“A hidden gem” is how homeowner Martine Ilana describes her quad-level contemporary home on Oakland County’s Sodon Lake. “The (homeowner) who lived here for 30 years passed away (in 2017), and basically it was just sitting here,” she says.
It was a gem that definitely needed polishing, however. Built in 1955, with a 1960 addition, the 5,200-square-foot home had been empty and abandoned for more than three years when Ilana and her husband, Chad Howard, came across it.
The couple and their two children had looked at many other options before finding the five-bedroom, 3.5-bath Mid-century residence. “We wanted something that was fresh, clean, and modern, with an artistic sense to it,” she explains. “We knew we wanted to renovate.”
They were lucky enough to find the blueprints for the original structure and the addition during the initial demolition. Both are now displayed on the wall in the living room. Later changes included a “teeny 1980s kitchen,” but the majority of the house was intact and ripe for a redo. “Basically, we kept the same footprint and adjusted the walls and touched every surface, inside and out,” Ilana explains.
Top of the list: a color change. “Everything was brown,” Ilana remembers. “We wanted to lift the house up with color.” They also needed to fix rotted ceilings and broken doors and, overall, to “breathe life back into the space,” she says. Outside, plans included covering the original dark brick with a lighter, synthetic stucco.
The challenge was that they had limited time to complete the project before needing to move from their temporary rental home. The couple bought the house in October of 2020 and moved in a year later. “It was crazy,” Ilana says of the quick turnaround. “We had 50 people here every day.” That included architect David Iannuzzi, of Detroit’s Iannuzzi Studio, and Livonia builder Eric Masters. Ilana says both were integral to the project’s success.
“A typical tired Mid-century Modern house” is how Iannuzzi remembers the before, “but you could tell it had amazing bones. Martine fell in love with the house and, like us, she had the ability to visualize its potential.”
The house had sat on the market for a few reasons, Iannuzzi says: It needed an extensive renovation, it has a lot of different elevations, and the walk-out has a steep slope. “Not everyone liked how quirky it was on the inside,” he adds.
BOLD DETAILS – Bottom: The kitchen’s blue tile is among Ilana’s favorite details and can be seen from the living room, where the home’s original blueprints hang.
Lucky for the house, Ilana did, and she was willing to undertake ambitious alterations. Her vision and decisiveness made the quick turnaround possible, Iannuzzi says. “She was very willing to commit to a concept and not go backward. The challenge for us was distilling Martine’s hopes and dreams and vision for this house and making it come to life.” Masters agrees that the timeline was the biggest challenge, and he also credits Ilana. “She was very involved throughout. Most people don’t share our passion for construction,” he says.
An industrial and interior designer and owner of Temescal Creative, a sustainable design agency, Ilana had remodeled commercial spaces, but the house was her first residential project. She drew inspiration from the West Coast style and architecture, and the home’s natural surroundings.
“I have an arts and crafts background and wanted to focus on handmade and carefully selected (items),” she explains, adding, “I really wanted it to feel calm.” She also wanted an open and light-filled floor plan, and for the house to have a smooth flow and not feel compartmentalized.
Born in the Midwest, Ilana lived in Bloomfield, and later moved all over the country before ending up in California. Returning to Michigan wasn’t in the plans until Howard and Ilana both had great professional opportunities arise locally. Howard is also from Michigan, and eventually the family decided they wanted to give their twins the kind of childhood they had enjoyed.
When they were searching for their family home, Ilana had two criteria: it had to be by water, and it had to be near Cranbrook, her alma mater.
She was shocked to find that no one had made an offer on the property, which she described as really peaceful, private, and beautiful. “The idea of so much space was appealing, especially after years in the big city,” she says.
While she remembers it as “an intense undertaking,” Ilana wasn’t intimidated by the amount of work the house needed. “I wanted to challenge myself creatively and see if I could do it,” she explains. Iannuzzi handled the architecture and she did the interior design, furnishing the home with things she had acquired through her many travels, including hand-painted lockers in the lower-level playroom. “All the things I’d collected over the years finally had a place,” she says.
Ilana was mindful of not over-decorating, and using minimal artwork and a clean palette. “I wanted nature to be the artwork,” she says of the surrounding vistas of the lake and trees, seen through the home’s expansive picture windows. Sustainable design was also critical to the renovation. That included covering the original brick with EFIS, an exterior insulation and finish system, replacing decaying wood siding with a custom rain screen of unfinished cedar that provides passive cooling and ventilation while being rot-resistant, adding a recyclable standing seam metal roof, and using low-maintenance natural materials and no-VOC finishes throughout.
Two years after moving in, it’s hard for Ilana to list her favorite parts. She loves the blue glass tile in the renovated kitchen, which mimics the ocean and is inspired by years spent living in Venice Beach. “I’m never going to get sick of it,” she says. She also loves the mural on the side of the house, made from hand-picked Italian tile, and she loves her kids’ bath, which features her “favorite tile ever” (handmade in Portugal) as well as vintage IKEA wall art.
She’s also fond of the spacious primary bathroom, transformed from a brown and travertine “dark dungeon” into a light-filled space that features hand-picked cedar in the sauna (the same material featured in slats behind her bed and throughout the house, she points out), a marble vanity, and a soaking tub.
