Upstairs Spaces

The spaces on the second floor are much less complicated.  This image shows the house from the lake side.  On the right is the master bedroom, positioned directly over the living room and roughly the same dimensions.  Behind it, toward the road, is a small office.  To the left of the bedroom, and above the kitchen, is a full bath with a small walk-in closet.  The two little windows in the gable end at far left serve the guest bedroom, which has larger windows facing the road.  The master and guest bedrooms share direct access to the bath.

I wanted a three-bedroom house so that I could host all my siblings and their partners at one time, in one place, without having to stash anyone in a motel.  The nearest motels are 15-20 miles away, whether in Rogers City or Alpena.  This stash-the-bodies plan will only work if I sleep on the screened porch (summer) or on the window seat halfway up the stairs (winter).  Non-family visitors will be assigned to the first floor bedroom, which has access to the full bath on that level.

I'm counting on the windows to provide good cross-ventilation, because I won't have air conditioning.  While the house will be on Lake Esau, Lake Huron is just a short amble through the wood (see the Google map below).  There is almost always a cool breeze off Huron, so the prevailing winds should keep me comfortable in hot weather.  If it's both hot and still, as happens 2-3 times each summer, I'll go jump in the lake.  People have been telling me to do that for years, anyway.

This view is from about due west.  I should be able to sit on the screened porch and enjoy a good view of the sunset.  By the way, I know the green in these images looks like lawn, but I intend to use mostly native Michigan plant materials, including ground cover, to landscape the site.  This will be a Turf Grass-Free Zone.  Spend my "golden years" worrying about the lawn?  Bah, humbug!  Over half a century of lawn care is quite enough.  I gave away my mower when I left Detroit, and I'll never own another! •••