Cottage Life on the Lake

A dreamy waterside cottage is full of clean lines, bright colors and natural materials that add interest ... without chaos.

- AUTUMN KRAUSE

FREE FLOW. Kelly Konoske notes that most homeowners have jumped onto the open-concept "bandwagon" because it helps a home live larger. In addition, more light is shared between the spaces, and families and guests can interact, even while doing other activities (ultimately, it's more conducive to entertaining, which is important in a vacation house). "Furniture and architecture are both essential to distinguishing the areas, as you can see here," she says.

There's nothing like a summer away from the busy pace of 21'-century life and there's no place quite like Menonaqua, a historical association, to experience it.

This was the happy realization made by a New York couple as they hit "pause" and vacationed at Menonaqua, in Harbor Springs, Michigan. There, they spent time enjoying the protected dunes that stretch along Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan and the picturesque, untouched tranquility that's hard to find in our ever-modernizing world.

Wanting to preserve and pass on that summery sense of serenity, they envisioned a place for their family to gather for generations to come. They knew Menonaqua was the place to build a vacation cottage for just that purpose.

The couple enlisted Jill Nuding, head of construction at Cottage Company of Harbor Springs, and Kelly Konoske, president of Cottage Company Interiors, to create their waterfront "pocket of peace."