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Hilltop Haven
Tucked into one of Leelanau county’s glacier-carved hillsides is a home that stops traffic and stops time. With it’s classic lines and butternut tones—wrapped with bold, dark trimmed windows—the home gazes directly over West Bay and waves at the downtown Traverse City skyline, more than 18 miles away.
The family purchased the land in 2001 on a sudden impulse to have their very own slice of Northern Michigan beauty. After seven years, the husband and wife team began dreaming up ideas for their new northern sanctuary. “I’d worked in the mortgage division for a bank with clients building MAC Custom Homes,” recalls the home-owner, Vicki Gudritz, “But, based on the caliber of homes I witnessed, I knew two things: one, that MAC Homes does absolutely beautiful, top-notch work; and, two, that they would be expensive.” As it turned out, Vicki was both right and wrong. She was right about MAC being a top-notch, high-quality builder, but way off about MAC being financially out of their range. Click here to find a newsstand near you.
Riverside Character
The owners of this Thornapple River property had lived in the 50-year-old home for 30 of those years and it was time for a change. In step Jarrod and Janel Joppie of Integrity Building Group.
The homeowners met with the Joppies and found that the changes they were considering for the house were not even possible. With the expert help and guidance of Jarrod and Janel, the decision was made to tear down and start anew. Within about five months, by the end of May 2009, they were able to move in to their new abode.
“One of the main things we wanted was a very open floor plan. All our rooms were separate and our kitchen was fairly small. When we entertained, everyone wanted to hang out in the kitchen. Now it’s all so open!” states the tickled lady of the house. “And we have a view of the river from almost every room!”
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Clear Cottage Style
Barbara and Roger purchased a house on Gull Lake around 15 years ago, and though, according to Barbara, “it was a nice house for in town,” it lacked the qualities of a good cottage. The rooms were choppy and the windows were few and small. What they envisioned was a home with abundant windows to view the lake and an open floor plan for entertaining. Fifteen years later, the home is that and much, much more.
Before razing their house to build new, the homeowners decided to try out their ideas on their carriage house conveniently located just across the road. An extensive remodel resulted and the homeowners decided to move forward with their plan for the main cottage. With striking exterior stone work and guest quarters above, the carriage house became their temporary home while their new cottage home was being constructed.
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Home At Last
It’s the charming and nautical Harbor Springs, but if you ask Diane Holman, it could be Quebec. From the soaring maple trees—rustling in the summertime breeze—to the deep winter snow quieting the earth, everything about Holman’s new house reminds her of her Canadian homeland.
It’s been a long journey for Bob and Diane. Both from northern territory, (Bob hails from Illinois) they married and headed south. Very south, eventually building their successful steel business and raising their children in Florida. But the call of the four seasons never left this couple and after coming to Michigan to visit their talented daughter at music camp, they took a drive to visit Birchwood Farms and Country Club on the recommendation of a friend. Within a week, they were the proud owners of a home in Birchwood, a 1,000-parcel golf course community and began the “snowbird life”: six months up north and six months down south.
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Home Run
When Eric and Susan were transferred into town, they traveled to Midland for a weeklong house hunting expedition. After seeing all ten or so houses on the market, their week was up and their prospects were limited. Eric headed back to his project in Europe, while Susan stayed in Midland to solve their housing dilemma.
As a last ditch effort, she decided to call the builders of a partially constructed spec home she had seen.
“We had not even considered building a home at that point,” recalls Susan. “We had built before and didn’t want to do it again. But, when I met with Rob and Lori, we got along very well right out of the gate. They were so knowledgeable and friendly, and frankly different from other builders I had met.”
On a strict schedule, Susan checked the Wright’s references. Their former clients were thrilled with their work, so Susan began working with them to modify the partially constructed spec home to suit their needs.
“I didn’t even meet the Wrights before we started building,” says Eric. “But the confidence and professionalism they portrayed over the phone demonstrated their credibility. Susan has a project management background, and was impressed that they had good systems in place.” “We love to entertain, so we wanted a very open floor plan,” says Susan. Click here to find a newsstand near you.
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