Northern Home & Cottage April/May 2022

A P R I L / M A Y 2022

NORTHERN

For the Way You Live Up North

HOMES WITH A VIEW EAST JORDAN Stylish Barndominium

MULLETT LAKE

COLLECTIONS Blues in the Kitchen NORTHERN MOOD Shades of Spring

Traditional Charmer

OLD MISSION Glamorous Transitional

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A SUPPLEMENT TO

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inside APRIL/ MAY

2022

NORTHERN

28 08 18

38

features

departments

18 / BARNDOMINIUM BEAUTIFUL!

07 / EDITOR’S NOTE

A stylish home designed with room for an active family—and all of their toys.

28 / FULLER HOUSE

A hilltop home on Old Mission Peninsula sparkles with glamorous decor and panoramic views of sunsets over West Bay.

More Mr. Nice Guys!

08 / NORTHERN MOOD Beautiful Emergence

10 / COLLECTIONS Blues in the Kitchen

38 / BUILDING THE FAMILY HOME

Contractor Jamie Wilkins’ first home-building project will always be his sweetest.

Click on Live Here > Northern Home

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A MyNorth Media Publication Michael Wnek Cara McDonald

VP, SALES STRATEGY & OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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Contentment, it’s our Favorite color...

Creating a space or curating an existing space, we promise a solution that fits your home and lifestyle.

No matter how complex or simple, don’t overthink.

“Think W.I.N.K”

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS • REMODELS • NEW BUILDS CUSTOM KITCHEN/BATH • COUNTER TOPS • CABINETRY MATERIAL AND FURNISHING SELECTIONS

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EDITOR’S NOTE

MORE MR. NICE GUYS!

S

with the underlying theme of an issue—the serendipitous thread that pulls it all together and makes the magazine especially memorable to the reader (and, yes, the editor). But other times the themes just pop out, as is the case this month.

I began sensing the theme when I started working on our story “Fuller House.” As you’ll read, the project was contractor Ben Maurer’s first solo job at the helm of Paul Maurer General Contracting, the business his father, Paul, started in the 1980s and built into one of the most prestigious building firms in Northern Michigan. Ben taking over the company, and me getting to write about his first home? That fact just made me smile. You see, I’ve known Ben since he was still in a car seat. He grew up with my daughters, and I can truly say he has always been a nice guy.

Then there is the story “Building the Family Home,” about contractor Jamie Wilkins of Trillium Shore. Jamie has built more than a dozen stunning, high-end homes in the region, including two that have been featured on our Northern Home & Cottage Home Tour. While it is no less stunning and well-built, the Trillium Shore home we are featuring in this issue is different. It is the first home Jamie ever built when he went out on his own, and it was for his parents. I had the pleasure of hearing the sweet story of how it all came about on a three-way phone call with Jamie and his mother, Mary Jean. Yep, in his own mother’s words, Jamie is a nice guy.

From its warm, fuzzy theme to the ideas you’ll get from these stories and the gorgeous photos, I think you’ll enjoy reading this issue as much as I enjoyed putting it together! ometimes i struggle

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Elizabeth Edwards is senior editor of Northern Home & Cottage. Lissa@traversemagazine.com

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Northern Mood

Beau tiful Emer gence CURATED BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

»

AS THE NORTHERN WINTER GIVES WAY TO SPRING, SOFT SHADES OF GREEN, CREAM AND POPS OF COLOR BLANKET THE FOREST. OPEN YOUR DOORS AND LET IT IN!

Mint and Cream Rug Earth Collection, Hilary Farr by Kaleen 2-by-3-feet: $129 / 10-by-14-feet: $3,266 Rectangles, Traverse City

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3. Hebron Glass Vase and Tillandsia Air Plant Hebron Glass, recycled and molten glass vase; $34 Tillandsia Air Plant; $10 Darling Botanical Co., Traverse City darlingbotanical.com

4. House Plant Watering Can Made of metal; holds 30 ounces; $27 Darling Botanical Co., Traverse City darlingbotanical.com

photos by David Weidner

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collections

KITCHEN BLUES Inspired by the hues of water, stone and sand, these kitchens capture a lakefront feel.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

SAILING AWAY Location Pickerel Lake Builder Nick Fettig, Harbor View Custom Builders harborviewcustombuilders.com Architect Elaine Keiser ekarchitect.com

Blue is the homeowner’s favorite color, so kitchen designer Dawn Whyte used a pale blue glass tile backsplash that looks as fresh as a wave against the white cabinetry and sea glass–colored subway tile in this Pickerel Lake home.

