Force of Nature

When redesigning a home on Green Lake, an architect made the most of the water and forest //photography by Sally Matak

Two decades ago, Charles Heid, 20 at the time, was fixing up old houses and working for a West Bloomfield-based painting company. He eventually became friends with the company’s owner, also in his early 20s. Fast-forward to 2021, and Heid got a call from his old friend/boss. “I know you’re an architect now,” said the friend, “and I have a house that needs you.” Heid, who owns architectural firm HEID Architects, based in Birmingham, was happy to check out his friend’s 4,600-square-foot home.

Custom-Made Modernity
 Designer Kimberly Steiner, of Royal Oak-based DIAGRAM, oversaw “the restoration of a collection of vintage Knoll Bertoia pieces inherited by our clients,” architect Charles Heid says. The chair and ottoman were then upholstered in a neon Knoll Textiles fabric. Opposite page: To update the 1980s-built home, Heid applied decorative fins to the exterior window bays.

Situated on 5 acres on Green Lake in West Bloomfield, the 1980 house, complete with an apple orchard, was clothed in an outdated design but had a beautiful, heavily forested lot. Indoors, the post-modern spaces were “cut up or partitioned, and small,” Heid recalls. “The home’s layout wasn’t functional.”

Culinary Cool
 A sleek Gaggenau hood over the island overlooks the lake beyond.

Location-wise, the property was perfect for Heid’s clients and their three young children. The owner, in fact, had grown up on the lake, and his parents live next door in his childhood home.

Among the Trees
The home’s front door is accessed by walking across a long bridge that leads to the third floor (main level) of the home.


“Being connected with nature in your living space really does improve how you feel, rest, and rejuvenate.”— Charles Heid


Without structurally changing the footprint of the house, Heid set to work on several layouts. His background includes stints at notable firms including Frank Gehry’s offices in Los Angeles; Behnisch Architekten in Venice, Calif.; Montalba in Santa Monica, Calif.; and McIntosh Poris Associates in metro Detroit. He holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California Los Angeles and an undergraduate degree in architectural studies from the University of Illinois Chicago.

All the custom woodwork and cabinetry were designed by Heid.

With that resume and his passion for southern California’s contemporary design, Heid was the perfect man for the job. One of the homeowners’ overarching goals was tying the home to nature. “Being connected with nature in your living space really does improve how you feel, rest, and rejuvenate,” Heid says. Committed to that theory, he focused on natural materials and outdoor views.

Heid worked with longtime friend Mark Pytiak, of West Bloomfield-based Pytiak Design Build, while the landscaping design and construction were overseen by Pontiac-based Zaremba and Co. “(Patrick) Zaremba and his team carried the design of the house into the surrounding property. The stone pathway and retaining features align with the lines of the home, while the native plantings provide the perfect softened exposure to the home’s warm tones and expansive glass areas,” Heid says.

Native Plantings
Heid collaborated with Zaremba and Co. on the property’s stunning landscape design.

The skin of the home was completely redone using contemporary materials and windows,” Heid adds, noting that the exterior was updated with new Eastern white cedar shingles.
Trim and accent details in white oak — including decorative fins that were applied to the exterior between each window bay, defining the windows — add panache. “They bring in warm tones and tie in with the vertical nature of all the trees,” Heid says. All of the windows were replaced with full-height, fixed-pane glass (with no muntin bars) so that all you see are the views of the lake and woods.

Outdoor Connection
The evergreen tiles that frame the fireplace both in the kitchen and the living room were inspired by the forest outside.

The front door is accessed by walking across a long bridge that leads to the third floor (main level) of the home. “The far end of the house is the highest point, so we created an outdoor porch/balcony there. It has the best views of the trees, and you can open the doors (Fleetwood, premium wing doors with an aluminum frame) to let the air come in,” Heid says.

Since roof trusses span the width of the home, the kitchen, great room, and dining room walls were able to be removed. “We didn’t need supporting walls,” Heid explains. Making the most of that open flow, the homeowners wanted a wood-burning grill in the great room and in the kitchen. Those two items required new structural lumber and became “the bookends, anchoring the third (main) floor,” he says.

Must-Have Detail
The fireplaces in the great room (below) and in the kitchen required new structural lumber, but became the anchors of the main floor.

“I’m proud that we were able to work that grill station into the kitchen. Not many have a wood-burning fireplace that you cook on, with its own chimney,” Heid says. “That kitchen was a labor of love.” With evergreen ceramic tile and gray soapstone countertops, the kitchen sings with beauty.

Out of the Woods
Eastern white cedar shingles were applied to the exterior of the home.

The homeowner and his family now embrace the home’s flow. “Charlie translated what we thought we wanted into what we actually wanted but couldn’t articulate,” the homeowner says. “His attention to detail, thoughtful suggestions, and guidance helped transform the home into a place we’ll love forever.”

Contemporary yet timeless wood accents define the home, as seen here in the sunporch.

All the custom woodwork and cabinetry were designed by Heid. Growing up around lumber, it’s no wonder he was focused on the best in wood materials for the overhaul. His grandfather started Wallich Lumber Co. in Detroit in the 1950s, and eventually Heid’s father ran the company. In fact, nothing but custom white oak would do for the home’s main staircase, installed by Classic Woodworks of Lapeer County.

The great room’s bookshelf was constructed of vertical-grain, rift-sawn white oak, and was custom-built to give the owners storage for their record player and other decorative items. Its style parallels the verticality found on the stair screen.

Natural Artistry
Above: From the native plantings to the choice of materials used, the home’s connection to the outdoors is evident throughout.

Heid brought in designer Kimberly Steiner, of Royal Oak-based DIAGRAM, to select interior furnishings and accents that echo the entire home’s vernacular. Take, for example, the restored vintage Knoll Bertoia pieces inherited by the clients. Selecting a hot pink wool fabric from Knoll Textiles, Steiner made the pieces pop in the great room. Complementing them is a vintage Persian rug in cranberry, cobalt, orange, and pink. Also of special note is a custom dining room table that the homeowners commissioned to be made from a walnut tree that once was on their property.

This custom dining room table’s “leg detailing and motif is inspired by the paired wood fins that we designed for the outside of the house,” Heid says.

“I got spoiled on this project; I got to do everything I love,” Heid says. “I really hope it’s their dream home. It’s definitely mine.”
Undoubtedly, it is. Says the homeowner: “We get to see our kids grow up and thrive on a lake, on a piece of property that can host all their imaginations. The home is now a place that highlights the landscapes around it — the lake to the west and the forest to the east. And in every room, you get to engage with that nature in a setting that’s designed so well to facilitate it.”