Glen Lake Library Home Tour returns
From staff reports
The Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library host their biennial Home Tour on Thursday, July 23, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. As one of the Friends’ primary fundraisers, the event showcases five distinctive and diverse Glen Lake area homes.
The range of homes in this year’s event is striking. Each stop offers a unique, design-rich experience that is expressed through the appreciation of art and color as well as the love of nature, most often seen in lovely landscapes and exquisite gardens. Whether an authentic, yet updated, historic 18th century farmhouse or a newly-built Arts & Crafts home, a contemporary design element skillfully blended with English antiques, a “knock-out” view of Alligator Hill or a pastoral view of apple orchards, an elevator or 12-foot endless pool, this stunning home tour offers something for everyone.
Tickets for the Home Tour are $15 each and are available at the Empire Library, the Cottage Book Shop or Northwoods Hardware in Glen Arbor.
The Graham Home
On a cul de sac in Empire, nestled in an apple orchard is the Graham home, previously seen in a past home tour, but all dressed up and ready to be shown again in all its finery. The Grahams are the new owners for the past three years and have taken this already lovely home to new heights.
The star of the home is color and the main attraction is décor. Starting with the foyer walls and traveling through the living room, kitchen and dining room is a divine shade of crème brulee that sets off the colors in the furniture in a way that only an experienced decorator could. And, as a matter of fact, that’s exactly what Pat Graham is. Many of us remember the popular shop in Glen Arbor called Cottage Collections. That was Pat. And she has brought all of her talents into her new home.
Her favorite room is the sun porch off the living room. There you’ll find a potbelly stove on top of a lovely garden patch rug and windows opening to the orchard climbing the hill behind the house. The orchard is the backside of the Sleeping Bear Dunes and there is a pet cemetery at the top with several dog collars attached to trees.
There are so many decorating tips and detailed touches to this home: the raspberry mud room, the tulip lamp in the Master bedroom, the blue desk top in one bedroom and the pink chest of drawers in another. The love of flowers and color is very evident here. You will also notice the ceiling treatments in the home; the use of wallpaper runners and the very effective trays. There is a lot to see, so take your time. You will probably leave the Graham home with some new ideas of your own.
The Miller Home
The natural, peaceful setting of this home tells the story of the interior as well. If you have not driven around the Woodstone subdivision, give yourself a treat and take a minute to do so. The trees, the woodchips, the plantings, the walking paths and frog pond — it’s very pastoral.
Once behind the teal door of the Miller home, you will find even more scenes of nature. Sue Miller is an accomplished quilter and needle pointer and her creations fill this darling cottage home. What Sue has not created herself, she has commissioned from watercolorist Sharon Rimek (the four seasons of birds in the dining room), Ted Peterson (the giclee in the den), and other artists. The star creation, however, has to be Sue’s quilted hanging in the living room; raccoons, a squirrel and a beaver, rabbits, foxes, a turtle, a pond with fish, birds, and trees decked out in fall foliage all come together to create a stunning panorama. Or maybe you’ll think that star status should be given to the eight dining room chair seats, each needlepointed with different Michigan wildflowers and wildlife by Sue and her mom.
The home has a very open feeling, with the living room, dining room, and kitchen surrounded by large windows overlooking Deer Park. Wide cherry hardwood floors and the creamy-white woodwork add warmth to the open atmosphere. Sue’s son, Jim Cooley of Cooley Contracting in Traverse City, built this house and is responsible for many of the special details, such as the bookshelves surrounding the windows in the master bedroom and the library nook at the top of the stairs.
The master bedroom downstairs and the two bedrooms upstairs feature cottage-style furniture, a needlepointed bird-sampler rug, and more lovely quilts. When you climb the stairs, don’t miss the Dick and Jane quilt on the hall table and the collection of Steiff animals, many of them dating from Sue’s childhood.
Oliver Home
As eyes are the windows of one’s soul, the windows in the Oliver home show the soul of this lovely home. Elegant and cozy, this house has it all, starting at the natural mahogany front door extending into the windowed living room and opening up to a knock-out view of Alligator Hill. Guaranteed “aahs” and “oohs” will be audible. Paul Maurer from Traverse City built this arts and crafts home, and the architect is Robert Yvon also from Traverse City. Karen VanNort (also chairman of today’s Home Tour) had her hand in the décor of this fabulous home.