Ilana says she kept at least one thing from the former owners. “The woman who lived here was a master gardener,” she says of the lot’s picturesque woodland garden. “I’ve learned a lot about gardening.” New treehouses built from salvaged materials look out over the peaceful, non-motorized lake.
Ilana readily admits that at first it was hard to return to Michigan. “I had a tough time when I moved back, but I loved the idea of building something that could feel transformative when you walked in,” she says. “The house grounded us.” Overall, she’s been happy with the move. “This house changed my experience with Michigan in a good way,” she explains. “I love it here.”
BUYER’S GUIDE
ARCHITECT
David Iannuzzi, Iannuzzi Studio, Detroit, iannuzzistudio.com
INTERIOR DESIGNER
Martine Ilana, Temescal Creative, Franklin, temescalcreative.com
BATHROOM, PRIMARY
Bathtub – Oceana, Advanced Plumbing and Heating Supply Co., Walled Lake
Countertop – Marble, Ciot, Hard Rock Stone Works, Sterling Heights
Door, Shower – Custom, lannuzzi Studio and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, Diaek Glass
Faucet, Sink – Kintsu, Brizo, Advanced Plumbing and Heating Supply Co., Walled Lake
Fixtures, Bathtub and Shower – Kintsu, Brizo, Advanced Plumbing and Heating Supply Co., Walled Lake
Flooring – Porcelain Tiles, Floors & Decor
Mirror – Triple A Glass
Sauna Room – Custom, lannuzzi Studio, Detroit and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Vanity – Cabinetry, UltraCraft, Kurtis Kitchen & Bath, Livonia; Hardware, Rejuvenation; Lighting, Shades of Light
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
BEDROOM, PRIMARY
Bedding – Parachute Home
Mirrors – Custom, Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Nightstands – Crate & Barrel
Sconce – Vega Light
Wall Art, Bedside – Handcrafted, Circle Painting from Mexico of Family Dog
Wallcovering (Wood) – Custom, lannuzzi Studio and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
DINING ROOM
Chairs, Dining – Eames Molded Plastic Chairs, Design Within Reach
Chair, Side – Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Design Within Reach
Flooring – White Oak
Lighting – Bloom Loft Lighting
Table – Emmerson Reclaimed Wood Rectangle Dining Table, West Elm
Table, Side – Glas Italia Shimmer Side Table, Design Within Reach
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
FOYER
Chandelier – 14 Pendant Chandelier, Bocci
Door – Original, ‘50s Mahogany
Rail, Glass – Custom, lannuzzi Studio and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Railing – Custom, lannuzzi Studio and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, Triple A Glass
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
KITCHEN
Art (Above Table) – Painting, Martine Ilana
Backsplash – Glass Tiles, Ocean Blue, Floor & Decor
Cabinetry – UltraCraft, Kurtis Kitchen & Bath, Livonia
Chairs – Eames Molded Plastic Chairs, Design Within Reach
Countertops – Ciot, Hard Rock Stone Works, Sterling Heights
Flooring – White Oak
Light (Above Table) – CB2
Refrigerator – Sub-Zero
Stove – Wolf, Witbeck Home Appliance Mart, West Bloomfield
Table – Tulip Table, Eero Saarinen
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
LAUNDRY ROOM
Backsplash – Custom, Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia; Material, LiLi Cement Tiles
Cabinetry – UltraCraft, Kurtis Kitchen & Bath, Livonia
Countertops – Ciot, Hard Rock Stone Works, Sterling Heights
Faucet – Chrome, Brizo, Advanced Plumbing and Heating Supply Co., Walled Lake
LIVING ROOM
Ceiling Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
Flooring – Original, ‘50s Wood Flooring
Rug – Color Block, HAY, A+R
Rug, Sofa – Handwoven Jute Rug
Sofa – Roma Sectional Sofa
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
Windows – Pella Windows & Doors
LIVING ROOM, LOWER LEVEL
Bookshelf – Custom, Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Flooring (Cement) – Poured Concrete; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Flooring (Wood) – Oak, Refinished
Light, Ceiling – Estrella Lighting
Pillow – Mudcloth Pillow, Cream, ElleSEAshoppe
Rug – West Elm and IKEA
Sofa – Strato Leather Sofa, CB2
Throw – Mungo
Wall Art – Custom, 1955 Blueprints; Designer, Temescal Creative
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
PLAYROOM
Cabinetry – Custom, Multi Color Storage; Designer, Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
Chairs, Counter – Tolix Bar Stools, White
Flooring (Gray) – Karastan Clare Carpet, Light Grey, Riemer Floors, Bloomfield Hills
Flooring (Hex) – Porcelain, Floor & Decor
Mural – Beach and Sun, Pearl Walls, Etsy
Table, Play – Crate & Kids
Wall Paint – Sherwin-Williams, Pure White
EXTERIOR
Mural, Tile – Living Ceramics
Siding (White) – Synthetic Stucco, EIFS
Siding (Wood) – Custom, Milled, Vertical Grain Cedar Rain Screen; Designer, lannuzzi Studio and Temescal Creative; Fabricator, GC Masters, Livonia
ADDITIONAL PROJECT CONTRIBUTOR
Builder – Eric Masters, GC Masters, Livonia
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