Wide Open Spaces
Lots of playroom on this sprawling Charlevoix estate
We went for the poolhouse, and came away with a feature on an extraordinary, 1,300-acre property.
We love it when that happens.
When Sarah Bourgeois, a partner with Richmond & Associates Architects in Traverse City, met HomeLife at this pictorial, pastoral property to give a tour of the pool and poolhouse, she casually mentioned the beauty of the farmhouse interior. We took a look inside and the striking pattern of reclaimed barn beams, soft color palette and history of the Charlevoix-area house and property changed our plans to include the pool, poolhouse and farmhouse.
On the day of the photo shoot, the ranch’s manager, Eric Cherry, mentions the property is 1,300 acres in total. There’s a sandy beach and pavilion; a 60-acre lake; putting green and driving range; actively farmed fields of beans, hay and corn; and ‘The Lodge,’ an entertaining expanse above the equestrian riding arena, situated amid a collection of more than 20 horses roaming rolling pasture.
On the same property.
We’re going to need more pages.
As stunning and diverse as this family property is, its owners are equally gracious and giving. They love to throw parties and fund-raisers, take care to protect fragile ecosystems and terrain features, and revel in the times when their two adult sons and four grandchildren come over, drop their stuff and make themselves at home — whether it’s in the pool, on the horses or relaxing at the beach.
“They wanted enough activities all over the property so guests could be enjoying different things, and still be together,” said Cherry.
Bourgeois and her firm have had a hand in a number of the spectacular points at the property, notably the poolhouse and pool. So we’ll start there, since that’s why we came. At least at first.
A pool is a pool. Unless it’s this pool. At 24 by 40 feet, it’s mammoth, with a dark gray granite bottom that emanates understatement and class. Normally, what encloses a pool or a property isn’t terribly noteworthy, but it is here. Nearly a whole section of wall around the pool is a chipped and worn cement barrier, full of character and part of the original barn from when the property spent life as a potato farm rather than family resort.
“I wasn’t sure how to transition the wall into the fence, and we wanted to have a fence because there’s a lot of wildlife out there,” said the homeowner. “We had been traveling in Napa Valley, and we went way up a mountain looking for a vineyard that we never found, but we saw another place and I loved how they treated the fence, with concrete columns on either side. I took pictures of it and brought them back. That was our inspiration.”
An equally aging, towering silo has been outfitted with a winding staircase that offers total property panorama (and probably a great hide-out for those grandkids). Looking from above, it’s as if the poolhouse and pool have been dropped precisely in this wide open spot at the point where present meets past.
The poolhouse itself — about 1,000 square feet — includes a guest room for convenience for the growing family, bathrooms, kitchen and living room area, shower room and enough hooks for everyone’s wet towels.
“We wanted our sons to feel that they could come and go and not check in with us if they wanted to use the pool,” the homeowner said. “If there weren’t a bathroom or a changing area, they’d feel like they had to tell us if they were coming and going.”
Bourgeois said while pools might be more common in the Northern Michigan region than one might think, poolhouses are not. But that is the style of this family in particular — convenience for guests and amenities to further the enjoyment of their property.
“They are very family-focused,” she said. “They knew the kids needed a nap room, for instance, a place for mama and baby to rest.”
Because there’s a lot more ground to cover ...
The 60-acre lake sparkles off in the distance, looking like it’s a clear shot from the farmhouse and poolhouse. Instead, the drive there is circuitous down a bumpy two-track so close to the fields you could grab an ear of corn out the window come late July.
Around the last bend, the fields open to the water and a beach where it’s easy to picture the family gathering around the firepit and cut-log benches or inside the rustic, screened-porch log pavilion for a picnic.
“My personal favorite place is the pavilion,” the homeowner said. “My husband and I were on vacation in this wonderful B&B in Knoxville, Tenn., called Blackberry Farm, and we took a walk and came across this fantastic open-air log structure where they gave fly-fishing lessons, and I thought, ‘This is exactly what I would love to do on the edge of the lake.’”
There have been moments like that since the family purchased the property in 1985. As surrounding acreage has become available, they’ve added on to the original 25 acres to create the compound it has become today.
Among the numerous buildings and interior spaces, the homeowner worked with Rick Carmody, her preferred decorator with Au Courant in Ferndale. The result of their combined design expertise (the homeowner was a regional editor with Better Homes & Gardens) is a complementary flow among design, furniture, style and appreciation for the outdoor beauty.
Part of the family’s impetus in keeping the acreage in its natural state, and maintaining the active farming operations, is the understanding of how rare it’s becoming for such a huge swath of pristine land to remain so.
“There is so much development occurring,” the homeowner said, “that it’s a privilege to be the stewards of this land.” HL
That’s pretty cool...
Chevrolet recently filmed a truck commercial at the property featured here, through a connection with the homeowners’ son’s Web site, www.outsidehub.com. Check it out online.
So is this ...
The property includes “eskers” — natural ridges created by the last glacier that came through 10,000 years ago. Eskers are full of gravel, and many of them throughout the north have been mined clean. The eskers on this property have remained untouched as “part of the charm of the property,” the homeowner said.
Special Thanks
Palm pots courtesy of Pine Hill Nursery, Kewadin
Potted plants courtesy of Bosman’s Mercantile, Charlevoix
