A Gathering Place

Two well-lived lives converge

to create a home for

the next chapter.

Lynne Konstantin I Arts & Life Editor
Brett Mountain I Photographer

L

arry Stiffman, a statistician and
public health consultant, had
lived in the same house in Ann
Arbor for 40 years.
Ann Warner, an attorney, was in her
Ferndale home for 20 years.
By the time the pair met (on an online
dating site) and decided to move in
together, their children were grown,
their grandchildren were grown — and
they each had accumulated a lifetime's
worth of collections.
"We both like older houses with char-
acter — details like leaded glass and
brickwork:' Warner says. "We weren't
looking for anything modern. But we

wanted some modern creature com-
forts:'
The pair settled on a 1926 Tudor
home in Pleasant Ridge, tapping Eric
Smith, owner of EMS Architecture in
Ferndale, to create an addition that
would enlarge the kitchen and add a
sunroom — Warner's most important
creature comforts.
They also brought in Dan Davis,
designer and owner of Dan Davis Design
in Ferndale, to bring it all together.
"We were fortunate to have an excellent
team:' Warner says. "Both the crafts-
manship and the kindness of everyone
involved was amazing. We are so pleased

with the results:' So pleased, in fact, that
they recently opened the doors of their
home to the Home & Garden Tour of
Historical Pleasant Ridge.
"They both love art, and they both
have traveled — and collected — exten-
sively:' Davis says. "So the challenge for
me was to create a cohesive home that
still retained each of their individual
identities.
"The situation is unique: These are
two people later in life, merging house-
holds," says Davis, who adds that he held
tie-breaking dibs, should one be needed.
"It was a really fun project. In the end,
it feels like life has been lived here:'

❑

GATHERING PLACE on page 44

ABOVE: Many of the couple's backyard garden plantings were purchased from their neighbors, who have neighborhood
plant sales. This Aeonium arboretum 'Zwartkop,' or black rose, which Warner found at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market,
"will grow into a big tree-like thing," she says. "I'll be able to break pieces off and give something to our neighbors."

June 11 • 2015

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