The 2015 Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour in the Petoskey area takes place on Saturday, October 10 from 10 am to 5 pm. The tour treats tourgoers to 10 homes, each chosen for their distinctive style and/or innovative lifestyle concept. Proceeds raised during the home tour will benefit Northern Michigan non-profit, Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Save by purchasing tickets to the 2015 Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour at MyNorthTickets.com:


The third stop on the 2015 Northern Home & Cottage Petoskey Area Home Tour is in Petoskey at 4892 Lake Grove Road.

With its gray shake siding, white trim, hipped roof, farmhouse-style dormers and front portico that welcomes with a hint of Greek Revival feel, the Smith cottage on Walloon Lake feels like it has graced this setting since Ernest Hemingway summered down the road as a child. The truth is, it was built in 2013 by contractor Jim Meathe working with architect Greg Presley—a talented duo who have created a reputation in the area for their historically accurate Walloon cottages.

That was just the look Mike and Nancy Smith were looking for when they contacted Jim Meathe about building them a second home. The Smiths had vacationed in the area for years and knew they wanted a comfortable, old-feeling cottage that was big enough for their family of five and for entertaining, but not so big that it didn’t feel intimate.

1015_NHC_YoungMeathe1

To focus the couple’s vision, Jim took them on a pontoon tour of the cottages of Walloons so that they could point out features of the lake’s cottages that they liked—roof styles, eyebrow windows, center steps from the porch. Jim passed those ideas on to Greg who refined them even further to create the timeless architectural exterior of their home.
The interior is marked by dark-stained wide-planked pine floors, plenty of white beadboard, and a fabulous fieldstone fireplace (that Mike and Nancy personally chose each rock for). Lovely details, including an old-fashioned window seat and arches over some of the windows and between the open kitchen and the rest of the living area, enhance the home’s careful craftsmanship.

The furnishings are a mix of new pieces (chosen with help from Nancy’s friend, Carol Spencer of Classic Designs based in Birmingham, Michigan) and antiques from a family cottage on Harbor Point in Harbor Springs. The kitchen has timeless white marble counters, white subway tiles and a generous island where guests help prepare meals or just linger with a glass of wine. The intimate, well-thought out spaces, coupled with the wide-open views of Walloon Lake make this home memorable—and wonderful to spend time in. It’s all so relaxing, in fact, that family and guests can seldom be persuaded to go out for dinner. “ We’ll suggest it, and they’ll say, ‘Can we just eat here?’” Nancy says with a laugh. And so the Smiths kick back, pour some wine, heat up the grill and enjoy every moment of being in their cottage together.

Interested in volunteering? Sign up here.

 

More Homes on the Petoskey Area Home Tour:

Home #1

Home #2

 

Northern Michigan Wineries, Breweries, Petoskey restaurants, things to do around Petoskey and more! Our MyNorth Vacation Guide can help you plan your entire Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour Weekend!
[publication mode=”thumb” name=”vg-petoskey” align=”left” link=”viewnow”]