Brass fixtures, cabinetry handles and pendants above the black-walnut island countertop hint at a nautical feel—a sentiment that is brought home with the cobalt blue island cabinets. “Blue is timeless, classic, soothing and on trend,” says Whyte. “It is a neutral enough color that can blend with almost everything bright or light. Blue evokes a calming essence and just makes you happy.”

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photo courtesy of Petoskey Kitchens

Kitchen Designer Dawn Whyte, Petoskey Kitchens petoskeykitchens.com

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KITCHEN BLUES

SPLASHED WITH AQUA Location Glen Arbor Builder/Renovation Kitchen Choreography kitchenchoreography.net Kitchen Designer Kitchen Choreography kitchenchoreography.net

Central to the renovation of a 1990s home on Sleeping Bear Bay was a kitchen redo. Angela Goodall and her team at Kitchen Choreography brought their inspired style to the task, beginning with a timeless backsplash of water-colored glass tiles by Ann Sacks. The white macaubas quartzite used on the countertops is the shade of beach stones, and the pantry door, painted a soothing aqua (Covington Blue by Benjamin Moore), pops against white walls and cabinetry like a lagoon by a white-sand beach. A bronze band around the custom range hood (fabricated by Kitchen Choreography) lends a nautical feel. The aqua pendant lights, hand-crocheted at the U.K. artisan lighting studio of Naomi Paul, offer a bespoke touch that reminds of old-time fishing nets.

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KITCHEN BLUES

COOL BLUE Location Old Mission Peninsula

When food photographer Amanda Abajian asked kitchen designer Sara VanderStelt of Creative Kitchens to help her renovate her Old Mission kitchen, she had a specific mission: “As a food photographer, creating balance between the food and its environment poses a constant challenge. Anchoring the background in cool colors allows the contrasting warmth in foods to stand out,” Abajian says. VanderStelt responded with inspirational, cool blue Shiloh Cabinetry painted in Restorative by Sherwin Williams. Corian countertops add to the watery calm and, says VanderStelt, latch hardware pulled it all together. Abajian added the warm red brick to complement the existing darker brick behind the double ovens. “My vision in designing this kitchen was to create a space where the warmth of family, friends and food are always the main focus,” Abajian says.

Vision accomplished!

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photo by Dan Zeeff

Designer Sara VanderStelt, Creative Kitchens creativekitchenstc.net

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house and home

BARNDOMINIUM BEAUTIFUL! ONE FAMILY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN TAKING YOUR UP NORTH TOYS OUT TO PLAY MIGHT BE PUTTING THEM AWAY.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS / PHOTOS BY DAN HASTY

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T

he van solkemas—kevin, renita and their four

adult children—love Northern Michigan’s four seasons and they know how to make the most of them: hunting, fishing, boating, swimming, snowmobiling, skiing and sometimes just plain soaking in the scenery. Originally from East Lansing, the family honed their vacation skills in a condo on Lake Charlevoix in East Jordan as the kids were growing up. Then Kevin’s job took them to Chicago, and as years went by, it became more and more difficult to pull everyone together and head to Northern Michigan, so they sold the condo.

In 2014, Kevin and his (by then) two adult sons joined each other for a fishing trip that had them reminiscing about their once-upona-time East Jordan family vacations. Call those memories the beginning of the next chapter of Van Solkema Up North vacations. Kevin and Renita began searching for property to build a vacation home where their grown family could gather. Their search, focused on the East Jordan area, soon turned up 73 acres covered in sugar maples and tucked high in the hills overlooking the Six Mile Lake valley.

The day before the couple was to close on the property, Kevin and his youngest son drove up to look at it a final time before signing. It was a gorgeous October day and the maples were aflame with color. They drove his son’s pickup to a fern-covered clearing in the forest. “We threw down the tailgate, had lunch, and looking over this valley I thought, ‘If God ever permits me to build on this property, this is exactly where I’d do it.’” He and his son marked the spot by building a fire ring out of stones. Two years later, the Van Solkemas were able to purchase an adjacent 80-or-so acres, bringing their total property to 150 acres.

Four years later the couple, ready to

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build now, turned to contractor Craig Boyd of Boyd Construction Company, based in Petoskey. Boyd, in turn, introduced them to Michael Karr, a young, forwardthinking architect of North45 architecture also based in Petoskey. “We didn’t go to Karr saying, ‘Here’s the sort of plan we want you to build us,’” Kevin recalls. “We just went to him with the concept for a lodge that would achieve several purposes—a living space for the whole family to gather in, also as a deer camp setting.”

