Open up and say ‘Wow’
HomeLife follows a major remodel in progress
By Beth Anne Piehl
Photography by G. Randall Goss
Six months from now, Jack and Mimi Crotty will be taking in a wide open view of Crooked Lake from their remodeled, uplifted and freshly redesigned cottage.
But there’s still a lot to be done between now and that view.
HomeLife has been following the massive remodel project, overseen by Ironwood Construction in Petoskey, since fall, when the interior of the cottage was gutted, the walls blown out and the old façade peeled away in preparation for its modern facelift.
“From our most recent pictures and conversations, we know that the rough-in is almost complete, with the new garage being worked on,” said Mimi, from their wintertime Florida escape. “The weather was mostly cooperative in October and some of November so nothing was held up.”
The Crottys, from Cincinnati, have long summered on the shores of Crooked Lake at Mimi’s family’s cottage. Built in 1914, the home showed its age, with a choppy layout that did not take advantage of the beautiful views of the lake out back.
The remodel is on schedule and once completed, with early May as the deadline, the home will increase in bathrooms from three to four and a half, and bedrooms will remain five, but reconfigured. The master suite will occupy what is now the garage and utility room, and the great room will be opened with 16-foot-tall cathedral ceilings that will frame Crooked Lake in a new way for the Crotty family.
“As far as opening up our view to the lake, it was apparent to us before we ever left for Florida. Once the walls came tumbling down and the middle of the cottage was so opened up,” Mimi said, “we could see the lake like never before.”
Remodel partners
Contractor: Ironwood Construction, Petoskey, Dan and Steve Steffes
Architect: Jessica A. Moore, Pellston
Interior Design: Plum Tree Interiors, Laura Gray, Boyne City
Stay tuned...
HomeLife will be following the remodeling of the Crotty cottage on Crooked Lake through May 2009. We will publish updates in future issues and plan a full feature spread on the completed home next summer.
