A Note from the Editor
Happy 2009!
We hope to bring a measure of cheerfulness and vibrancy to the local landscape with this issue of HomeLife, the first of the New Year. Because it’s typically a pretty overcast, snowy, sun-less time of year in Northern Michigan, we couldn’t think of a better feature than to ask the Mooradian family of Harbor Springs for a look inside their bright and stunning home.
Over the last year I’d often driven by their place as it was under construction on M-119 near the city limits, watching the structure come together. I can recall the trip toward Harbor on the day it was painted that fantastic heirloom yellow and thinking, this is one of the most cheerful colors for a home I’ve ever seen.
The Mooradian family and the interior of the house are equally welcoming; warm up with our photo shoot at the home inside this issue.
Again using the time of year as our basis, HomeLife set out to find several amazing master bedroom suites, since it’s the perfect season for snuggling in under piles of blankets and cozying up with a book, the kids or your loved one. We found a collection of beautiful master suites, from the Donohue residence and its unique architecture (by their son, Michael, of Chicago) and interior design (by the talented Ronn Serba, of Kimberly Interiors) in Harbor, to the shores of Walloon Lake where a lovely suite is tucked on the first-floor in the family-centered home.
A third suite we visited, on Lake Michigan north of Harbor Springs, was a black-and-white stunner in the middle of a freshen-up when we arrived for the photo shoot the first time. We want to thank Ron Barlow of CCB Painting and his crew for their hustle to get the work done in that room in time to accommodate our deadline. When we came back the second time, the room was the crispest white, the floor a renewed black and it looked spectacular.
Of course, winter Up North means skiing, and the first-family of skiing in Michigan has long been the Kircher family. Kathryn Kircher, daughter of the late Everett Kircher, the founder of Boyne Resorts, opened up the family’s Boyne Falls estate, where she lives, to HomeLife. The extraordinary home, her renovations and eclectic design are a prominent feature in this issue as well.
An added bright spot to our snowy season is in Kay Holley’s basement. The craft room she’s created in this smaller space is whimsical, lively, even flamboyant, and a merry addition to our quest for cheeriness.
Best wishes for a vivid HomeLife to you and yours in 2009,
Beth Anne Piehl
HomeLife Editor
bpiehl@petoskeynews.com