Beyond those features, the Van Solkemas wanted storage for their recreational vehicles—with the living and the storage all under one roof. “I call it a barndominium,” Kevin says. “The concept is really catching on with people who don’t have space at their waterfront, or the ability to store their recreational vehicles in a dedicated storage barn.”

The Van Solkemas’ wish list included two more

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“WE THREW DOWN THE TAILGATE, HAD LUNCH, AND LOOKING OVER THIS VALLEY I THOUGHT, ‘IF GOD EVER PERMITS ME TO BUILD ON THIS PROPERTY, THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE I’D DO IT.’” -KEVIN VAN SOLKEMA

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important features that particularly appealed to Karr, who designs with an emphasis on sustainability: the use of as many natural materials as possible and a geothermal groundwater heating system—systems that are known for their energy and cost-efficiency.

“He nailed it,” says Kevin of the first set of conceptual drawings that Karr presented. While the Van Solkemas and Karr worked together to fine-tune the details, the 40-by-90-square-foot building is laid out basically the way Karr first drew it.

The front third, amounting to 1,200 square feet, is devoted to an efficient, uncluttered living space, while the rest is storage.

The open living area centers around a fireplace and chimney—clad in Elite Blue Granite Ledgestone, a natural stone—that reaches to the ceiling. Rough-sawn pine beams and ceiling cladding, and a polished concrete floor (which holds the radiant heat pipes from the geothermal system) round out the rustic look. The open kitchen, designed primarily by Renita, is simple. The commercial-sized refrigerator and freezer are actually housed in a pantry steps away from the kitchen to keep clutter down—a

layout that Renita says works just fine.

The lodge sleeps eight with one enclosed bedroom and an open loft/bunk room upstairs. While there is just one bathroom, Renita worked carefully with Karr on a design that can function comfortably for multiple people.

Among the bathroom’s features is a dressing room that completely closes off from the toilet and shower, and

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Creating one of a kind outdoor living spaces

Before

Design | Build | Luxury Outdoor Living 231-920-1583 nuneznurserylandscaping.com 24

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even a urinal that also has a door for privacy.

The handsome exterior evokes an American West or Australian Outback ranch home. But the finishes make it soar—Elite stone and reclaimed barn-wood exterior, rafter tails, decorative brackets, a horizontal fenestration of handsome dark-framed paned windows and, to top it all off, a Corten steel roof that has already rusted to an earthy red.

The Van Solkemas couldn’t be happier with the team who took the plan from blueprint to fruition: Michael Karr, Boyd Construction Company and Sean Cook from Lake Charlevoix Landscape who installed an organic, low-maintenance yard. And then there is excavator Hugh Lambert, who basically saved the day with a workable driveway that winds around wetlands and then up a steep incline. “When we first looked at the property we said, ‘Well, I guess it is up there, but there is no way to get to it,’” Kevin recalls. “Hugh said, ‘I can do this.’”

In just two years, the structure, christened Thunderwood Lodge, has indeed served as a hunting lodge, but it’s also been a family gathering space, a shelter during the pandemic lockdown, even a venue for both their daughter’s and their youngest son’s weddings. Meanwhile, it has safely stored the family’s vehicles. No doubt, this barndominium has more than proven its worth.

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resources Architect Michael Karr North45 architecture north45architecture.com Contractor Boyd Construction Company boydconstructioncompany.com Exterior Siding & Flooring Surfaces Material Gallery heirloomhardwoodflooring.com Geothermal Heating Top Notch Heating, Cooling and Geothermal topnotchheatandair.com Windows Old Mission Windows oldmissionwindows.com Landscaping Lake Charlevoix Landscaping 231.838.8663 Excavator Hugh Lambert Hugh’s Excavating 231.675.9564

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house and home

FULLER HOUSE

A TRICKY HILLTOP PARCEL AND FOND MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD SUNSETS PROVIDE INSPIRATION FOR AN ELEGANT OLD MISSION HOME.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS PHOT OS BY PAU L M AU R E R G E N E R A L C O N T R ACT I N G

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S

ome

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daw n

fuller’s

fo n d e st

memories from her childhood are of the Sunday drives she took with her family out on Old Mission to watch the sunset over West Grand Traverse Bay. She dreamed way back then of someday having a home on the peninsula.

