An Oakland County couple build their dreamhouse in Northern Michigan.
A
ll he wanted was to get away.
"I wanted solitude," explains this suburban Detroit busi-
ness owner when describing his quest for the perfect va-
cation home in Northern Michigan.
The 11V acres that he and his wife purchased near Tra-
verse City three years ago certainly fit the bill. The own-
ers spent almost nine years searching for their dream property. Now
they wish they could move up there permanently.
"When I got to the top of the hill and saw the lake for the first time,
I knew this was it," the husband recalls. "It reminded me of the lake
where we honeymooned. I would have done anything to have this
place."
"It was a lot of fun to build this house because of the people we were
building for," says Gordon Converse of Wanigan Builders in Elk Rapids.
'e were a part of their dream from conception to completion."
The year-round home he built on the site is small but spacious. A
1500-square-foot cedar A-frame, it sits at the top of a hill overlooking
the tiny lake, surrounded by wildflowers and woods.
"You drive in and pass pine trees, and it's as though you're driving
in a meadow," the wife says. "You make a slight turn, and suddenly
you see the house, the trees and the lake. It looks calm. That's how I
feel when I'm here."
The lake prohibits speedboats and sailboats. There are no water
skiers, no weekend partiers, and despite the public access site on
the north end, hardly anyone but the area's residents visits the spring-
fed lake.
On quiet evenings, its surface remains undisturbed by all but the
resident nesting loons and a family of ducks.
BY SUSAN KNOPPOW
PHOTOGRAPHED BY GENE MEADOWS
12 • FALL 1 903 • STYI-E