Join us for a premier one-day home tour featuring 7 beautiful homes, thoughtfully designed and surrounded by stunning landscapes in the Petoskey area—Elk Rapids, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs and more. The Petoskey Area Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour is Saturday, October 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Below is a sneak peek inside home #4!
Proceeds raised during the Petoskey Area Home Tour will benefit Northern Michigan non-profit, Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Tickets (along with driving directions) are $20 until September 30 and $25 after. To purchase tickets please go to MyNorthTickets.com. For more information: 800.836.0717. Tickets can be purchased at MyNorthTickets through October 12 and at the following locations: Capital Granite, Petoskey Chamber of Commerce, Advance Electric in Gaylord. Tickets are also available at the door of each home—cash or check only.
Address: 9255 Franklin St., Alden
Builder: Draper Construction, 231.322.3015
In 1924, Sarah Dickey’s grandfather purchased an 800-square-foot cottage on a narrow lot on Torch Lake, just outside the darling resort town of Alden. Sarah spent her childhood summers there, a tradition she and her husband, Greg, continued with their own two children. When you have the turquoise waters of Torch Lake to splash in all day, and Alden for ice cream cones and other après-beach fun, a tiny old cottage is all that you need. But several years ago, the time had finally come for some modernization and a bit more room. As much as the Dickeys wanted both of those things, they didn’t want to lose the character of the cottage.
Good thing they worked with builder Aaron Draper and designer Angela Goodall, of Kitchen Choreography—two building professionals who are adept at discerning what their clients are envisioning and making it happen. Sarah recalls meeting with Aaron one afternoon and putting her and her husband’s ideas into CAD software—showing them, among other things, how a new cottage (that was just a bit bigger than the original one) would look turned this way, or turned that way, on the lot. The big decisions were settled that day.
But it is the details that make this cottage so special: Aaron and Angela succeeded in wrapping the modern amenities that the Dickeys wanted into a vintage package that begins with the white cedar shake exterior siding. The great room is a summery medley of red oak floors and white-painted V-groove ceilings with red oak beams. The taupe walls are trimmed in white and so is a dining banquette that lines a bay window. An antique-style brick tile veneer on the fireplace façade pulls the style together.
The kitchen (which opens on to the living room) is only 155 square feet, but the Dickeys say its efficient layout makes it possible for several people to cook together. This airy space is outfitted with white cabinetry that features a glass-fronted section designed to look like an old-fashioned china cabinet. A white enamel farm sink and subway tile backsplash add to the classic cottage look, as do two leaded glass windows made decades ago by Sarah’s father.
The original cottage kitchen sink (with its antique drain-board) gleams with a new coat of white enamel and now resides in the powder room. And in the guest quarters above the garage, touches like built-in beds under the eaves and a sliding barn door offer a storybook feel.
As it was in the old cottage, life at this new cottage is about the lake—viewed now from an aggregated stone patio that complements the fieldstone used on the foundation and pillar bases. Tourgoers are going to love this pretty little oasis, filled with ideas for either a home or cottage.
Preview all 7 homes on the Petoskey Area Home Tour in the October 2017 issue of Northern Home & Cottage.
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