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We Can Dream: Architect’s Lakeside Compound Draws a Crowd
An architect rebuilds 3 historic cabins in northern Wisconsin as a vacation retreat for family and friends
When architect Wade Weissmann was a child, his family rented cottages on Star Lake in northern Wisconsin. These cottages were small with no running water and no bathrooms; “You bathed in the lake,” recalls the architect. He continued renting as an adult, always keeping an eye out for available land around the 1,300-acre lake, but parcels are hard to come by here: The lake, and the forest around it, is almost entirely owned by the state of Wisconsin, with only a few private holdings. The vast majority of the shoreline is intact, as when the Native Americans were there. So when Weissmann learned that a lakeside resort was coming up for sale, he pounced on the property.
Weissmann found a roof installer who was willing to make aluminum standing-seam roofs for the three cabins out of roll stock so they would look like old tin roofs instead of shiny new ones.
A lot of the older cabins around Star Lake were built of local building materials, notably woods that are abundant in this part of the country. “A lot of the buildings that we remember as kids were paneled in knotty pine” Weissmann says. Here we see knotty pine timbers that the architect used in the foyer of the main house.
Weismann took his interior design inspiration from old national park lodges. “These huge lodge spaces had these interesting light fixtures, with mica lenses for an amber glow; great scale; and I loved the whole theme of pine trees and moose.” The light fixture he selected for the main house comes from a manufacturer in the Adirondacks, another region known for its natural beauty.
The fireplace in the main house is composed of tumbled granite stones, which are glacial remains from different lakes in the region. You’ll see these in old lodges, Weissmann says, and he has always loved their scale.
The fireplace in the main house is composed of tumbled granite stones, which are glacial remains from different lakes in the region. You’ll see these in old lodges, Weissmann says, and he has always loved their scale.
Around the time he was building his compound, Weissmann was also working on a project that involved removing an old cottage with tons of old pine paneling from a client’s property, so he took his client’s offer to reuse the cottage’s paneling in his own home.
Here we see the reused paneling covering the walls of a guest bathroom. On it, Weissmann used a stain and shellac-type finish to get that “old campy feeling.” “What I love about that finish is it stays kind of ‘live,’ and over time the pine develops a patina” that is a medium caramel color, he says.
Here we see the reused paneling covering the walls of a guest bathroom. On it, Weissmann used a stain and shellac-type finish to get that “old campy feeling.” “What I love about that finish is it stays kind of ‘live,’ and over time the pine develops a patina” that is a medium caramel color, he says.
The furniture in this guest bedroom and throughout the compound generally consists of antique store finds. The architect found “a couple of wonderful shop owners in northern Wisconsin that have really great collections of antiques that they would mix in with other pieces.”
One such shop is the Rustic Cabin Studio, which carries Native American felted wool rugs that figure prominently in the home. He loves bringing in the Native American influence because there are active reservations and tribes in the area, and it was the landscape outside his windows that inspired much of their art.
One such shop is the Rustic Cabin Studio, which carries Native American felted wool rugs that figure prominently in the home. He loves bringing in the Native American influence because there are active reservations and tribes in the area, and it was the landscape outside his windows that inspired much of their art.
The kitchen in the main house features two side-by-side gas ranges. “I’m kind of a foodie, and everybody loves to help cook. It’s one of the great activities we do together up there,” Weissmann says. He designed this kitchen to be a multifunctional space, including a big pantry with open shelves and an antique farmhouse table for prepping.
Find farmhouse tables
Find farmhouse tables
Each of the cabins had an original screened porch, which Weissmann preserved, though he’s in the process of converting this one attached to the main house into a year-round space. “It’s a wonderful porch in the summertime with the breeze and the morning light and view of the water, [but] when you have to look through a seasonal porch in the winter, you lose something,” he says.
The porches are like “big summer living rooms: Everybody hangs out there without being eaten alive by mosquitoes,” Weissmann says. The red window framing was inspired by a historic lodge in the Adirondacks whose windows, as depicted in old photos, were trimmed in red. Since he knew he wanted to stain the exterior of the cabins a dark brown color called “bark” to make the building disappear into the “shadows of the forest,” he felt the red would really contrast with the green of the pine trees.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a vacation house for architect Wade Weissmann, his partner and their family
Location: Star Lake in Northern Wisconsin
Size: Three buildings total about 5,200 square feet (about 483 square meters)
Designer: Wade Weissmann Architecture
The historic cabins were originally built as a Civilian Conservation Corps encampment during the Great Depression. When they weren’t being used anymore, a resort owner purchased them and moved them on sleds to the other side of the lake.
The compound consists of three buildings that were named after tree species by the previous resort owner. Oak Cabin, shown above, is the primarily residence on a hill with great views, was rebuilt into a 3,000 square-foot-home. Little Fern Cabin which is closest to the water and a little more than 1,000 square feet. And a third, Maple Cabin, comes in at 1,200 square feet and is now owned by the architect’s neighbor.