The friendly kitchen features white cupboards and granite counter tops (look for some interesting detail). You’re going to see more granite as you walk through the house — all different, all enhancing the style and grace of where it’s been installed. Keep looking up as you stroll through the home. Interesting ceiling treatments abound and there’s always a ubiquitous window bringing in the out of doors.
Note the homeowners’ collection of local artists as you wander. You’ll see paintings by David Westerfield, Lou Heiser and Carla Sutton, all of whom summer here. Over the living room fireplace is Westerfield’s entry in the Grand Rapids Art Prize competition.
There’s so much to see: a homey porch off the living room, an elevator going between floors, the Master Suite with beautifully appointed bath, closets and laundry room and a completely separate apartment up the stairs and over the garage. Take time to see it all. There’s a wonderful downstairs where the family and guests can relax, exercise, fix a snack in a complete kitchen and even spend the night in two comfortable bedrooms.
As you leave the house, you will want to take time to enjoy the wonderful work of Traverse Outdoor landscapers. There’s the beachfront, there’s a wildflower mixture blooming and very tall maples to set off the scene. You will love it all.
The Smith Home
This year the Home Tour Committee is excited to present you with the chance to see an authentic 19th century farm house, its barns, fields and large flower gardens. Cold Spring Farm is a working farm with horses occupying barns or grazing in the fields.
Upon entering the grounds the visitor will see a large formal garden filled with colorful annuals and perennials. On both sides of the walkway approaching the main home, one sees a variety of perennials including hosta, hydrangea, daisies and larkspur. Several additional perennial gardens dot the property near the home.
The beautifully preserved and modernized home was built in the early 1860s by Kasson Freeman. He and his good friend John E. Fisher originated the Old Settlers Picnic held every August in Maple City. Both were enticed to come to this area by the newly enacted Homestead Laws, which gave free acreage to settlers who would live on the land for at least five years.
The original rooms in the home have 12-inch thick walls made from hewn logs. The bright yellow kitchen features 12-inch floorboards. The adjoining prep kitchen has brick floors, a coffee station and recently renovated cabinets. Two large colorful paintings by Ivey Hayes, a noted artist from Wilmington, NC, dominate the dining room. Next to the kitchen the main living room has a large wood burning fireplace and artwork by local painters Molly Phinny and Brenda Clark. From this room, one enters a screened-in porch with a view of pastureland and horses. The master bedroom is located on the first floor. The owners recently renovated and enlarged the master bath and included in the addition a 12-foot endless pool. Antique furniture is interspersed throughout the home with Amish crafted and contemporary pieces.
How fortunate we are to glimpse the past through this unique and historic home and property.
Turney Home
As you walk up the driveway to the Turney home the first thing you’ll notice is the red metal roof of the house, which is enhanced by the lovely green color below-roof. The combination is unusual and very pretty with the surrounding trees. You’ll see this green again — look for it in the house. It’s used very effectively in the kitchen where the fabulous commercial stove is surrounded by green cupboards.
Pause for a moment on the front porch before you enter the house — you’ll get a taste of what’s coming inside. There are two art pieces, a metal sculpture on the left of the front door and a Bill Allen abstract on the right. Once inside, you’ll find an eclectic collection of art gracing every wall. The art collection, the unusual lighting of the art and the variety of rugs on the floors all make for a wonderfully cozy atmosphere in this home that blends contemporary design with English antiques.
As you move through the house you will be interested in the variety of white woodwork treatments — the partitions to delineate the front hall, the off-the-ceiling lighting that washes the walls, the graceful corbels setting off the upstairs guest room and the built-in storage in the dining rom. The library off the downstairs living room bears special notice. It’s a delightful room equipped with books, comfortable chairs and a peaceful atmosphere. “This is the room where we fall asleep in front of the television,” we are told. “Perfect,” we think.
The sunny master bedroom looks out onto an exquisite English garden. Last year there was a wedding here on a beautiful late August day. Sally VanderWall (the garden lady) visits twice a year to keep things under control. It’s a lovely, lovely home. You will enjoy yourself.
