A shore thing
Up north escape on Lake Charlevoix
The fireplace was in and the ceiling was done when Michael Lowry threw a wrench into the construction of his sprawling Lake Charlevoix home.
He shot an elk.
A very, very big elk. One that’s bigger than even a typical trophy-class animal.
“The elk was so big,” Mike said, “we had to modify the ceiling just to get it in.”
Lowry contacted builder Ray Wallick with the news, and Wallick and architect Jack Begrow set about redesigning the lofty vaulted ceiling area to accommodate the Lowry’s newest addition.
“That’s true custom, when you can do something like that,” said Wallick.
There is nothing standard about the Lowry’s extraordinary home. With 8,000 square feet of main living area on two floors, and another 1,300 square feet of unfinished room above the garage, the home is a titanic tribute to Up North escapes.
Off the kitchen on the main floor is one of the most unique attributes: An indoor grill, in an octagon-shaped room with wide-angled views of the lake. The grill utilizes a commercial-grade exhaust system to keep the smoke efficiently vented.
“We grill a lot. Every weekend that’s our primary cooking method,” said Lowry.
The octagon is outfitted with plush chairs around a hydraulic-lift cocktail table that rises to serve as dining space for their regular, numerous guests.
On the home’s main level are the master bedroom suite and another half bath, along with the gorgeously appointed kitchen and a wing of doors that conceal a pet room for their three dogs, laundry, and Deirdre’s office/catch-all space. A back staircase leads up to the as-yet uncompleted carriage house, and a four-stall heated garage includes a convenient — and clever — dog-washing station for their Chinese Crested.
Off the main living room is Mike’s office, designed behind a grid of glass and wood with great views of the home, lake and a lighted, hanging canoe in the grand foyer.
Downstairs is a casual space with a second trophy-sized elk that makes for another serious conversation piece. Getting this guy in the house proved another design challenge, Lowry said.
“We decided to do a mount on the lower level and we ended up shortening the wine cellar so it would fit,” said Mike, who added that his son, Sean, shot the larger of the two animals that is downstairs.
Three bedrooms and four full baths are accommodated on the lower level, along with an open entertainment area that includes a pool table and game area that leads off to a bar room.
“We laid the whole thing out with big open spaces and open travel areas,” said Mike.
Family is at the focus of the Lowrys’ time here. Mike first traveled north with the Brighton ski team as a high schooler and returned from a trip to Boyne Mountain telling his parents, “It’s just the most beautiful area I’ve ever seen in my life.” They began boating and skiing up North and when Mike and Deirdre wed in 1980, they continued the trips.
The couple first had a condo at the Harborage, but anticipated they’d need more space for their growing family. They purchased the land off Boyne City/Charlevoix Road in 2000, and construction on their family estate began in 2005.
“We love Boyne City, we love Lake Charlevoix, and our closest personal friends, for Dee and I, are the couples we’ve met on Lake Charlevoix,” said Mike. “We built (the home) really for a family compound. My daughter loves it and my son loves it. They have very close personal friendships with other families that they’ve literally grown up with and skied and boated with.”
There’s room for all of them, and then some. Yet even with nearly 10,000 square feet of space, it’s as inviting as a friend’s lakeside cottage.
“I wanted it to be casual elegant, where people could come in and feel comfortable in bare feet, or coming in from the lake,” said Mike, 52.
Multi-colored stone floors upstairs and down and touches like chandeliers that appear to be made from antlers and a birch-bark bar in the basement add comfortable elements.
The log exterior makes it a showpiece along the lakeshore.
“We had talked about a log home, but I didn’t want all log, so I love that I still have drywall and paint inside,” said Deirdre, 53.
The octagon room on the main level is her favorite space, as is the large kitchen island. “I was a little surprised (by the size). But we’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Deirdre said. “It’s a perfect place to put out a buffet.”
The Lowrys are settling into their first full year of the home’s completion and plan as many trips as possible from their Brighton home in the years ahead. They enjoy skiing at Boyne Mountain and envision many sunny summer days potlucking with neighbor friends.
Mike even plans to try and live at the Lake Charlevoix home and commute to work in Brighton, as many of his friends up North manage.
“The routine,” Mike said, “is that we all try and get up there for dinner by 7 on Thursday nights.”
And hopefully, he won’t bring another trophy elk with him. HL
Home Gallery
Home Details
The homeowners: 
Michael and Deirdre Lowry and their children Sean, 26, and Kristin, 22
Their escape: 9,300-square-foot log home on 200 feet of Lake Charlevoix frontage in Boyne City
Essentials: Four bedrooms, five and 1/2 baths, grill room, four-car garage, “fish shanty” bar lakeside
Builder: Ray Wallick, Ray Wallick, Inc., Charlevoix; completed in December 2006
Architect: Jack Begrow
Interior design: Indesign of Charlevoix, Tim Fisher, interior architecture and lighting; Sara Fisher, custom furniture and fabrics; Cheri Ford-Dubay, kitchen and bath
The outside: Landscape architect Maureen Parker of Common Ground, and landscaper Charles Robinson, Robinson Landscaping
When they’re not up north: Michael is CEO of Lowry Computer Products, a national high-tech company that manufactures, sells and integrates bar code data collection systems; based in Brighton
HomeLife Magazine » Issues » January and February 2008 » A Shore Thing