MAY 18 • 2023 | 33
part sand. Although Roberts and her husband, Gary Roberts —
founder and landscape architect at Great Oaks Landscape in Novi
— had originally planned to add-on to the home, their engineers
advised starting from scratch. The cottage was knocked down and the
couple built a new home in its place, as frugally as possible, in 1989.
Thirty-plus years and two renovations later, what started as a redo
of the kitchen and staircase snowballed into finally creating their
dream home — with plenty of space for entertaining and bedrooms
for their grandchildren.
“
A lot of our friends in different stages of life are getting places
in Arizona or Florida,
” Roberts says. “We love where we live, so we
decided to make our house our dream home, then travel wherever
we want instead of going to the same place all the time. Living on the
lake is a lifestyle. Our kids love it, our grandkids love it — it’s a great
place to be.
”
Roberts tapped Scott Gittleman, owner of Gittleman Construction
in Farmington Hills, and John Morgan, owner of Perspectives
Custom Cabinetry in Troy, with whom Roberts had worked since the
beginning.
A few years ago, on the Temple Israel House Tour, Roberts visited
the home of designer Amy Miller Weinstein, owner of AMW Design
Studio in Birmingham.
“Her house was interesting because it’s not so large, but it’s so well
done, so succinctly wonderful,
” Roberts says. “She has exquisite taste
and has all of these ‘moments’ throughout the house.
”
With Weinstein now on board, the team went to work in what
Roberts says “was a complete collaboration between everyone
involved.
”
“We moved walls; we changed architecture,
” Weinstein says. “The
home had a lot of angles and ’80s design features. We began by taking
away anything that said 1986. Scott [Gittleman] brought in struc-
tural people. You never know what you’re going to come across in a
renovation, in terms of structural issues. Scott surmounted all of the
obstacles.
”
With multiple design-related degrees, including one in interior
architecture, Weinstein is a master at space planning, especially useful
in this 4,000-square-foot home on a 40-foot lot.
continued on page 34
HOME
LEFT: Very “detail-oriented and with beautiful taste,” says Mindy Roberts,
Gary Roberts was precise about the placement and height of doorknobs,
doors — and windows, which provide soaring views of the lake through-
out the home, including the living room. “He was insistent on it,” Roberts
says, “but it makes a big difference.” Lots of comfy seating — with hairy-
hide benches and extra ottomans tucked under Weinstein’s signature
custom parsons table upholstered in kid- and cup-friendly vinyl — offer
expansive views of the lake and TV. The wood next to the fireplace
wraps around to the kitchen side, becoming another pantry. Weinstein
picked up the four art panels on the wall from Tyler Baker, a tattoo artist
in Ann Arbor. “I try to achieve contemporary interiors that are still warm
and welcoming, not off-putting and sterile,” Weinstein says. “I don’t like
to overly accessorize but use just enough to give a sense of the people
who live there.” BELOW: Before the renovation, the doorway was cut
by angles and the stairs were tucked behind a corner. “The goal was to
create a really pretty staircase that was visible from the living room, with
light pouring through the whole space and views of the lake when walk-
ing downstairs,” Weinstein says. The metal railing was crafted by Tom
Myers. The custom zebra-wood console came from an artist in Royal Oak.
BOTTOM: In a corner of the great room, behind the foyer, a card table is
used for puzzles and games with guests and the couple’s grandchildren.
The tall cabinet has two vertical handles that allow the doors to slide on
top of each other, opening to a full bar — pretty enough to leave open.
The black stone-top surface can be used as a bar or for hors d’oeuvres.