Walloon Lake House

The Walloon lake house is situated on, and named after, the beautiful azure blue lake in northwestern Michigan that Ernest Hemingway frequently summered on. It is a 3,800 square foot cottage that completely re-envisioned a small 1960’s structure. The original home, a beloved family nexus, was honored through the extensive use of quarter swan douglas fir, intimate proportioning of private spaces, and a conscientious connection to the landscape. Diagrammatically the home is one elongated and one vertical fir box sitting atop a stone plinth. Textured natural materials and the complexities of internal spaces warm the crispness of this diagram. Architecturally the structure references vernacular materiality and combines this with a crispness of form.

Networked interior spaces were combined, expanded, and rearranged to create fluid transitions. Interior douglas fir walls articulate conditions of the architectural diagram offering reference points to relative conditions of the exterior. Large-scale architectural glass elements create a seamless transition between internal and external spaces. Intimate proportioning of private spaces coupled with transparent walls toward the lake allows the low ceiling height to guide the eye out into the landscape. Interior conditions were conceptualized to continuously related to, frame, or reference the natural environment. Only a very small percentage of the original structure was able to remain however the new construction references pervious conditions and works within the constraints of the former cottage. One of which is the fact that the original structure’s finished ceiling to finished floor height, the cavity in which the new residence’s cantilevers needed to be structured, is less than one foot.

Furnishings and accessories were chosen to create an environment that is simultaneously sophisticated and casual. As the owners brought nearly none of their pervious possessions to the cottage the interior landscapes could be as articulately composed as the exterior architectural volumes. The collected narrative of modern furniture, with avant-garde vintage and historic accessories creates comfort through visual layering. Huzza of Harbor Springs was a primary source for interior accessories. DUDZIK Studios specifically designed custom case goods, including the desk in the office, for the Walloon Lake House. Additional furnishing came from Roche Bobois, Minotti, Flou, and Team Seven. These were combined with significant historic carpets to reference the spirit to the surrounding area that was popularized in Victorian times. DUDZIK Studios is focused on matters of design; from architectural, interior, graphic, and textile design to photography they couple a keen eye for aesthetics with rigorous research and scholarly intent. They are obsessed with authenticity, integrity, and reason, through which they find meaning, beauty, and soulfulness.