Cabin in the Woods

Lake Huron, MI

This cabin, originally built in 1912, had been owned by several families before the current owner acquired it in 1990. The original cabin had a surprisingly pure original massing concept; it was essentially a pyramidal structure with a large vaulted central living room, loft-type bedrooms and outdoor porches. Over the years a bathroom, kitchen, and staff bedrooms had been added without seriously compromising the clean lines of the original structure. 

When the owner approached us about expanding and modernizing, LEVY DYKEMA recommended flanking the existing structure with two wings, one to house the new living/dining area, kitchen area, and guest bedrooms and the other to house the master suite. The new additions were designed to be ‘winterized’ and the older original rooms were to remain as ‘summer’ rooms. This approach allowed the cabin to have its original feel of open-air living, while still allowing the integration of air-conditioned and heated spaces. We called the two living rooms the summer living room and the winter living room, though both of course worked in the summer. The old kitchen became a cozy office, the porches were improved, and most importantly, the flow of the cabin allowed all the rooms to be high-quality spaces. We like to say the key to additions is to not just make great new spaces, but also to make the older spaces better. So often with additions, the existing spaces suffer without good design.

While completing the construction and finish-out of the cabin, our client wanted to replace an old boathouse which was on a river nearby.  We used a similar shingle siding as the cabin to make a cohesive site and added an open-air, roofed deck over the canoe and rowboat slips. It’s a very relaxing summer place for reading a book, meditating, having tea, and sharing cocktails with friends.

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