Certain moments in life feel like poetic turns of fate. Chicago couple Ashley and Evan Wayne felt this serendipity when they first approached a charming lakeside home in Michigan, warmly greeted by the owner lounging in a rocking chair he built himself. For sale, the humble split-level ranch had been a beloved retreat for the owner and his family. Its walls had witnessed many sunbaked summers and snowy holidays—the same bucolic memories the Waynes dreamed of creating for their own loved ones, especially their two little boys.
“We felt a little like he was passing it down to us,” says Ashley of being the chosen buyers among competing bids. Adds Evan, “He felt a connection to us. He wanted our kids to grow up here, too.” Key in hand, the couple recruited architects Lucas Goldbach and Mike Shively to add their own chapter to the home’s legacy.
The design partners envisioned the property, now fondly dubbed “Camp Wayne,” as a “slightly more contemporary take on a classic, cozy Michigan cottage,” Goldbach says. “The project really summed up a lot of things that we feel passionately about: creating a connection to place and bringing everyone together,” Shively adds.
Partnering with builder Juan Ramirez, their gut rehab and addition concentrated on streamlining the home’s relationship with the meadow and inland lake, taking inspiration from the all-American screened porch. To this end, they extended the main living area to provide that connection to nature. “We surrounded three sides of the perimeter with sliding glass doors. When you open them all up, the primary space becomes a porch,” Shively explains. Landscape designer Lani Woodruff then preserved the innate wildness of the surroundings with naturalistic flower beds of yarrow, coral bells and catmint as well as open stretches of lawn that melt into the meadow.
In other rooms, these verdant views are perfectly framed by quaint double-hung sash windows. “We wanted that analog, old-school quality to make sure the home felt rooted in traditional details,” Shively says. A new roof also allowed for vaulted ceilings in the main gathering area and bedrooms. “It brings in a lot of light and adds a sense of volume inside,” Goldbach notes.
Peeled open toward the landscape, the structure began to take on the natural qualities of the site. Green lap siding that blends into the tree line and locally sourced limestone clad the exterior, the latter visually seeping through the sliding glass walls to embellish the great room fireplace. Sleek black metal trim and window frames punctuate these materials, providing a bit of sharpness.
An earthy palette of fresh creams, mushroom taupes and forest greens permeates the interior finishes. Pale white oak floors run throughout, wire brushed to feel tactile underfoot. Custom millwork shifts from stone-gray V-groove wainscoting in the entry to deep green cabinetry in the pantry. Touches of frivolity personalize smaller spaces, like the powder room’s wildflower wallpaper that recalls the meadows outside and the toile wallcovering in the children’s bathroom, which, upon closer look, reveals an alien abduction scene.
The architects devised a layout that carefully accommodates spaces that encourage both social interaction and solitude. Furniture leans solid and comfortable, with postures that are “about cozying up together,” says Goldbach, pointing to pieces like the plush sectionals in both the basement lounge and great room, the expansive white oak dining table made with crowded Thanksgivings in mind, and the bespoke breakfast banquette with jaunty channel-tufted cushions.
The reformatted bedrooms each received a dedicated en suite. “Ashley and Evan wanted everyone to have their own sense of place when they come to visit,” Shively explains. Children fully command the bunk room, designed to accommodate as many visiting young cousins and friends as possible with beds tucked into the dormers and a bunk bed that reaches the rafters. Featuring classic Pendleton blankets, gingham linens and a complete set of the original Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys tomes, the little ones are cocooned in pure nostalgia. Meanwhile, the couple find refuge inside their own room, anchored by a custom upholstered bed positioned to enjoy serene mornings overlooking the lake.
Imbued with these lush comforts, the home now bears witness to more memories as the family discovers new delights with every changing season—from tubing across the lake on the Fourth of July to cuddling by the fire during dark winter nights. “It’s our happy place,” Evan shares. “It’s a really wonderful escape.”
