer and fully conditioned for colder months.
Shaped through incremental growth and ongoing evolution, the Lakeside Cottage endures as a constant home base across generations.
Interior Design: Kadlec Interiors
Construction Manager: Power Construction
Photography: Steve Hall, Hall+Merrick+McCaugherty Photographers