Special to the Detroit Free Press This house was a passion project for the late wife of a couple who built it 20 years ago on the shore of Upper Long Lake. It was three years in the design stage, two years in the building stage.
Early in its elaborate construction the frustrated contractor quit. The wife took over and finished the house, finding subcontractors and artisans for the next couple years. Among her sources of inspiration, said the couple’s son, was the Palace of Versailles.
“She loved the French style,” he said.
In a tough competition for the most arresting space, the main powder room stands out.
Floor-to-ceiling, all four walls are painted with a pleasing lake scene that encloses the viewer. Water lilies float in the realistic water; small fields of crops are on the land behind. At the edge of the water a lake house is reflected in darker colors.
A Florida artist lived here for a month, the couple’s son said, while he painted this room.
For sheer lavish effect turn to the marble entry foyer. The entry doors are carved with designs both outside and in. They are set into the middle of three arching windows that stand two stories tall.
Open the doors and you see a curving twin staircase coming down each side. At the second floor a long balcony connects them.
A sinuous design of vines and flowers forms the wrought-iron balustrades with long curved-wood railings on top. These were a special project, the son said. Each of the three railings is one long shaft of wood, specially bent for these spots.
There’s more. Look above the second floor and you’ll see the ceiling cut away into a dome. It’s painted with blue sky and clouds. Above this scene a skylight lets the sun pour in.
Next to this entry foyer a regal office rises two stories high. Elaborate paneling and bookcases, made from carved cherry, form both levels and the spiral staircase between.
The office focal point is a two-story wall where fluted, Corinthian-style cherry pillars and cherry carvings enclose a green marble fireplace. Over it hangs a gold-leafed medallion of a classical soldier — one of the Versailles details.
A handsome detail, also found at Versailles comes from the French moldings that dress up formal walls. These are lengths of trim built into squares or rectangles applied to the vertical surface.At Versailles, paintings are usually set into these frames, although not at this house. The French moldings are especially prominent in the living room — a grid of foot-wide white stripes, topped at the ceiling with two feet of crown molding.This living room is very fine, with a long view up to the balcony and a carved arch beyond it.Another handsome room is the sunroom, an octagon. It’s surrounded by arched windows and has a ceiling octagon made out of skylights. A marble medallion is in the center of its floor.It’s part of a grouping of rooms all open to each other. They are the kitchen, the family room, the breakfast […]
