Lake Michigan Cottage {Part 2}

by Chris on June 17, 2013

Happy Monday! I should probably mention that I am leaving the country today. I am going on a whirlwind 15-day tour of Europe, and I’m dragging my best friend with me. If we don’t get lost or held up in customs for some completely insane reason, I’ll be back to share it all with you. In the meantime, I have set up some rockstar bloggers to guest post for me while I’m gone. Stop back in and see who’s helping me out!

Of course, I couldn’t leave without sharing part two of our cottage stay up in Ludington. You saw the amazing exterior, but how ’bout we take a tour inside?

Blue cottage

This is our very first step into the cottage. Let’s take a moment to take it all in. The hardwood floors, the lightly washed planking EVERYwhere (!!), and all the chunky trim? Be still. my heart.

Michigan cottage

Of course, the fireplace had me at hello.

Cottage living

The whole room was inviting and just gleaming with sunlight. 

Cottage living room

Turning the corner, we not only ran into our first impeccable view of the water, but we fell in love with the kitchen. It was simple (my favorite), functional, and used every bit of light it could. Our friend the owner did a great job of trying to capture as much view as possible throughout the house. 

Cottage planked kitchen

Cottage kitchen

I also loved that he offered several places to sit and eat. This little breakfast nook is a perfect place for some coffee or for kids to play games. It’s one of three eating areas–perfect if you have a a couple of families or kids who want their own space to do things.

Cottage dining

I also fell in love with the doors. It’s simple, I know, but the details are not lost on me.

Cottage doors

Can you believe this is the only picture I have of the master? There was an ensuite with an incredible glass shower. Aaaand I didn’t take a picture of it. Apparently it’s amateur hour.

Cottage master bedroom

The bathrooms (all three of them) were a soothing water color. I love that he chose a pallet that was relaxing and unified. He didn’t go crazy with what I would call a “rainbow house”–instead he let the view be the color. Genius.Cottage bathrooms
It was also nice to have two separate living areas. Of course, we spent our time in the casual family room because you just can’t replace the view from this room.

Dining areaThis view. Michigan lake view

Well that’s it for the tour! Our friend has already offered it up again, and we’re planning for a fall getaway. What’s better than Lake Michigan views in the summer? Lake Michigan views surrounded by fall colors. Can’t wait! I’m off for my European vacation, but I’ll check in on Instagram and Facebook as much as I can! 

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Lake Michigan Cottage

by Chris on June 13, 2013

As I was finalizing grades and cleaning up my classroom, my husband texted me that we were going to Ludington for the weekend to stay at our friend’s cottage. Our friend was all, “Hey, my cottage is open this weekend. Wanna stay at it?” And we were all, “We’re on our way!” I chronicled some of our stay on Instagram, but it deserves its own post. If you’ve been to the Michigan shoreline (especially in the summer), you know that it just can’t be beat. In my shark-fearing husband’s words, “It has all the beauty of the ocean without the death wish of being eaten by a shark.”

It was too beautiful to put all the pictures into one post, so I’ll break it up for ya. Today, we’ll tour the exterior. ‘Cause let’s face it–that’s the meat and potatoes of the place. I gasped when we pulled up. You can’t see in the picture, but the lake is viewable from here. The blue exterior? The orange door? I was sold.

Blue cottage

And here’s the back. Windows everywhere. If it were up to me, windows would replace the back of every house. Just can’t have enough of them. And yes–we totally used that hammock. Loved it.

Lake Michigan cottage

The view from the deck was just amazing. We had coffee on the loungers, and we talked about what a perfect start to our summer this truly was.

Ludington cottage

The fenced in platform on the left is actually where the house was when our friend bought it. It was on the verge of falling into the lake, so he moved it back. The power of erosion, eh? It was the perfect amount of space for the kids to run around and for them to practice baseball. 

Lake Michigan from bluff

And then there’s this. We watched a gorgeous sunset, and we saw a cool storm come in. It’s like mother nature was saying, “Hey! Let me show you what I can do!” during our stay. 

Lake Michigan view

Of course, being up on a bluff had it’s disadvantages–256 of them to be exact. 

Beach view

It was quite a treck going up and down the stairs, but we limited our excursions to a couple a day. It wasn’t very hot yet, so we didn’t feel the need to jump in the ice-cold water just yet. 

Beach stairs

Skipping rocks and exploring the shoreline was our pastime.

Jackson on beach
And fires. We love a good summer fire. We had one on the bluff and one on the beach. 

Fire on the bluff

Quite the view, eh? Lake view

Kids on beach

I could go on and on (my photo library certainly says so!), but just know that it was a wonderful time with my family. If you haven’t visited the area, I highly recommend it! Next up? The inside of the cottage! I’ll be back.

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  THANK YOU  

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