11 minute read

Freshwater Farmhouse Farmhouse

from COSMOPOLITAN HOME MAGAZINE ISSUE THREE 2023

from COSMOPOLITAN HOME MAGAZINE ISSUE THREE 2023, page 73

of joy living

BBeyond the gated entry, 2,200 feet of winding driveway leads to a welcoming estate nestled within 48 acres of bucolic living; ideal for a family that cherishes their time outdoors. More than seven years in the making, starting with its impeccable design and strategic development, this meticulously crafted home appears deeply rooted to the earth, as though it rose stone-by-stone over a century’s time.

Blok Builders • Michael Abraham Architecture • Elizabeth Krueger Design

IT IS A MARVEL OF GRACEFUL SCALE and craftsmanship, the hallmark of Chicago-based Michael Abraham Architecture and Kalamazoo’s Blok Builders. The homeowners had seen this team’s work on a nearby Gull Lake project and knew that by giving free rein to their creativity, they could watch their home grow organically into something uniquely special.

Michael Abraham’s distinctive architecture offers a nod toward history, melding traditional forms with a contemporary edge. He and his team, including architectural designer Jason Thakor, begin their creative process with rough hand sketches that become more refined as concepts solidify.

“The homeowners initially wanted to do a number of interconnected buildings and we had the room to spread out,” explained Michael. “With the right scale, we kept the feel of smaller buildings built over time communicating a sense of generational history.”

The use of copper ridge caps which widen on the ends lends a turn-of-the-century aesthetic to the roof. The roof’s ridgeline also tapers up where the caps end creating eye-catching changes in pitch. Architectural details like the roofline presented framing challenges for the builder which were compounded by numerous curves and cuts in the roof such as those needed to make the inverted dormer windows.

For Blok Builders, these challenges are typical of this architect’s work and something they are genetically equipped to handle. Many family members begin work in the trade as soon as they are old enough to push a broom at a work site. “We are currently the 4th generation of builders in a business started by my great-grandfather after he emigrated from the Netherlands,” said Arnie Blok. “We view ourselves as stewards of the legacy and we do all the framing, carpentry, and finish work in every house. This home was a multi-generational family affair, tapping the deeply ingrained skills of fathers, sons, and cousins. This makes us very hands-on and gives us control over the end result.

“Michael is an incredibly talented architect,” Arnie continued, “with a unique style and a compelling overall vision for creating space that feels comfortable and warm. He uses a neat blend of traditional materials in timeless, classic design but at the same time, best practices of modern techniques.”

Michael Abraham Architecture believes that the interior of a home is where life truly happens. They produce detailed, interior architectural plans as well as full scale models and renderings of ﬁreplaces, beams and arched openings, doorways and stairs that allow for a complete vision of the end result.

The innovative kitchen design showcases the talents of designer Mick De Giulio — a favorite of the homeowner. De Giulio’s unconventional use of mixed metals juxtaposed with the wood creates a striking contrast. Often the metals will have some texture or pattern like the herringbone on the end of the island.

“One of Michael’s trademarks are unique material transitions like those on the limestone-capped chimney exterior,” added Brady Blok. “There’s movement from full bed Wisconsin limestone to an organic, 3-coat stucco finish which is cool because it changes color with the weather conditions. Even though we’re using an old-world material and technique, we incorporate modern best practice using a drainage plane with a rain screen underneath for superior performance. You’ll also notice little diamond-shaped cut-outs in the stucco gables which are functional vents and another example of Michael’s custom touches.

“We intentionally used a wide grout joint applied flush to the stone face that looks less precise and we acid-washed all the stone afterward to turn the mortar from cool grey to brown,” continued Brady. “It is not something most people would notice but we wanted that warmer color.”

“De Giulio can do a range of styles, but his ability to marry so many different materials: brushed and polished stainless, even bronze and still get a sense of harmony, is poignant. Nobody, in my opinion, is doing what he is doing, and I can see why the homeowner was drawn to his design.”

– Elizabeth Krueger

Michael Abraham Architecture believes that the interior of a home is where life truly happens. “We produce detailed interior architectural plans — full scale models and renderings of fireplaces, beams and arched openings, doorways and stairs — a complete vision to craft living spaces that are both stunning and functional,” said Jason.

