Michigan House Envy: Mackinac Island-inspired mansion revels in wrap-around porches

The image is pure Mackinac Island, a sprawling timber and cedar shake house by the lake its long, white wrap-around porch with pillars mirrored one floor up with another long, white wrap-around porch with pillars.

It kind of reminded us of the Grand Hotel, said the owner, not to mention the scores more Victorian homes and porches for which Mackinac Island is famous.

But step through the front door of this house and you find its 2001 strengths. You look straight ahead through wide open rooms to high ceilings, expanses of glass, the porch and the lake beyond.

Long sight lines, walls of windows and views of the lake are the defining theme inside this house. The accents are the big round rooms at each end. Theres not a room in this house thats dark, said the owner, and there are wonderful cross breezes.

The house, for sale at $1,299,999, is just west of Brighton between two lakes. Its shoreline is 192 feet on all-sports Clifford Lake, also called Round Lake. The houses street side looks out across the road toward East Crooked Lake.

The most-used rooms, the owner says, are the two large round rooms at each end of the house. On the west side that is the family room. It is two stories tall with a two-story stone fireplace, wrapped with two stories of tall windows. On the inside wall, theres a view through glass doors to the 800-bottle wine cellar.

The east side of the house is the kitchen. Toward the lake, the round end holds the breakfast nook. From there, the kitchen extends across the depth of the house until the sink faces the street-side view, which includes a view of the other side of the lake. Its a relaxed country kitchen with white painted cabinets and vintage-style drawer pulls. The appliances are Sub-Zero, Kitchenaid, Bosch.

Three of the four bedrooms are round rooms with round walls and windows. The exception is the owners suite, where its the bathroom that got the round wall. All of the bedrooms are suites with their own full bath. Two have extra-large showers with multiple shower heads. Like a car wash, the owner said.

The layout takes an explanation. Technically, this would be called a two-story house plus a lower-level walkout. But the bottom floor the walkout stands on its own, about three-quarters free from enclosing earth, so the real-life effect is a three-story house. That makes it logical to count all three floors, 6,800 square feet, as its size, although legally you dont. The two-story family room and one bedroom suite are both located on the bottom floor.

Other assets of the house include:

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Michigan House Envy: Mackinac Island-inspired mansion revels in wrap-around porches