“Briggs had the old station, which she christened Wildflower Depot, set on the new site precisely the way it would have sat along the tracks.”
This year’s top trending color Up North gives us four gorgeous blues to use in your home.
By ELIZABETH EDWARDSSouthwestern-inspired warm tones of last year. The coastal blues are rising. Granted, the color gurus at Pantone chose Peach Fuzz as their color of 2024. But the equally big chroma guns, including Benjamin Moore, SherwinWilliams, C2 and Dunn-Edwards, have gone rogue by putting blue front and center this year.
Why the color pivot? Reasons range from the expression of calm control that shades of blue offer (versus the need for the security of warm tones we craved during the peak Covid era), to the influence of the Coastal Grandmother phenom created by TikTok influencer Lex Nicoleta and her penchant for coastal vibes in wardrobes and homes. You know, just like in Nancy Meyers rom-coms.
Here, a few of our favorite shades of 2024.
How to help reduce unnecessary light pollution at home.
By CARLY SIMPSON
LIGHT is a powerful design tool: A soft, warm glow from a lamp creates an inviting space for your family to connect and relax, and a string of outdoor lights beckons friends to gather on a summer evening.
Light makes us feel safe, cozy, welcome. But, as with many good things, too much can be harmful.
Light pollution affects everything from animal migrations (did you know birds orient themselves to the North Star?) to melatonin, a hormone that our bodies produce when it’s dark that helps us sleep. Beyond sleep deprivation, fatigue, headaches, stress and anxiety, recent studies also show a connection between reduced melatonin levels and cancer.
So, this summer as we relish our warm nights outdoors, how can we also be thoughtful stewards of our environment and considerate of neighbors? DarkSky International, a worldwide authority on light pollution, offers tips, resources and even works with retailers like Lowe’s and The Home Depot to offer DarkSky-approved products (look for the DarkSky logo while you shop).
1. Ask yourself, does this light have a clear purpose? Consider how the use of light will impact the area, including wildlife and their habitats.
2. Direct light so it falls only where it’s needed. Use shielding and careful aiming to target the direction of the light beam so it points downward and does not spill beyond where it’s needed.
3. Use the lowest light level required. And be mindful of surface conditions, as some surfaces may reflect more light into the night sky than you intend.
4. Use light only when needed. Controls such as timers or motion detectors ensure that light is available when you need it, dimmed when possible and turned off when not in use.
5. Use warmer color lights when possible. Limit the amount of shorter wavelength (blue-violet) light to the least amount needed.
3 DARKSKY-APPROVED OUTDOOR LIGHT FIXTURES
Decks and patios
A5 Series String/Festoon ZOZO Round Cage, Aluz
Wall Mounts
Cagney 1-Light Sand
Black Hardwired Outdoor Barn Light
Wall Sconce, The Home Depot
Pathways
E1-S Solid Brass, Low-Voltage, Stem-Mounted Path Light, Beachside Lighting
Find more residential products online at darksky.org
by Steven Miller
Designing a dream home shouldn't be a one size fits all model. Neither should your supplier. We specialize exclusively in premium products for spectacular homes.
Designing a dream home shouldn't be a one size fits all model. Neither should your supplier. We specialize exclusively in premium products for spectacular homes.
At Thomas & Milliken, we are more than just suppliers; we're dream-builders. We take the time to understand your vision, from the grand architectural flourishes to the meticulously placed window offering the perfect morning light.
At Thomas & Milliken, we are more than just suppliers; we're dream-builders. We take the time to understand your vision, from the grand architectural flourishes to the meticulously placed window offering the perfect morning light.
Three years ago, Cynthia Briggs biked to her favorite gift shop, Wildfowers in Glen Arbor, to buy a present for her mother—and came out sold on purchasing a train depot. The diminutive, ornate depot had been built in Thompsonville in 1891, moved down the tracks to Copemish in 1917 and in 1965 finally landed in Glen Arbor, where it was tucked behind the shop then known as The Country Store and used as an accessory building. Over the decades, The Country Store became Wildflowers and the little depot, with its charming Victorian-era corbels and finials, was shrouded in landscaping tools and other paraphernalia. So shrouded that Briggs, despite her many trips to the store, had never noticed it.
Briggs, who has a long history in Glen Arbor, was renting a summer cottage at the time—though just beginning to consider purchasing her own home. Wandering into the small building, she learned that the old depot was for sale as the site was being cleared to make way for condos.
