Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Robb Report
This Modern Lodge in Northern Wisconsin Is a Fresh Take on a Camp-Themed Lake House
By Emma Reynolds,
1 day ago
The northwoods of Wisconsin, with its dense thickets of pine forests, rushing rivers, summer camp -style cabins, hundreds of freshwater lakes, and supper clubs, has long been a year-round quiet and rural respite for Midwesterners —particularly Wisconsinites and Chicagoans. This area of the state is also associated with A-frame, log cabin-style homes and architecture with oversized windows and wraparound porches. Having grown up in Wisconsin, designer Amy Carman knows this better than most.
So when she was approached by a Chicago-based family to craft a guest lodge for the couple and their grown children, she eschewed the classic pine log style in favor of something chic and modern yet with a rustic sensibility. She worked alongside Vetter Architects and with the couple to create a dream home on White Sand Lake in Lac Du Flambeau, where they had been visiting for decades. With the family’s strong connection to the Great Lakes in mind, the result is a home that is set up for multi-generational family use that one day their children and grandchildren can enjoy.
The main living area is overlooked by a lofted library lounge.
Dubbed Camp Spirit Lake, the home is perched on a bluff overlooking the lake and has a lengthy horizontal footprint measuring 180 feet long. Within the 7,915-square-foot home are four bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and one powder room, along with a bunch of fun camp-like amenities for both kids and adults.
“They wanted it to be a modern house with modern architecture, but we wanted it to feel connected to the area,” Amy Carman tells Robb Report. “Sometimes modern houses, while beautifully done, don’t necessarily have materials that give you that sense of place. Northern Wisconsin cabins are often with pine logs, knotty pine walls, and green windows. For this property, we acknowledged that aesthetic in a different way.”
Make no mistake, the home is indeed indicative of its northwoods location, material-wise, but with slight adjustments. The home’s masonry exterior is a nod to stone silos and barn foundations found throughout Wisconsin, while warm rift-sawn white oak pays homage to log cabins, albeit in a more modern way.
“The rift-sawn white oak has a more linear pattern but a really beautiful golden caramel tone to it,” she says. “That was really important to have, not just underfoot on the floors, but down the hallways and in the guest bedrooms. Because the home is so long, you don’t want it to feel like a tunnel, and using the wood in a thoughtful way helps add warmth into the home.”
The clean-lined kitchen’s white oak cabinets are offset with jet black accents and counter tops.
Enclosed in walls of glass with a blackened steel frame, and wood and stone elements inside and out, the home blends into the landscape by day and glows by night. There’s plenty of metal work, which connects to the owner’s work as a metalworker and sculptor. For example, there are cabinet doors made of steel and zinc countertops in the lower level bar area.
The open-plan main living space is the heart of the home, with giant windows and sliding glass doors, a contemporary seating area, and a grand floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace that matches the stone on the exterior. There are soaring double-height ceilings and a slanted roof that gives an interesting visual element. This area also hosts the large dining table and a sleek kitchen with stone backsplashes and an island snack bar. The couple also happen to be art collectors, and Carman designed the living room around a large-format, textile-like sculpture hanging above a built-in credenza. Upstairs, there is a lofted library with perfectly framed views of the lake and, hidden behind a sliding bookcase, a secret room the homeowners call “the Navigator’s Room.” It’s lined with custom maps of Wisconsin, a small desk, and a vintage radio station.
“The architect insisted on keeping the roof line and the overall height of the structure,” she says. “But in that loft, there was a point where you ran out of headroom. What we decided to do so it wasn’t an awkward space is we created this sleek, modern floating white oak bookcase. But when you pull on one of those shelves, you can pull the entire wall over to the right, and it opens up to this secret hideout for kids.”
The lower level entertainment area has a bar and bowling alley.
The three identical guest rooms are designed like a boutique hotel, with a small seating area and a built-in desk, a deluxe bathroom, and a private walk-out to the lake.
Finally, the lower level is dedicated to entertainment, with a two-lane bowling alley, a bar, an arcade, and a lounge area with custom leather sofas and hand-stitched leather hardware. Behind the perforated metal doors in the cabinets behind the bar are precious family objects, trophies, and other personal memorabilia. Because this level is fully underground, the owner installed a full-size movie screen that live streams the happenings of the lake. Not only does it serve as a kind of window, but movies and shows can be streamed on it as well. The bathroom on this level features another of the property’s many charming and bespoke elements, a custom mosaic that says “Camp Spirit Lake” that was designed by a local Milwaukee-based artist. The logo has been reprinted on flags, markers, and objects throughout the property.
Outside, there’s a staircase leading down to the boat house, which is used as storage for water toys, and a lengthy dock that stretches out onto the lake. Though Wisconsin is preferable in the summertime, the home is designed for year-round fun.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0