One-story South Shore home meets the needs of and today tomorrow

It’s a peaceful getaway today and an accessible retirement dwelling for tomorrow for the couple who recently built this beautiful one-story dream house on the South Shore of Lake Superior. The husband-and-wife owners had ideas of what they wanted in décor, layout and amenities. Yet they credit the professionals with whom they worked for bringing to reality a home that fits in so well into the surrounding lakeshore landscape and scenery.

“Building this house was a pleasure every step of the way,” said the wife. “The people we worked with listened, and that made such a difference. There was such teamwork, caring and respect among everyone involved. We had never built anything before, but the people we worked with helped make it a really fun process.”

The house is set just a few hundred feet off Lake Superior. Colors of the lake and shore appear throughout the home, including blues, sands, woodtones and grays. Local products, including stone and wood and area craftspeople, were utilized whenever possible to create this wonderful retreat.

“We tried to fit it in the environment that was here,” said the wife.

The outside of the house is covered with gray-blue siding and slate rock panels, seemingly replicating the look of the big lake. River rock is used in landscaped outdoor areas with plants and flowers. A large stamped-concrete patio includes a globed fire pit. Nearby is an outdoor shower.

The couple put in a boardwalk path to provide easier walking around the

The Guest Wing is sectioned off with a sliding oversized door and provides comfort and privacy.

The Great Room's focal points are a beautiful and mural made with stone property.

“We navigated and worked around wetlands,” she explained. “We planted cranberry trees for the birds and milkweed for the butterflies. We kept it very native.”

Other trees on the land include balsam, spruce, birch, white pine, cedar and popple.

A short walk leads to the cedar wood sauna with a changing room and rough-cut wood-look linoleum floor. In the sauna, a wood-fired stove provides the heat, and a large glass window offers an incredible view of the lake.

“We sit and watch the sun set right over the water,” said the wife.

Walk a bit further on the path to a wood sitting area with a native rock foundation where the couple enjoys the lake view in the morning as they sip their coffee.

“The whole point of this home is to enjoy the lake,” she said.

Back at the house, a metal roof allows the snow to roll right off.

“We never need to shovel it,” said the husband with a smile. “It’s maintenance-free. The snow slides off.”

The couple uses the garage as a multi-space: it’s insulated with a drained, colored-concrete floor, and pulling down a screen door allows them to use it as a gathering space that’s almost like being outside.

Inside the front doorway, a locker made of reclaimed wood with railroad spikes to hold hanging items can store outdoor wear. It’s the first viewing of reclaimed weathered wood that repeats throughout the house. Across the entryway is the laundry room and utility room with a hot water heating unit.

The kitchen includes custom-height blue Cambria countertops — a special touch by Maureen’s LLC Kitchen and Bath Design and St. Germain’s — greatly appreciated by the owners, who are tall. Sand-colored cupboards slide out to store dishes, pots, and pans with ease. A convenient built-in microwave, charming stainless-steel farm sink, and bar area with wine cooler are additional points of interest.

“We wanted a place where we can create meals together, and the kitchen carries through to the Great Room, so we can all be together when family is here,” said the wife. “We also wanted to build a home on one level as we thought about our age and retiring here.”

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Right: The kitchen includes custom-height blue Cambria countertops... greatly appreciated by the owners.

Bottom right: A charming stainless-steel farm sink matches the appliances throughout the kitchen.

Below: A bar area with wine cooler are additional points of interest.

Below:

The Great Room’s focal points are a beautiful fireplace and mural made with stone from Quarry Point by stone mason Chris Mehtola of Oulu. The mantle includes wood from a 125-year-old barn being refurbished in Port Wing. A sound system in custombuilt cabinetry by Ron Sween plays from speakers in ceilings and walls throughout the house thanks to Beth Joecks of Northern Current Electrics in Cornocopia.

Above the master bed is a cutout burnt wood art piece of the homeowners’ beloved Lake Superior. High windows on the opposite wall allow the homeowners to see beautiful treetops as they lie in bed.

“To me, the woods are equally beautiful to the lake,” said the wife. “I love looking at the trees.”

A screen porch is attached to the bedroom. Windows built by NASA telescope up or down to make for perfect viewing of Lake Superior.

Also attached is a master bath with a shower of multi-color wood that “looks like a birch tree,” the wife said.

A Guest Wing in the home — used when their daughter visits or when they have overnight company — is sectioned off with a sliding oversized door and provides comfort and privacy. It includes a guest bathroom with copperhammered vessel sink and shower by Ferguson and The Glass Guru. Their daughter’s room has beautiful cedar walls, and another guest bedroom includes a pull-down Murphy bed hand made by general contractor Troy Klein. Every bedroom includes a door through which the guest can go outside to see the lake from a covered porch area, which is wired for outside music.

The owners of this beautiful Lake Superior home know that they are surrounded by blessings, both inside and outside their new home.

“We’re truly blessed,” said the wife. “Each day that I enter the front door, I can’t believe we live here.”

For now, they live and work in Duluth during the week, and retreat to this South Shore getaway during weekends and vacations. But they’re dreaming that when retirement comes, they’ll be full-time at their home by the lake.

“The South Shore is such an unknown gem,” says the wife. “It’s got a quieter, peaceful pace.” D Alison Stucke is a Duluth freelance writer and regular Home Touches writer.