Below: The kitchen hutch began its life in a last-century pharmacy from out West and was brought to the depot by the owner of Wildlfowers. The first summer Briggs and her son Benet worked on the cottage they “camped out” in the kitchen using the hutch as their dresser. Briggs helped design the custom hood with its exposed bolts that echo an industrial, railway feel. The countertops are Carrara white marble. Previous spread: Briggs sited the depot as it would have been when it sat by the tracks in Thompsonville and later Copemish. While there is no record of what colors the station was originally painted, the new blue-and-white palette evokes the Victorian era.
As a lover of vintage design who had already restored four 19th-century homes, she remembers thinking: “My God, this whole building is for sale, I can’t believe this!” Then Briggs jumped on her bike and “rode like a lunatic” to get her three young-adult children to see it. When they’d gathered at the building she said to them: “Okay, I want you to imagine something. What if we moved this and made it into a cottage?” The boys were skeptical until they went inside:
BRIGGS WENT ON TO ADD HER OWN DISTINCTIVE DECORATIVE STYLE, WORKING WITH WHAT SHE TERMS A “MIXED METAL, INDUSTRIAL AND NAUTICAL THEME.”
“They said, ‘We have to do this. How can we do this?’”
Briggs, who was going through some major life changes at the time, rolled up her sleeves and dove into the project—never imagining the full import of what the small structure would end up meaning to her and, especially, her youngest son. She purchased the perfect piece of property on a side road in Glen Arbor and hired an experienced house mover, Tim Newman, to move the 700-square-foot structure, taking care to pull out the original windows with their wavy glass to re-install later. Briggs had the old station, which she christened Wildflower Depot, set on the new site precisely the way it would have sat along the tracks.
A (too) large pot-bellied stove once stood where the gas fireplace is now located. The tulip glass door was used in the Wildflowers gift shop—a feature that prompted Briggs to name her cottage Wildflower Depot. The pair of wooden chairs are French antiques.
That floorplan became the blueprint for the Briggs’ home: The waiting room on the far left of the building is now the living room; the middle of the building, which had housed the ticket booth and the room where the conductor could look for incoming trains, is the bar and dining room; the former luggage room is the kitchen. An addition in the back houses two bedrooms and bathrooms and a loft.
Architect Robin Johnson, who had worked on other projects with Briggs in the past, helped her through the maze of ordinances required by the township and county while ensuring that the restoration was authentic. Among those accurate touches were restoring windows (original wavy glass and all) and doorways that had
Top to bottom: Briggs brought a wheel theme to the bathroom fixtures to evoke the train idea.
“One bathroom has all Rohl fixtures with this wheel theme, while the second bath has very traditional Newport Brass fixtures,” she explains.
A small bar is tucked where the ticket room once welcomed customers.
been changed over the years to their original locations, as well as ripping out wall-to-wall carpet in the living and dining rooms to expose the original flooring, which was stripped and refinished to a driftwood gray. The addition is outfitted with reclaimed doors, one from a circa 1700 home in Newport, Rhode Island.
Briggs went on to add her own distinctive decorative style, working with what she terms a “mixed metal, industrial and nautical theme.” Mermaids surround the candleholders in the French 19th-century brass chandelier, for example, while the brass “fish lip” sconces over the beds came from a fishing boat. In the kitchen, two insulator lights hang near railroad pin hooks purchased from a company that recycles old railroad hardware.
As what was supposed to be a simple project dragged on for three years, Briggs’ two older children were too busy to be very involved. Consequently, Briggs’ youngest son, Benet, became her right-hand man for painting, sanding and more—work that forged a special bond between them. In the end, throwing themselves into redoing their depot became much more than just a restoration project. “I was going through a chaotic time in my life,” Briggs says. “How can I say this eloquently? But the train station kind of saved us.”
Real Estate Agent
Rob Serbin
Architect
Robin Johnson
Site Work & Relocator
Tim Newman
Carpenters
Robert Fahey, Joe Rodriguez, Bob Laetz, Jason Gothard
Insulation
Superior Polymer
Kurt Johnson
Siding
Otto Johnson
Appliances
Max’s Service
Electrical
Bluewater Electric resources
THE VINTAGE LODGE-STYLE HOME OF MICHIGAN’S FIRST FAMILY OF SKIING GETS A CAREFULLY CURATED MAKEOVER.
