Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointes

Lakefront show house has rooms with a view

Photo by Deb Jacques Jennifer Imamura of The Velvet Plum — pictured in the doorway — used a pair of historical French crystal urns as centerpieces for the dining room table.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — They all had their own creative visions and worked independently of each other, but the nearly two dozen designers and design firms that worked on the Junior League of Detroit Designers’ Show House knew enough not to upstage Mother Nature.

Whether incorporating soothing shades of blue and green or embracing leaf and bird motifs, the natural world comes alive inside the walls of this magnificent lakefront home, and designers were quick to let the home’s many windows — with their views of the gardens and Lake St. Clair — take center stage.

The 2010 biennial Show House, a nearly 6,500-square-foot, stone-clad French Normandy-style home built in 1928, is located at 78 Lake Shore in the Farms and is open for tours May 1-16. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit JLD, whose programs include combating childhood illiteracy in Detroit.

Welcome inside

From the moment visitors enter the vestibule — a replica of the exterior’s stone by John Kline Color Design — the outside is brought indoors beautifully. A blue and lavender ladies’ powder room by Elizabeth Meda Interior Design, with elements of moss, crystal and brass, was inspired by a pair of botanical prints on the wall, explained Meda’s assistant, Cathy Hubmeir.

Kristi Karimpour and Kevin Allen-Shaneyfelt of Birmingham Design Studio are among the designers who transformed the living room into an elegant space that Karimpour said was inspired by the room’s many windows overlooking the lake. The homeowner’s own semi-antique Persian rug also inspired choices in the room, such as the deep blue hues in some of the furnishings.

The kitchen/conservatory — a project directed and paid for by the homeowner — was a joint endeavor for Kathleen McGovern Studio of Interior Design and Chris Blake and John Mozena of Mutschler Kitchens, and features an addition, skylights and new stonework. Blake found a type of limestone that blended with the home’s exterior, and incorporated it into the design so that the stone appears to continue from the inside out.

“We wanted the arch of the house to lead the way,” McGovern said. “We started with that concept and we never looked back.”

Jennifer Imamura of The Velvet Plum brought light to the formerly dark dining room, using a color palette of chartreuse, black and white that she said was “cheery and bright” but also grounded. A pair of towering crystal urns, circa 1928, from France serves as sparkling centerpieces on the table.

Diane Woolsey of Diane Woolsey Interiors said she wanted the master bedroom — which has a landscape painting, a chandelier, and gentle blues and greens throughout — to be light, peaceful and relaxing. The colors inside echo those just beyond the windows, down to window treatments similar in tone to the stone patio.

A ‘Suite Retreat’

Loretta Crenshaw and Jeanine White-Haith of Showhouse Interiors created what Crenshaw calls the “Suite Retreat” for a guest room, using almost all antiques in an eye-catching black-and-white design with pops of vibrant green — a similar color palette to the one used by Brian Clay Collins for the library.

“I feel like the house has come into its own,” said Amy Muawad, one of the Show House co-chairs. “I feel like it’s become what it was always meant to be. It’s glamorous; it’s serene; it’s dramatic.”

Even the smaller spaces are full of fabulous details. Gail Urso of Urso Designs Inc. created an opera-themed gentleman’s restroom perfect for “a very sophisticated, debonair gentleman” — not knowing that the homeowner, who’ll move back into the house after it closes to the public, is a big opera fan himself. The back entry, by Irene Kossak and Gail Anderson of IG Interiors, uses a Michigan theme, with Pewabic pottery, car images and even a white pine emblem — the state’s tree — painted by Ann Baxter on a door window. Tanya and Jeff Woods of Xstyles Bath Designs gave the guest bath a functional and gorgeous makeover, with slate walls, a slate and glass shower with a relief, cherry paneling reclaimed from the old foyer to hide ceiling ventilation, and a plasma TV built into a two-way mirror. The outdoor loggia by Rich Carmody of Au Courant and wedding planning Sarah Fuller of Lunch Break Bride will change five times during the run of the house, starting with a proposal design that features a giant glass “diamond” engagement ring in a basket of white roses by Furnace of Dearborn, Carmody said. A sitting/dressing room that features the famous “Camelot” rug from the Kennedy White House was inspired by Jacqueline Kennedy’s tastes, said Jacquelyn Cutright of Elegance by Design.

Besides these and other rooms, visitors can stroll the glorious gardens, pick up unique gifts in the lower-level shop and garage-housed garden store, or have coffee, tea and pastries in a small café outside.

Proceeds go toward JLD efforts, which include tutoring children, teaching healthy eating habits through the nationwide Kids in the Kitchen program, planting trees and a community garden with Creekside Community Development residents, and many more, said Cristina Garberding, landscaping chair for the Show House.

“It’s not just about looking at pretty rooms,” she said. “It’s about what we do with the money we raise.”

Show house hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday — with evening hours of 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well — 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Children under age 8 — including babies in arms and strollers — will not be admitted. Advance tickets for $15 per person can be purchased at the following locations: Sole Sisters Shoes in Detroit; from Bill Barlage of the East English Village Association, (313) 884-0554; Cavanaugh’s Office Supplies and Gifts and Posterity: A Gallery in Grosse Pointe City; Charvat the Florist, Junior League of Detroit office at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and The League Shop in Grosse Pointe Farms; Wild Birds Unlimited in Grosse Pointe Woods; Calico Corners and Conner Park Florist in St. Clair Shores; Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens; Elegance by Design in Ferndale; Birmingham Design Studio and La Belle Provence in Birmingham; McQueen’s Carpets in Bloomfield Hills; Sundance Shoes in West Bloomfield; and Michigan Design Center in Troy.

Tickets can also be purchased the same day at the shuttle location for $20. No tickets will be sold at the house, and patrons must arrive by shuttle for entry. Shuttles will operate out of Neff Park, located at the corner of Jefferson and Lakeland in Grosse Pointe City. For more information or group tour reservations, visit www.jldetroit.org or call (313) 881-0040.