A multigenerational family gets a blissful getaway on Balsam
This modern lake house was designed as a destination getaway for a family of three generations by RoehrSchmitt Architecture, located on Balsam Lake, Wisconsin. Highlights of this property include natural bluestone paths and a patio, a weathered steel entry bridge, and a tricked-out private beach.
Designing a vacation home where everyone wants to be is a way to entice a busy and geographically dispersed family to spend more time together. A low, serene barrier of board-formed concrete punctuated by a series of small portals marks the approach, planted along its length with native grasses, ferns, sweet sumac, and a delicate line of birches.
DESIGN DETAILS: ARCHITECT RoehrSchmitt Architecture INTERIOR DESIGN Brooke Voss Design BUILDER Beebe Construction
The bluestone path and steel bridge dramatize the approach to the home, where one steps inside to a picture perfect view through the main gathering space, framing the lake beyond.
Division V Sheet Metal installed the barrel-vaulted standing seam roof and clad the home with weathering steel panels. The refined native landscape was designed by Aune Fernandez Landscape Architects, working alongside Landscape Renovations for the installation.
What We Love: This getaway home on Balsam Lake offers serene surroundings that include century-old oak trees that were preserved. A spacious floor plan layout has spaces for the family to gather and intimate areas for private time — all while capturing the idyllic lakeside setting. We are loving the sophisticated yet warm aesthetics of this family home that will be enjoyed for family gatherings and making memories for years to come.
Tell Us: Would this be your idea of the ultimate family retreat? Let us know why or why not in the Comments below!
Note: Take a look at a couple of other spectacular home tours that we have showcased here on One Kindesign in the state of Wisconsin: This contemporary river house is the ultimate haven in Wisconsin and Amazing camp-like family retreat in Wisconsin with idyllic lakeside setting.
A long gallery at the front serves as the main entry lobby and connects the wing of four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms—three identical suites for the boys and a slightly larger suite for the parents—with the social center of the house.
One of the compelling aspects of the home is just how customized it is for the family, from thoughtful furnishings curated by Brooke Voss Design to custom millwork from Steven Cabinets.
Venetian plaster from Otto Painting Design artfully plays with sunlight as it glances through expansive, high-performing triple-paned windows from Pella that open onto the lake.
Inside, a fireplace set into a massive concrete chimney anchors the expansive great room and stands at a vertical counterpoint to the entry wall. It marks the interior division between the public and private zones and contains the stairway descending through the chimney to the playroom and bunk rooms below.
NEU Modern Steel Craft fabricated the crisp, black steel fireplace surround which, set off against the board-formed concrete chimney wall by Lorenz Concrete, anchors the great room overlooking the lake.
PHOTOGRAPHER Alyssa Lee