If you could illuminate your home with cascading fragments of prismatic light, why wouldn’t you? Stained glass windows aren’t just for cathedrals anymore! Glasswork adds a classic flair to interior design and becomes a conversation piece, but most importantly, it is a novel home element that cannot be replicated. A great deal of craftsmanship went into the ornate details of old houses, and perhaps it’s time we brought that practice back.
To the uninitiated, a museum dedicated to displaying miniature works might conjure up ideas of doll houses, antiquated toys, and travel trinkets. Instead, the Midwest Miniatures Museum is home to innumerable, interesting exhibits, all exquisitely crafted and replicated in every detail.
“It was a total whim.” That’s how homeowner Pete Sims describes finding the perfect location for his lakefront home. “I found the lot on Zillow while randomly searching waterfront properties,” Sims said. “I found this development and drove up there one day and saw the lot we built on. When my wife Jan came home from work that evening, I told her, ‘Honey, we have to go for a drive.’ She thought I was crazy,” Sims said with a laugh. But after one look, Jan was convinced. “She got out of the car, and her jaw dropped.”
Enjoying the waterfront lifestyle along the shore of Mona Lake in Norton Shores is what this family of four relishes. Everything an all-sports lake and Lake Michigan can offer is within reach of the 4,900-square-foot multilevel home. It is one of the latest award-winning projects by luxury home builder 56 West Homes & Design, LLC.
When Beryl and Eric Bartkus’s autistic daughter, Erin, was getting close to aging out of her public school program, they wanted to help her find purpose in her life.
Since 2003, Our Kitchen Table has empowered families in four Grand Rapids neighborhoods ― Garfield Park, Southtown, Eastown, and Baxter ― to grow their own food.
“You need to design a house that works with the land,” Harner said. “Trying to put a house on a lot that doesn’t fit or isn’t suitable for the topography doesn’t always turn out well. Sometimes, you have to modify the house to fit the lot better, and you get an overall better project.
Inside the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum, guests are delighted to find two colorful floors brimming with hands-on interactive exhibits and daily drop-in programs that encourage discovery and learning through play.
In 2004, a gainfully employed engineer with two small children decided to do something surprising. Ward Gahan quit his steady job and opened a retail shop called Biddy Murphy in South Haven, selling authentic Irish goods and gifts.
Sloping English gardens, Eastern pines, birch, and sugar maples create the perfect landscape for this charming lakefront home on Spring Lake. For award-winning builder David Morren, owner of Insignia Homes, creating the sprawling home on one of Michigan’s most popular all-sports lakes was the perfect project for his talented team.
