Inside a Sanctuary-Like Home on Elk Lake with Good Energy

This article first appeared in Traverse Northern Michigan. Find this story and more when you explore our magazine library. Want Traverse delivered to your door or inbox monthly? View our print subscription and digital subscription options.

When the pandemic prompted Tim Hibbard and Susan Masserang to ditch San Francisco for a more relaxed life in Michigan, their summer home on Elk Lake waited with open arms. The oak-strewn site felt like terra firma—solid ground to grow old on.

They’d enjoyed the home for years, and Masserang, who grew up in Elk Rapids, had family nearby. But aesthetically, the squat, 1960s-era ranch was a quantum leap backward from the California-contemporary, architect-designed bungalow they’d left behind. It also came with a leaky basement, rotting timbers and windows that needed to be replaced. What’s more, their two sons, now teenagers, had outgrown the small second bedroom. And the dining room had a wall that blocked views over the backyard and Elk Lake. (“Why, just, why?” architecturally minded Hibbard would find himself grumping during mealtimes.)

The to-do list went on and on. “It was like, do we try to fix it all? Or just open up the design and rethink it?” Hibbard says. “We realized that we needed to make it the house we wanted it to be.”

Enter Ray Kendra, principal architect at Traverse City–based Environment Architects, a firm with a design-forward point-of-view that the couple shared. The trio agreed that the existing home would be demolished; using the original foundation, they would build something with the clean lines and open, airy spaces that modern homes are known for. “We wanted it to feel very calm,” Masserang explains. Also on the wish list: a separate guesthouse/office for Hibbard, who works from home as a mechanical engineer.

To create the guest/office space, the team had to work within local zoning regulations, which dictated that any new structures had to be attached to the home. So, Kendra came up with a creative solution: a walkway, built using free-span steel beams topped by a roof made of solar panels, that connects the house to the guesthouse. Now, Hibbard repairs each day to his separate office, which doubles as a guest bedroom thanks to a folding wall that hides a bed.

That was just the beginning of turning a very average Michigan ranch into a modern gem. Hibbard envisioned a sort of “glass box” on the lake side of the house, and he used his engineering background to work closely with Kendra and the builders, creating what they now call the “seasons room.” Its front and back walls are made of vast sliding doors that can be opened or left shut.

Next up: A second floor was added for the boys’ bedrooms. Kendra put the new story over only part of the house to keep the facade from appearing too imposing, which would be out of place among the small-ish homes of the neighborhood. This also had the advantage of allowing a higher ceiling in the kitchen/dining room, where Kendra added a long, horizontal clerestory window. “It picks up the beauty of the trees and leaves, and becomes like a piece of art.”

Allowing nature in, plus the use of consistent materials throughout—white oak floors, custom cabinetry with low-profile hardware—deliver that sense of calm the family craved. “We’ve had people come in and remark, ‘Wow, this house has really good energy,’” Kendra says. “It’s nice that others feel that, not just us.”

Excavating
Mel’s Excavating

Mirrors & Shower
TC Mirror & Showerdoor

Fireplace & Hearth
Hard Topix

Flooring
Harbor Flooring

Cabinets & Built-Ins
Woodbine

Roofing
BRD Construction

Landscaping
Flaska Landscaping LLC

Tile
Tile Craft Inc.

Drywall
Surfaces Inc.

Garage Doors
Garage Doors Done Right

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