The End
It’s the last in our series, but a new start for the Crottys at the wrap of their major remodel project on Crooked Lake
For the past 10 months-plus, HomeLife has been following the remodeling of Jack and Mimi Crotty’s treasured family cottage on Crooked Lake, which has been in Mimi’s family for generations. Under general contractor Ironwood Construction of Petoskey, the old, cramped cottage has new life as an airy, modern home with contemporary, custom touches throughout.
This is the final installment of the series that has followed the project from tear-down to ta-da.
If the remodel effort at the Crotty cottage on Crooked Lake were a chaptered story, it would end with happily ever after. And the only drama found in its pages would be in the opening up of the interior from cramped and dark to panoramic with panache.
The new story would begin with main characters, Jack and Mimi Crotty, seated at the corner banquette, sharing muffins and cookies and talking about the year that was — and the years to come.
“What some people have done to meet this deadline is incredible,” said Jack, scribing another chapter in the tale — the cast (see sidebar). His list includes builders and craftsmen, painters and visionaries. (Who would’ve thought a large, blue, custom cabinet would fit so perfectly with a plain-and-plaid couch and nautical-flag chair? Laura Gray, interior designer, with Plum Tree Interiors in Boyne City.)
“I happen to love blue, I’m always wearing blue,” said Mimi, narrating room-to-room and stopping by the bar-armoire. “It was this blue bar that convinced us to go custom.”
The Cliffs Notes version of the old cottage’s story goes like this: Typical family cottage is constructed in 1914 with lots of rooms, choppy interior and beautiful view of the lake that you can’t really see because of the haphazard layout and small lakeside windows.
There are a lot of comforting memories in this family’s chronicle. Mimi’s parents, the Sollingers, purchased the cottage in 1948, though her mom, Margie, had been vacationing on the shores of Crooked Lake since 1933. Mimi has spent decades of summers at the property, too, both as a young girl and later with husband, Jack, and their own two children.
Through the years, the family added on to and renovated the original structure, though this last project is certainly the most involved. The house has now increased in bathrooms from three to four-and-a-half, while the bedrooms have remained at four but reconfigured.
The great room was opened with 16-foot-tall cathedral ceilings and a custom designed wall unit of fireplace, bookshelves and TV nook. Within the 2,800-square-foot footprint, almost everything has been changed, except “Granny’s room” — a main-level bedroom that was left-as is as a nod to the past of this revered gathering place on the lake.
“For part of me, it’s really tough because there are so many memories here,” Mimi said, at the start of the project last fall. “But I’m so excited about the new look of it. My mom was ever-changing, always remodeling this place. I think she is probably smiling down and saying, ‘You go, girl!’”
Aside from opening up the view and freshening the interior, the renovations were also undertaken so Jack and Mimi, until recently full-time Cleveland residents, can split their time now between this home and their place in Florida.
“We loved the charm of the old place,” Mimi said, “but now this is our home. It continues a legacy of my parents and their parents and our family.”
The end. And, the beginning. HL
Remodel Gallery
What does it take to remodel a family cottage?
People-power. Talented craftsmen, a skilled architect, an interior designer with flair, an experienced contractor, conscientious subcontractors, trusting homeowners, foresight and flexibility.
Having key roles in the Crotty remodel were
• Ironwood Construction, Petoskey, general contractor
• Jessica A. Moore, architect, Pellston
• Plum Tree Interiors/Laura Gray, Boyne City
• Boyd Construction, demolition and rough carpentry
• Flynn’s Trenching, excavation
• Richie’s Construction, foundation and concrete
• Wayne’s Electric
• W.W. Fairbairn & Sons, plumbing and mechanical
• Shingle Roofing
• Weatherguard Enterprises, siding
• Whitton Insulation
• Great Lakes Drywall
• Trikita, kitchen and bath tile installation
• Bryce Dennis, stonework
• Joe Richardson, finish carpentry
• Roy’s Residential Painting
• Kaufman Hardwood Flooring Installation
• Williams Excavating
• North Star nursery and landscaping
Suppliers
• Preston Feather
• Penta Associates/Eric Boesse, custom cabinetry
• Fairbairn Flooring Inc.
• Capitol Granite, countertops
• Builders Flooring, tile
• All-Phase Electric
• Emmet Brick & Block
• Sears Appliances
• Reid Furniture
• Hamills Floor Covering, carpet and tile
• Charlevoix Glass
• Mary Kushner, window treatments
• Larry Fireoved, banquette cushion upholstery
The Crotty Crew
Homeowners Jack & Mimi Crotty (center) stand with key remodel partners, including (from left) Laura Gray, interior design; Jessica Moore, architect; and Steve Steffes (far right) with Ironwood Construction.