North was completed late spring. We spent our first week enjoying what it all became in early July.

As fall turned into winter: winter into spring…and spring into summer… it became apparent that this space was a “tree house” in disguise.  Removing the dark wood and replacing it with a warm “cottage white” (walls & trim), there no longer was harshness surrounding the windows.  Your eyes became free to move outdoors and feel the strength of the mammoth surroundings of the National Park that enveloped you.

…with new cabinetry hardware and creating an island that seats six…the kitchen began to take on a new life of its own.  It began to invite you “in” rather than feel you would prefer to keep “out”.

The “Man Cave” …as described by the prior owner became our Library…It now acts as a third bedroom housing a sleeper-sofa.  I opened up the wall of a walk-in closet directly across the hall allowing easy access into the bathroom without going through the west bedroom. A fireplace will be added during phase II.

The Utility Room was a 14’x12′ area of wasted space.  The furnace and hot water heater were lined up against one wall, the washer and dryer against another, with a huge central area serving no purpose in the middle.  I made this “larger” space into three smaller spaces.  A Utility Room that now houses only the furnace and hot water heater with storage space…a designated washer and dryer area…and a mudroom that leads directly to the garage.  This small change of space along with the changes spoken above have a huge impact on how the “total” space of this 2000 SF home can live.

….so having said all of that…my work is done…my story told.  Time to embrace all that has “become”. 

The End.

07.21.2018
Leelanau
Lake Michigan N.A.