This new home represents the fourth house we’ve built for members of the same extended family. The owners are a couple with three young children who wanted a sophisticated yet informal home that fosters family life as well as their love of nature and outdoor activities.
The house features two lakefront decks, one off the primary suite for sitting and taking in the view; one off the main living spaces for dining, entertaining and hanging out. There’s also a covered ground level terrace that extends from the game room and workout room. In keeping with the active nature of the family, the house includes a large gear room above the garage, planters for food gardening in the backyard, and a dock from which to launch boats and paddleboards.
As with most of the modern homes we build, achieving a clean look with crisp details involved more construction than meets the eye. The large pivot door at the front entry is 5 ft. wide, 9 ft. high, and weighs close to 900 pounds. Ahead of installing the door, we created a pivoting plywood mock-up that gave our clients a feel for the real door while functioning during construction. The ½-in.-thick steel awning that seems to float above the entry required carefully orchestrated installation. And the floating glass panels that serve as a railing on the front decks are set in a U-shaped channel, an exacting detail more common in commercial construction.
A house for a family this outdoorsy wouldn’t be complete without a dedicated climbing wall – a pattern of colorful holds secured to the side of the house next to the chimney – complete with an auto belay device to keep climbers safely roped up from above.
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