To breathe color and life into the interior architectural plans, Michael introduced Elizabeth Krueger, owner of Elizabeth Krueger Design, to the homeowner. “We had worked with her on several Chicago-area projects, and she had the right vibe for this project,” stated Michael. “They wanted a house that looked like it had been there for a while, but they didn’t want a period piece. Elizabeth nailed it with funky and modern furnishings that are still warm and tactful, usable and durable; not cold.”

“My philosophy is that we’re building your home which is a collaborative process,” declared Elizabeth. “Our design is never formulaic; we’re on a quest to discover what is important to each person in the spaces they occupy, whether is it a sprawling estate or a city apartment. The client came to us with exceptional taste and great ideas, and we fed off that energy — it ups the pressure in a good way and makes everyone bring their best work.

“When the architectural design is so exceptional, there’s the opportunity to experience vast spaces which still feel intimate, and that’s what Michael captured,” she added. “This is a very family centric home, and even in areas like the great room, which is so tall and expansive, we were able to make the space feel cozy and inviting.

“When you are building on textures in neutral shades, that exercise in restraint can be harder to achieve because you have to focus on lines and materials, and how layering various shades of a similar color will pop,” explained Elizabeth. “It is grounded but there is a modern edge to it which is reflected in the light fixtures and other avantgarde accessories.”

The exceptional architectural design includes several vast areas that still feel intimate due to the impeccable details and furnishings. As a family home, it was important to make the spaces feel inviting.

The two main staircases in the home span several ﬂoors and reﬂect the architect’s opinion that stairs should be more than just a mode of transportation. Although intended to appear simple, each had its own unique engineering challenges that the Bloks were instrumental in solving.

Michael referenced the innovative kitchen design as lighting a creative spark in the heart of the home. “The homeowner had seen Mick De Giulio’s work in other homes and after visiting his showroom, she loved his approach.” De Giulio has been recognized as one of the 50 most influential people in the kitchen and bath industry over the last 50 years by Kitchen and Bath Business magazine and his work can be seen throughout the U.S. and abroad. “His unconventional use of mixed metals juxtaposed with the wood is a striking contrast,” continued Michael, “and even the metals have some sort of texture or pattern on them like the herringbone pattern on the end cabinets of the island. This became a motif carried through the house with the foyer floor, on doors, and even air vents.”

“The kitchen design was established before I came on board and I took my cue from that and wove that story through the house using unlacquered brass and bronze, which will both patina over time,” noted Elizabeth. “De Giulio can do a range of styles, but his ability to marry so many different materials: brushed and polished stainless, even bronze and still get a sense of harmony, is poignant. Nobody, in my opinion, is doing what he is doing, and I can see why the homeowner was drawn to his design.”

“We are currently the 4th generation of builders in a business started by my greatgrandfather after he emigrated from the Netherlands. We view ourselves as stewards of the legacy and we do all the framing, carpentry, and finish work in every house.

– Arnie Blok

The round ceiling of the porch started as a computer-generated design from the architect but, due to the ingenious skills of Blok Builders, it became a reality. The nearly impossible feat was achieved with a custom jig with three different routers.

The two main staircases in the home span several floors and reflect the architect’s opinion that stairs should be more than just a mode of transportation. Although intended to appear simple, each had its own unique engineering challenges that the Bloks were instrumental in solving. According to Jason, “Working with Blok Builders is such an enjoyable collaboration because they are skilled at resolving mechanical solutions in a complicated build, plus they are also artisans with an experienced eye toward accomplishing a creative aesthetic.”

“[The staircase off the great room] was a unique feat because there is quite a bit of steel necessary to support the floating structure and the large spans of glass, yet the plans required us to keep it all hidden,” said Brady. “An additional challenge was that the iron stair balusters often have a shoe where they meet the wooden riser; this decorative piece hides any imperfections around the base of the baluster after drilling holes for installation. This is a shoeless design so every single one of those spindles needed to be fit into a square hole exactly the same size as the baluster.

“The Bloks carved this all out of a few big chunks of wood and made it come alive in the field with their jigs ... to the Bloks, this home is an 8,500square-foot piece of detailed custom furniture.”

– Michael Abraham

“The other staircase was also particularly challenging because it connects to the outside wall at only one little point. The rest of that entire structure hangs on that connection point with a structural steel stringer traveling through that landing and down the pitch of the stairs and connecting to the next landing down,” explained Brady.