That day finally came when Dawn and her husband, Cameron, decided to move with their three children from their house in the country north of Traverse City to Old Mission. Scouting homes for sale there, the couple toured one designed by architect John Kerridge. Dawn fell in love with it, but Cameron worried that the neighbors were too close.

The couple continued their real estate search, but this time looking for property with an eye to hiring Kerridge to design them a home similar to the one Dawn had loved.

When Coldwell Banker Realtor Kim Costanza showed the Fullers an undeveloped parcel on a hill overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay and Power Island—a view that would be accompanied by splendorous, near-nightly sunsets—they knew they’d found the place they wanted to call home. The first time

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the Fullers showed Kerridge their property he was as wowed as they were. But there was, he quickly realized, one issue: the top of the hill, where the Fullers naturally wanted their home, came to a virtual point. “There was about a 10-foot flat space where we could site the home,” says Kerridge.

Undaunted, Kerridge studied the topographic map carefully and determined that shaving 30 feet off of the hilltop would solve the problem. “Probably the biggest challenge with this building project was making sure we set that house properly to preserve the view,” Kerridge says.

And all that extra soil from excavating the hill? They could use it to build a long serpentine driveway to access the otherwise difficult-to-get-to site.

Kerridge went on to design a highly customized home for the

“PROBABLY THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH THIS BUILDING PROJECT WAS MAKING SURE WE SET THAT HOUSE PROPERLY TO PRESERVE THE VIEW.” -JOHN KERRIDGE

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Fullers based loosely on the original home of his design that they had toured. A pattern of hipped roofs—which give the two-story home a feeling of hugging the site—are topped by a crow’s nest lookout on the third level. The home’s marine-blue siding coupled with the crow’s nest work to give the house a subtle nautical feel—a relaxed Up North style that belies its complicated structure. “The lookout was a technical challenge—there’s a lot of steel in that house,” Kerridge says.

To execute what promised to be a complex building project, finding an experienced contractor was key. Kerridge recommended Paul Maurer General Contracting, one of the region’s most respected building firms. After meeting Ben Maurer, Paul’s son, who had recently purchased the company from his father, the Fullers hired the firm. Maurer might have appeared new at the helm, but in truth, he’d been working for his father since a young age—riding his bike to job sites before he could drive. By 2014, he was managing individual projects and within two years had taken over general management of all projects. “I still remember Ben’s first words to us,” Dawn recalls. “‘We would love to build your legacy dream home for you.’”

Maurer and his crew were ready for the challenges inherent in the construction of the Fuller house. As it turned out, they were also up to the challenges that Covid-19 presented. “Covid enveloping the world in the middle of construction was probably the biggest curveball with this project,” Maurer says. “But luckily, we have an adaptable staff.

We really enjoy challenges—forcing us to be better, smarter and more efficient every day.”

Beyond Kerridge and Maurer, the third team player in the production was Dawn Fuller herself.

Dawn’s mother was a gifted interior designer, and Dawn decided early on in the project she wanted to be involved in the interior design. She worked with Kerridge and Maurer on the minutiae of each design. A camaraderie developed between the three, with Kerridge and Maurer acting as sounding boards for Dawn’s ideas, as well as helping her source materials and products. “I always say to have a great project you need great clients,” says Kerridge.

The resulting home is splendid indeed. Dawn’s style, which has elements of relaxed glamour, is evident with the 19-foot-high marble-faced fireplace in the great room, the custom trim work, ionic columns, crystal light fixtures and a generous use of white. Bonuses in the home include a music room, a theater room and a luxurious Napa-style pool and hot tub. The home’s pièce de résistance is a moon-shaped terrace off the great room from where the

BONUSES IN THE HOME INCLUDE A MUSIC ROOM, A THEATER ROOM AND A LUXURIOUS NAPA-STYLE POOL AND HOT TUB.

Fullers take in the summer sunsets.

Now completed and filled with the buoyant Fuller family, the home exudes a joyous spirit—one for which Dawn is quick to give the credit due to Kerridge and Maurer, with whom the family has forged special bonds. “Our building process was a true pleasure,” she says. “We are grateful for the ‘new family’ we inherited from this project!”

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resources Architect John Kerridge 231.929.4240 Builder Paul Maurer General Contracting paulmaurer.com Landscaping Traverse Outdoor traverseoutdoor.com Built-ins / Custom Woodwork Paul Maurer General Contracting Wood Shop paulmaurer.com Countertops Stratus Marble & Granite stratusmarble.com

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Explore

Recent articles about life up north, trip planning information, upcoming Northern Michigan events, and more!

