Springfield Beach House
Union Pier, Michigan
Summary: Renovation of an existing single family home.
Located in the resort community of Union Pier in Southwest Michigan, this 1970s-era home was owned by the same family for over forty years and was never updated. The home was handed over to the new owners in 2019 with its original 1970s wallcoverings, acoustic ceiling tiles, faux wood paneling, and powder blue/barn red exterior.
Aside from aesthetic updates, the owners’ goal was to transform the home into a vacation rental, which required the creation of larger communal spaces and increasing the number of bedrooms. 34-TEN proposed repurposing the existing garage into a family room and opening up to a rear yard through the use of a large- format sliding door. We also proposed the repurposing of the basement entertainment room into a master suite. Demising walls on the main floor between the existing kitchen, dining, and living rooms were removed to create a large open gathering space ideal for entertaining.
This plan revision created room for a custom dining table that can accommodate 12 people. Adjacent to the dining table, a new corner “greeting window” overlooking the street was introduced to allow guests to wave and welcome friends and family as they arrive for a long weekend. The tired exterior made way for new black cementitious siding and contrasting cedar siding.
The end result of the transformed and modernized Springfield Beach House hasn’t gone unnoticed, as it was booked for the entire summer within one month of being listed on the vacation rental market.