We’re just blown away by how great the slate looks against the white ash and the stone fireplace.

The stairs leading up and down are actually steel. You can see the outlines drawn on the wall where they measured up everything.

Chris does AMAZING work with concrete!! These countertops are simply incredible!

Chris placed Petoskey Stones throughout the concrete mix. This is the largest stone and one that his daughter, Emma, found on Torch Lake.

The tub in the master bathroom. The river stone accent is also the floor in the shower.

This is the shower, my favorite part of the bathroom.

Exterior is looking as good as the interior! The red board and batten siding is really pulling together the barn look we wanted.

Although rarely used, that AC unit is going to be a lifesaver in August! : )

A view from Bittersweet Lane. This is to illustrate to Rhonda that my current snowblower won’t be enough to tackle this job in the winter! Everyone agrees, right?? : )

Rather than making things easier, this approach has caused some confusion on where to find updates, photos, etc. It has also caused *me* confusion as I can’t keep track of where I have uploaded photos or who I told to look where. I am flattered and honored that so many people are interested in the progress so I am going to simply post all future updates here on the blog. I may go back and provide updates on how the old cottage looked and the demolition process but for now, I will just post current photos.

This is the view as you are pulling in the driveway. We moved everything closer to the lake. The old garage used to sit close to where the well is now located on the left side of this photo.

The view from the lake. We have a walkout basement, a covered porch and the third level is the master suite.

This is the fireplace in the living room. It is wood burning and will be able to heat the entire house. This is my favorite part of the house!

This is the ceiling on the main level. The beams are white ash that we purchased and had milled just for this house. We bought the trees around 3 years ago just ahead of the ash borer problem hitting the area. Local trees, local sawmill. The ceiling is also the floor on the third level. We didn’t have enough White Ash so we used 2.5″ pine.

The iron hangers and bolts are sourced from a local blacksmith/welder. Custom made for this house.

We have concrete counter tops in the kitchen. Chris, our builder, still has some grinding/polishing to do but love how they look!

We placed a bunch of Petoskey Stones in the concrete. This photo gives you an idea of how they will look when polished and sealed.

This is our bedroom on the third level of the house. The ceiling is close to 20′ and the ridge beam is 12″x18″.

This is the hallway from our bedroom to the bathroom. Walk-in closets on each side.