Inside a Modern Lake Home

A talented young designer helps create a modern, minimalist and sublime Lake Michigan home for his parents. 

Camp MINOH, the name for the Heathfield family retreat, is tucked into a sublime stretch of sandy Lake Michigan shoreline north of Charlevoix. The property is peppered with birch and pine and not far away a Wyeth-esque barn, its timbers scorched by a past fire, is a reminder of the area’s rural roots. Those features helped inform Camp MINOH’s design—but only after they’d filtered through the inspired imagination of the young designer (now a licensed architect) who was integral to the design team, Andrew Heathfield.

Andrew, fresh out of University of Michigan’s architecture school, was working in Portland, Oregon, for the prestigious firm William Kaven Architecture when his parents, Dennis and Lori Heathfield, were ready to build on the property they’d owned for several years. Knowing that they would have the best of both worlds—intimate communication with their son and a shared family vision for their Northern Michigan home, coupled with the experience of William Kaven Architecture—the Heathfields hired the firm to design their home.

The Heathfield’s short wish list for their home included Dennis’ desire for the home to echo the nearby charred old barn with its fieldstone foundation and the site’s birch trees. Lori was hoping for a sleek and efficient kitchen. And both parents wanted a low-maintenance home that would stand up to rugged Northern Michigan winters, as well as a view of Lake Michigan from every room. Andrew’s own muses—shared by the William Kaven design team—included the concrete-and-light inspired designs of Japanese architect Tadao Ando and the monolithic-style of Louis Kahn.

The finished home feels planted in its native dune grass and birch-tree site, while making a bold though quiet statement from the winding drive that leads to its entrance. The exterior is an elemental mix of concrete and cypress-cladding that has been charred using the ancient Japanese technique of shou sugi ban—materials that riff on the silvery-black tones of birch, the burned timber of the old barn, and that can also withstand the heavy winds off of Lake Michigan.

Polished-concrete floors and a mix of concrete and white-painted drywall in the main living area ensures nothing interrupts the lake view from the banks of floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond the ever-changing hues from the lake, the room is warmed by a light-stained fir ceiling with exposed beams, by a blackened steel fireplace facade and rich-toned, continuous grain, black walnut cabinetry.