USA Houzz: Modern Design Melds with Breathtaking Views of Nature
A wooded lot close to the beach is the perfect holiday house for a Chicago couple
The resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan, is a popular place for Chicagoland residents to buy second homes. Many well-maintained cabin-style houses can be found throughout the area, but the selection of contemporary homes is limited. When these homeowners found a wooded lot within walking distance of the beach on Lake Michigan, they jumped on the opportunity to build their dream modern getaway.
The entire interior is painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Super White’, for crisp white gallery walls. The house is built into the side of a hill, so the view out the back windows provides an elevated vista of the lush trees beyond. The oak floors on the first level were deliberately treated with a chemical that darkens the wood in an uneven manner, and then were finished with an oil-based stain.
Sofa: Holly Hunt; coffee table and hide rug: Jayson Home; vintage chair: Ravenswood Antique Mall; ottoman: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Sofa: Holly Hunt; coffee table and hide rug: Jayson Home; vintage chair: Ravenswood Antique Mall; ottoman: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Three of the four living area walls have clerestory windows. A set of sliding doors leads to a screened-in patio and a pool area beyond.
A collection of vintage, contemporary and rustic furniture pieces decorates the living area. “We wanted to avoid a sterile feeling, so a lot of the pieces provide warmth and texture to the space,” Shingledecker says. A mid-century Danish armchair was covered in a men’s suit fabric. The fireplace surround is made out of Calacatta gold marble.
The chandelier over the dining table is a reproduction of a contemporary design. An Oriental area rug previously owned by the homeowners provides an eclectic note.
Chandelier: France & Son; dining table: Vanguard Furniture; dining chairs: Crate & Barrel
Chandelier: France & Son; dining table: Vanguard Furniture; dining chairs: Crate & Barrel
Knowing that guests tend to migrate to the kitchen, the homeowners wanted a large island with two sides for stools. The kitchen has cabinets made of rift-cut oak in a cerused grey stain, white quartz benchtops and a back-painted glass splashback.
Twist stools: Knoll; Silestone benchtops in ‘Zeus White’; custom cabinets: Van Enk Woodcrafters; Calacatta Goldmarble island top: Signature Stone Tops
Twist stools: Knoll; Silestone benchtops in ‘Zeus White’; custom cabinets: Van Enk Woodcrafters; Calacatta Goldmarble island top: Signature Stone Tops
The media room includes a cleft white quartz fireplace surround and a series of built-in cabinets made from white MDF. The cabinets utilise touch-latch hardware, allowing them to close flush with the wall.
Glacier White quartz ledger stone fireplace surround: Virginia Tile
Glacier White quartz ledger stone fireplace surround: Virginia Tile
The back corner of the media room has two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a majestic view to the backyard. The rusted metal stool is a family heirloom; it has a vintage tractor seat that one of the homeowners’ grandfathers once rode upon.
Sofas: Room & Board; rug: Williams-Sonoma Home; table lamps: Global Views; ottoman coffee table: Jayson Home
Sofas: Room & Board; rug: Williams-Sonoma Home; table lamps: Global Views; ottoman coffee table: Jayson Home
A set of open riser stairs leads to the downstairs level, which includes the home’s three guest bedrooms and a walk-in wine cellar for the homeowners’ ever-growing bottle collection.
Wine shelves: Vintage View; sculptural art: Global Views
Wine shelves: Vintage View; sculptural art: Global Views
In one of the guest bedrooms, two paintings of human bodies with animal heads were found by Shingledecker at an antiques store in the Marais neighbourhood of Paris. “People think they’re just paintings, but they’re actually cabinets,” the designer says.
Pillows: Wisteria
Pillows: Wisteria
The master bedroom includes a wall of frosted French doors that lead to his-and-her walk-in closets.
Bed and bedside tables: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; bedding: Pottery Barn; table lamps: Williams-Sonoma Home
Bed and bedside tables: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; bedding: Pottery Barn; table lamps: Williams-Sonoma Home
The bed ‘floats’ in the centre of the room so the homeowners can lie in bed and look straight out at the forest through the windows.
A floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall separates the double vanity from the shower in the master bathroom. Four channels were cut into the mirror to hold LED lights. Marble tile covers the floor.
The Zen-like landscaping for the pool area was designed by Craig Bergmann. Holes were drilled into the iridescent glass mosaic pool tile to hold two umbrella poles.
Outdoor umbrellas: Treasure Garden
Outdoor umbrellas: Treasure Garden
The white outdoor furniture is from Janus et Cie, and the hot-pink pillows were custom-designed by Shingledecker using Sunbrella fabric.
Who lives here: This is a year-round holiday home for a professional couple from Chicago
Location: Saugatuck, Michigan
Size: 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms
Designer: Randy Shingledecker of RS Design Studio
The home’s exterior is a combination of two different cement sidings. Vertical cement boards were painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Blackjack’ and used to cover the garage door and surrounding wall. The other siding near the front door is fibre cement board with stainless steel channels running in between.