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Outdoor Living at its Finest

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house and home

BUILDING THE FAMILY HOME IS THERE A GREATER HONOR THAN TO BUILD A LEGACY HOME—FOR YOUR OWN FAMILY?

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS PHOTOS BY JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

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J

amie wilkins had just moved his family from downstate

to Traverse City, ready to go out on his own with his home-building company, Trillium Shore, when his parents asked him to build them a home on Mullett Lake, between the tiny town of Topinabee and the city of Cheboygan. The Wilkins family had vacationed on Mullett Lake since 1961 when Jamie’s grandparents retired there. Now it was his parents’ turn to retire to the lake.

While Jamie started out his career as a graphic designer, it didn’t take him long to realize he had building in his blood. His father had been a builder and Jamie sometimes accompanied him to look at jobs, which was always a learning experience. “I looked at building in all different stages and became familiar with the process,” Jamie says. His father, Kim, had a woodshop in the basement of the family home. “I built toys there; he built furniture pieces,” Jamie recalls.

“Dad was more left-brained and I am more rightbrained,” Jamie says. “He really enjoyed polishing the numbers. I prefer the design and physical hands-on nature of construction. Had our paths been more in sync we would have complimented each other well.” While father and son never got to work together on a professional basis, Kim was always on hand to offer advice as Jamie was building the Mullett Lake home—a fond memory for Jamie as his father recently passed on.

The property the senior Wilkins purchased on Mullett Lake is a sweet, wooded parcel known as Liberty Point.

The Wilkins wanted to honor the site with a homey, Up North design. The plan that their architect, Bloomfield Hills-based Ed Rinke, delivered is so charming that hikers, bikers and snowmobilers passing by often stop to say how much they like it. The core of the facade is clad completely in natural stone, while the rest is covered with cedar shingles painted a buttery cream shade. The NHC

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AS HIS PARENTS MIGHT SAY, YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF THE WOODSHOP, BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE THE WOODSHOP OUT OF THE BOY. adjoining garage is differentiated with a white board-and-batten siding—a look that makes it feel like an old-fashioned bunk house. Two tall, thin arched windows add to the home’s whimsical feel. “You could imagine that little elves live there,” Jamie’s mom, Mary Jean, says with a chuckle.

The back of the house is all about windows—a near wall of them that extends from the downstairs and garden level through the second floor. “The focal point of the home is the lake,” Mary Jean says of the 167 feet of frontage that is the family’s summer playground. Among the various watercrafts stored on the beach or bobbing in the water is a wooden boat that Jamie built.

The home’s interior floor plan speaks to what the Wilkins wanted for their senior years: a home where they could age in place, as well as space generous enough for their entire family—their two children and spouses and their six grandchildren— could gather for Mullett Lake vacations. Those goals are accomplished with a ground-floor master suite and en suite guest room, three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs and a bunk room. “Everybody has their space, even the dogs,” Mary Jean says. When they aren’t on the beach—rainy days and evenings— NHC

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the family congregates in the great room where a massive, floor-to-ceiling natural stone fireplace, handsome pine trim and built-ins (all fabricated by Jamie) and Mary Jean’s lovely traditional decor make the great room warm and inviting.

Working with just one friend who signed on to help, it took Jamie just over a year to build the home. The experience was invaluable for his growth as a builder. “It was my first full-on siding and trim job where I had a lot of control,” Jamie says. “I could really work through problems myself, not just do what someone was telling me,” he adds, citing building the coffered ceiling as an example. “Laying out where the lights go is never as straight-forward as it looks on the drawings.” Where the fireplace met the beams on the ceiling was another tricky spot that meant Jamie had to taper the width of the chimney to fit between the straight-angled beams.

Since building his parents’ home, Jamie has built Trillium Shore home by home (both new builds and renovations) into one of the most prestigious home building companies in Northern Michigan. Jamie specializes in a boutique approach, building custom pieces for his clients (furniture, architectural components including corbels and brackets and even wooden boats) in his side business, Wilkins CraftWorks. As his parents might say, you can take the boy out of the woodshop, but you can’t take the woodshop out of the boy.

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Total Commitment to Quality

resources Architect Ed Rinke Bloomfield Hills

More than 25 years of experience in building distinctive homes while exceeding the expectations of discriminating clients. jim@cooleycontracting.com

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