By ELIZABETH EDWARDS
In the 1960s, Everett Kircher, founder of Boyne Resorts, built a home for his aging parents, John and Hilda Kircher, at the foot of Boyne Mountain. The house was reflective of ski resort architecture of the time—an alpine exterior with heavy beams, dark paneling and a two-way fireplace set between the dining and living rooms. But the best part was the bank of huge slope-facing picture windows where the couple could watch the activity on the mountain.
The home was just two miles from where Everett, his wife, Lois, and their four children John, Amy, Steve and Kathy lived. With such proximity, the four Kircher grandchildren spent plenty of time in the home—so much so that they each had their own bedroom, decorated in the color of their choice.
Eventually one of those grandchildren—Amy and her husband, Greg Wright—went on to raise her four children in the home. With those children now grown, the Wrights entertain their own grandchildren in the muchloved house that is now nearly a halfcentury old.
Several years ago, the couple realized there was a leak around the chimney. That need for repair led to the realization that more was needed—including a refresh of the decor. Planning to do most of the work themselves, the couple headed into Traverse City one day to pick out carpet. “Everything we chose we thought, well, this won’t work,” Amy says of the shopping trip. Feeling overwhelmed, the couple headed back to Boyne Falls. North of Traverse City, in the town of Williamsburg, they happened to notice Urban Diversions, the home design shop owned and run by award-winning designer Dale Campbell and his wife Teresa. “We looked at each other and said, ‘We need to go in there,’” Amy recalls.
That initial meeting was the beginning of a complete refresh of the home—one that brought it up to contemporary standards but preserved its integrity. “I love preserving properties,” Campbell says. “To do a house like this and be very cognizant of what the original idea was when the house was built is really important.”
This spread: The cabinetry is Ayr, designed by Dale and Teresa Campbell, owners of Urban Diversion. The Cristallo quartzite countertops, Wolf range and Circuit Chef sink are all sourced from Urban Diversions.
Previous spread: With its two-sided fireplace, original tiles, chandelier and hand-hewn beams, the great room looks much the way it did when the senior Kirchers lived there. To match the beams, Urban Diversions sourced the antique hand-scraped European oak floor by Duchateau and went on to find artful Hancock and Moore shearling-draped rockers. The rug is an antique Persian.
Right: The green glass in the bar matches the original glass in the front door and side lights. Campbell sourced the tile—an exact match to the home’s original tile (as seen in front of the fireplace) from Whistling Frog in Alden.
Below: “All of the furnishings were custom tailored for each room, focusing on aesthetics, space management and how Amy and Greg utilize each living space,” says Campbell.
Top to bottom: As a child, John Kircher, the eldest of the four Kircher children, requested a red bedroom. Dale preserved the color with an updated retro look in carpeting, drapes and bedding. Note the small, custom-built bureau in the corner, made so that drawers could push all the way into the empty space behind the wall.
Campbell and his Urban Diversion team sourced the artisan hand-cut tiles in the upstairs bathroom from France. “When you get close, you can see the butterfly wings are coming right off the wall,” says Campbell.
Campbell’s vision for the house included some small but key structural changes, including completely opening up the galley kitchen to bring in light and make room for the Wright family to gather around a new spacious island. In a true stroke of spatial genius, Campbell created a perfectly outfitted wet bar where a coat closet had once been—a conversion that amazed Amy’s siblings, who couldn’t believe there was room for it in the foyer they knew so well.
The bulk of Campbell’s design changes, however, were careful updates combined with an eye for preserving the past: The 1960s chandelier over the dining room table and the drapery from the same era in the dining room and living room remain,
for example, while the new hand-built furniture, floor coverings, hardware and fixtures all echo mid-century design— with a touch of elegant Alpine-Euro feel.
But perhaps the greatest elements that remain are the memories of the boisterous, outdoorsy family that has loved this home for four generations now. Among those elements are the
pair of Everett Kircher’s old wooden skis that lean against the fireplace hearth just feet from where his greatgrandchildren gather around the kitchen island for pancake breakfasts. And although updated, those rooms where Amy and her siblings once slept are still the same colors: red for John, green for Amy and blue for Steve.
Designer
Dale H. Campbell
Cabinetry
Ayr and Pennville custom cabinets designed by Urban Diversions’ Teresa and Dale Campbell
Cabinetry Installation JT Concepts
Interior Furnishing Suppliers
Century Furniture, Pinnacle Hand Crafted Furniture, Lexington, Kravet, Eastern Accents, Duchateau, Hancock and Moore resources
