Family room
Remodel, addition open up northern getaway for paralyzed son
Skiing in Northern Michigan has been a way of life for the Shereda family since the mid-1980s, when their oldest son, Jim, joined a middle school ski club that spurred mom, dad, sister Julie and brother Keith to take up the sport.
After years spent renting a place to stay on their trips north, in the early 1990s the family built a chalet off Pleasantview Road, near local resorts Boyne Highlands and Nub’s Nob and in the “Chalet District” that defines the surrounding neighborhoods.
It was a cozy getaway, cream-colored exterior with brick-red trim, a great room for gathering, dining and the kitchen, a couple downstairs bedrooms and upstairs loft space with additional bedrooms. On weekends and throughout the year, it was a favored family retreat.
In 1999, tragedy struck the Shereda family when son Keith was rendered quadriplegic after a diving accident at age 21. To help accommodate his power wheelchair and open up access in the chalet, the Sheredas undertook a remodel and addition project with local builder and remodeler Steve Hayes two years ago.
Hayes was able to transform the snug chalet into a spacious, comfortable home once again for the Sheredas. Work included opening up doorways and the main hallway; removing shower barriers in the downstairs bathroom; building a deck that on one even level wraps around nearly the entire chalet; and creating an even expanse of floors with varying materials of stone, tile and wood.
Matching up the flooring surfaces to create a smooth span was particularly challenging, Hayes noted.
“It was very important that all stay on one level, and Steve was magically able to make that happen,” said Anne Shereda.
While they were updating the chalet, the Sheredas also looked to add more living square footage. On the rear side, a new addition measuring about 650 square feet is a true “bonus room.” It’s a striking space, with diagonal hickory wood floors and a stepping-stairs pattern of windows that opens the room to the surrounding woodlands. “My husband and Keith designed the room,” said Anne. “We knew we wanted one big open room back there, to make it very accessible for Keith and give him a little more space to move around. That was really the catalyst to get it all going.”
In one corner, a wood burning stove is situated under a flat-screen TV, which is fitted with a custom heat shield to prevent damage. “That was an interesting project,” Anne said. “We didn’t want to have two focal points in the room, so we wanted to put them together in one corner. It was difficult to make sure there wasn’t too much heat rising above that fireplace, but the guys figured it out.”
A steam shower and custom-built sauna are extra luxuries in the addition which have quickly become family favorites. So has the 8- to 10-foot-wide full-access deck that wraps the home and provides more family-gathering space in the months when there’s not five feet of snow piled on top of it. Until then, there’s plenty of family and room at the Shereda chalet.
“It works excellent for Keith,” Anne said. “We’re very pleased.”
The homeowners: Martin and Anne Shereda, of Oakland, Mich., a suburb of Detroit
Children: Jim (Sarah), with twin 3-year-old girls Alice and Marion; Julie (Beau) Buzzell, with son Avery, 3, and infant Olivia; youngest son, Keith
Builder/remodeler: Steve Hayes Remodeling & Tile
Design: Homeowners; Roger Martin, Petoskey (drawings)