This story was originally published in Dwell’s July/August 2014 issue.

It all started with a ride in a cherry picker. Joseph Lada and Gary Cozette of Chicago bought a plot of land near Michigan’s Glen Lake and soon realized the view was best surveyed from a height of 30 feet. They approached architect Tom Lenchek, and the three conferred about how to build above the treetops. “The challenge was not only celebrating the view but also the progression of getting there,” Lenchek says. First, he established the structure’s height—four stories—then worked his way down.

To enter the 1,400-square-foot house, the Lada-Cozette family first ascends an outdoor staircase. Next, they circulate through a windowed stairwell that allows them to see the canopy, past the floors containing the two bedrooms, eventually arriving at the main living space, which features floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a cantilevered deck. “Up there,” says Lenchek, “you really feel as though you’re on top of the world.”

Also Appears In

A Vacation Retreat Towers Above the Treetops in Northwest Michigan