“That explains how Blok Builders made it happen,” added Michael, “but their ability to make it elegant by cladding it in curving swoops of plaster or drywall is a whole different level of skill. To be able to communicate through simple sketches and for them to use their skill set to execute such a beautiful work of art is significant.”

Michael’s praise continues for what amounts to the Sistine Chapel of Blok Building lore: “We gave them a computer-generated design for the round ceiling of the porch; what we asked for defies physics,” laughed Michael. “It is impossible to bend a board to curve in two planes, then meet the wall and have the reveals line up. Well, Brady and his dad, Bruce, solved this mathematical impossibility by calculating the difference in radius for each board and creating a custom jig with a router.

“One of my favorite features of the house is the transitions between the outdoor spaces — the loggia and the porch — on into the great room and this is due to these spectacular ceiling transitions,” continued Michael. “The Bloks carved this all out of a few big chunks of wood and made it come alive in the field with their jigs ... to the Bloks, this home is an 8,500-square-foot piece of detailed custom furniture.”

One of the reasons this home feels so organic in its setting is due to the efforts of LDW 2.0. The landscaping alone took a full year and 10,000 man-hours to install and includes roughly 2 football ﬁelds of sod and well over 2 acres of intensely designed and manicured space.

To architects like Michael, technology allows for light-filled transitions through the home with oversized expanses of steel and glass. “How each of those metal frames, sashes, and structural elements came together took a bit of back and forth, but we’re happy with how it came out,” said Michael. “That contradiction of the limestone arch with the more modern steel frame all works together.”

One of the reasons this home feels so organic in its setting is due to the efforts of Tammy and Troy Stefl, owners of LDW 2.0. “Since the structure was underway, we had the luxury of visiting the site with the plans and were able to sense its impressive scale; something that is hard to grasp from a piece of paper,” said Troy. There was a rough framework in place for the driveway and sidewalks but not a clear vision for the pool location and the flow of the outdoor entertainment areas. Designing some of these concepts involved scratching a foot in the dirt and spraying paint lines on the ground until it felt right, according to Troy.

To provide context, landscaping for this project took a full year and 10,000 man-hours and they installed roughly 2 football fields of sod; well over 2 acres of intensely designed and manicured space.

As a landscape architect, Troy ensures that the exterior spaces are a seamless extension of the interior space. “Regardless of the scale, every project has the same goal: to make sure that the design elements are cohesive; the hardscaping and the proportions of the plantings are appropriate for the style of house. It must appear that the architect, interior designer, builder, and landscape architect are on the same page.”

To complement the home’s caramel-colored limestone and bluestone sidewalks and patios, Troy travelled to a Pennsylvania quarry to source stone that would meld these colors and textures into his hardscape design. “For the enormous steps connecting the herb garden and the upper and lower terraces to the pool, I watched them blast the stone out of the ground, then marked which enormous slabs I wanted.”

LDW 2.0 designed the pool and collaborated with the architects to blend the patio stone to flow through the doors of the pool house and out to the pool deck. The pool and patio terraces alone are 3,000 square feet. “We drew at least 6 different pool area designs until we landed on one that worked from the perspective of size, shape, grades, the drainage,” said Troy.

Brady summed up the experience of devoting so much to a project like this beautiful home: “Things get pretty hectic toward the end. There are countless details and final touches that have to come together so you almost feel a sense of relief when it is finished. In equal measures, it feels strange because you’ve been going to the same location every day for 3 or 4 years. Ultimately, it is super rewarding and fulfilling to see something tangible getting done and knowing we did that. To be clear, it is not just the Blok family members, we have incredibly hard-working and talented carpenters on our team.

“After a build is complete and we are doing a final walk-through, it is striking to us how everything was imagined and lined up so perfectly–all the various elements were thought through to create an overall feeling of cohesive- ness. The architect designed pages and pages of plans ... even complete drawings of all the wood floors and exactly which section would run which way and where each transition would take place. That is why it is awesome to collaborate with an architect like Michael; many architects do not envision that level of detail. We had an excellent team of highly skilled and creative people working on this project.””

“The stars aligned for a dream collaboration: clients who are trusting and willing to go for it; an architect who wants to partner with you out of all options available; then craftsmen like Blok Builders who are able to overdeliver,” added Elizabeth.