This home, on Walloon Lake, reflects the colors around it, both inside and out. It won first place in the Exterior Use of Color category. // Photography by Glass Lakes Photography
GATE/FENCE/WALL
1st Place: DesRosiers Architects
An elegant, authentic wrought iron gate provides a fitting welcome to this magnificent French Renaissance-style home. The 6-foot-high gates are supported by two substantial limestone piers with intricate LED lanterns. Truly a breathtaking example of what’s to come!
Judge’s Insights:
This minimal gate by Michael J. Dul with Desrosiers Architects offers a perfect low-profile approach to ensure zero obstructions.
— Judge Kayla Cooper
2nd Place: Michael J. Dul & Associates with DesRosiers Architects
3rd Place: Patricia Rhodes Consulting with Richard Hass
EXTERIOR USE OF STONE/TILE/CONCRETE
1st Place: DeRosiers Architects
All the arches in this French Renaissance-style home are adorned with double-stepped surrounds, and building corners are accented with stone pilasters and Corinthian caps. The two-tiered stone cornice is sculpted egg and draft filigree, with a decorative, continuous natural slate roof. The front entrance and rear great room facades are embellished with sculpted filigree ornamentation. Deep azure glass mosaic tiles adorn the secluded swimming pool.
2nd Place: Michael J. Dul & Associates
3rd Place: VanBrouck | Luxe Homes with Oliver Max Inc.
RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOL/SPA
1st Place: Marino’s Landscape
A backyard infinity pool makes you feel as though you’re overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The mass evergreen boxwood hedges help soften the ledge rock retaining walls, which set the stage for this backyard. The pool is positioned so the spa looks over the infinity edge and into the lake beyond. The west side of the pool has an invisible concrete/steel bunker to house the pool equipment.
2nd Place: Martini Samartino Design Group
3rd Place: DesRosiers Architects
DECK/PATIO/PORCH
1st Place: Marino’s Landscape
This patio features a fire pit and a dining space, and maintains privacy from the road. The space is fully equipped with the same comforts you’d find indoors: a custom stone fireplace, smart home lighting, music, an outdoor fire pit, a bar, and a flat-screen TV. The pool house, meanwhile, has everything you could dream of including a sauna/steam room, bathroom, brick pizza oven, and full kitchen.
2nd Place: North + Birch Interior Design with Weberman Construction
3rd Place: Michael J. Dul & Associates with DesRosiers Architects
OUTDOOR FIREPLACE
1st Place: Gary J. Gavulic – Architecture & Design, LLC
An outdoor fireplace is a key component of an expansive renovation of a 1980s California contemporary-style Ranch home. The dramatic brick-and-limestone feature joins visually and proximately to the kitchen and living areas, making it feel like an integral extension of those spaces. The allusion is reinforced by the long, horizontal form of the fireplace structure, hinting at an enclosing wall and bolstering the sense of a room-like retreat.
Judge’s Insights:
This is the perfect place (by Gary J. Gavulic — Architecture & Design, LLC) to relax and enjoy the beautiful outdoors!
— Judge Kayla Cooper
2nd Place: Glenda Meads Architects with Marianne Jones, LLC
3rd Place: M.J. Whelan Construction
RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN OVER ONE ACRE
1st Place: Marino’s Landscape
Using Old World charm such as teak wood, limestone, and exposed aggregate, the linear design offers views of the pool from every angle of the home. The geometrical European landscape has an unexpected twist — a touch of some Las Vegas resort-style landscaping — making the overall effect simple and complicated at the same time. Cut limestone masonry walls and clean-cut diamond concrete surround the pool.
2nd Place: Marino’s Landscape
3rd Place: Michael J. Dul & Associates
RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN UNDER ONE ACRE
1st Place: Patricia Rhodes Consulting with Richard Hass
This backyard space was almost completely unusable in its original condition. Five separate elevations had to relate to the architecture, and transition in a way that met municipal restrictions. The result is a backyard that’s perfect for outdoor entertainment, play space, a garden, and maintaining views of the wooded area. The beautiful forest-like backdrop, enhanced by extensive vertical lighting of the trees, creates a lovely evening ambiance.
2nd Place: Motor City Landscaping
3rd Place: Motor City Landscaping
EXTERIOR USE OF COLOR (PAINT, DOORS, SHUTTERS, ETC.)
1st Place: Cynthia Evans Interiors
The color of both Walloon Lake and the sky inspired the choice of color for this home’s exterior. The challenge was selecting a color that’s found in nature but wasn’t an earth tone. Mission accomplished!
Designers’ Goal:
To create a modern yet warm farmhouse exterior we featured black steel columns, a custom-fabricated black steel fascia wrap for the porch roof perimeter (with the underside shiplap panels painted black), and a black inset aluminum-framed glass entry system.
— PRM Custom Builders with Kirkshire Design Group
2nd Place: Angelini & Associates Architects with Johnson Brothers Construction Ann Arbor
