come on in! · 2016-10-07 · you walk in, the lake is the ﬁrst thing you see, and it’s...

68 Detroit Home | June - July 2016

FEATURE | lakeside living

Come On In!Summers spent lounging, playing, and grilling

with friends, kids, and golden retrievers — that’s

the essence of lake living for this family

By Lynne Konstantin Photos by MARS Photo and Design / Michael Raffin

DETROITHOMEMAG.COM 69

lakeside living | FEATURE

Kim Viviano’s husband, Nino, has always

wanted to live on the water.

So the couple, who live in Bloomfield Hills,

began looking for a summer home Up North.

“We looked there for a while,” Viviano

says, “but the drive always just seemed like a

headache to me.”

So she suggested to Nino that they look nearby.

“There are so many lakes in West Bloomfield,” she told

her husband. Nino didn’t believe her; his response was,

“That’s ridiculous!”

Viviano enlisted the help of her realtor, Sara Lipnitz,

who started looking around Cass Lake. Finding it too

crowded, she suggested they try Union Lake — and the

couple fell in love.

“It’s a ‘family’ lake,’’ Viviano says. “It’s not as busy (as

Cass Lake). You feel like you’re away on vacation, but

you’re only 15 minutes from Orchard Lake Road.

“My friends said, ‘You’re crazy, It’s so close to your

house.’ But now three of them have bought homes on

that lake, too,” she laughs.

The house was finished two years ago. Each year, the

family (including golden retrievers Charlie and Jules)

packs up, drives 20 minutes from their “main house,” and

settles in for the summer.

Once they’d found the property, tucked away down a

gravel road far from the beaten path and with spectacu-

lar views of the lake, Viviano set out to create a summer

home that would do its surroundings justice. She had

very specific ideas about how she wanted it to look, but

she says the most important thing was how it felt.

“My goal was always to be the house everybody comes

to,” says the mom of two boys, ages 15 and 17. “I love that

my kids and all their friends are here. I love knowing

where they are. And I love having our friends and family

with us all summer long.”

Although the family’s “school year” home has more

traditional details than the lake house, Viviano says both

are rooted in her penchant for clean, simple lines.

Tapping architect Patrick Dyke, owner of Patrick Dyke

Collaborative in Birmingham, Viviano and Lipnitz came

up with a design inspired by Viviano’s love of homes in

the South — “the metal roofs, the (James) Hardie siding,”

she says. “If I can’t live in the South, I want it here. And

looking at lots of different images, I realized that what I

wanted was a modern farmhouse.” So the team, along

with builder Pete Alshab, of AP Builders in Bloomfield

Hills, fashioned a farmhouse by the lake.

Everything about the house takes its cues from its

surroundings. Perpetuating the easy and organic,

Viviano’s home shares some basic design elements with a

classic farmhouse: gabled roofs, simple lines, light tones,

and, above all, functionality. “The massing of the house is

reminiscent of an East Coast farmhouse, with layers of

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Both pages: Stunning views

of Union Lake are framed

by a pair of swivel chairs,

purchased in gray and recov-

ered in juicy pink and orange.

“Kim (Viviano) asked for

color and durability,” interior

designer Dayna Rasschaert

says. “I wanted it to be an un-

expected mix of colors while

also incoporating the gray

foundation.” Even the family

dogs are at home: “They love

to swim and roll around on

the rug (from Hagopian),”

Rasschaert says, “which is

fine, because it cleans

up beautifully.”



space responding to the subtle angle of the lot to

maximize the lake view,” Dyke says.

Viviano had worked with Michelle Mio — designer

and partner with Rariden Schumacher Mio Interior

Design in Birmingham — and Dayna Flory Rasschaert

— then a designer with the firm — on a handful of

homes over the years, and the designers were invited to

collaborate on this new project. Eventually, Rasschaert

branched out on her own, opening Dayna Flory

Interiors in Bloomfield Hills, and Viviano followed her.

“Dayna has a clear understanding of what my style is,

and she has an eye for color that I’ve never seen before,”

Viviano says. “I loved the idea of a white background

with pops of color everywhere, and she knew that I love

orange and yellow. She began putting the palette

together from there.”

Ebbing away from the stark white, Rasschaert added

the lightest shades of pale gray — softly reminiscent of

lake blue, but with an industrialized edge — to serve as a

backdrop to the home. Viviano’s oranges and yellows

emerge in details everywhere, but in Rasschaert’s hands

they’re paired with juicy fuchsia, textural gradients of

gray, and mixes of horizontal and vertical patterns. All

fabrics are indoor/outdoor, and many are by Pindler &

Pindler, for stress-free beach living. An enormous

mustard-yellow ottoman in the great room is covered in

easy-maintenance faux leather, beckoning wet kids and

dogs to lounge.

A wall in the great room is crafted of concrete tiles,

creating a floor-to-ceiling fireplace surround. The

concrete stretches into the informal dining room, where

a concrete-top round table on a wood base, surrounded

by lightweight orange chairs chosen by Mio, anchors the

room. A full wall, covered with custom wallpaper by the

Detroit Wallpaper Co., proclaims the family’s motto to

all guests: “We’re glad you’re here.”

R&R

This page: An older chaise was recovered in inky outdoor fabric by

Pindler & Pindler; above it, a seaside photo “floats” on acrylic, creating

shadows on the wall when the light is right. Opposite page, top: Modern,

industrial open shelving contrasts with the painted-wood island. Blue-

gray tiles are pieced into the custom pale-blue backsplash from Ann

Sacks. In the lower level, the bar is crafted of reclaimed barn wood and

topped with leathered granite from Ona Marble and Granite, anchored

by a poured concrete floor. (Note: Read about two bathrooms in this

home in our Look Book bathroom section in this issue.)

“It’s truly a lake house. When you walk in,

the lake is the first thing you see, and it’s every-

where. ” — Kim Viviano



FUN FOR THE WHOLE HERD

This page: The painted cow’s eyes reminded Viviano of a beloved golden retriever. The

back of the home leads to a fire pit and the lake, where there are jet skis, a pontoon

boat, and more. “The kids have a ball there,” Viviano says. “These big goofy kids jump-

ing on the water trampoline — it’s like they’re little kids again. The dogs run around.

It’s chaotic fun at this house.” Opposite page: An outdoor rug by Dash & Albert is

topped by a honed-stone co"ee table in the lower-level screened-in sitting room.

In the kitchen, that philosophy is embraced with open

shelving, open counters — even a glass-front Sub-Zero

refrigerator. “My goal was for everybody to be comfort-

able,” Viviano says. “I wanted it to be user-friendly. I

didn’t want people to have to ask where the glasses are

— I want them to come right in and make themselves a

cocktail.” The plein-air details also deliver an industrial-

ized effect, as does a structural support beam painted

silver and piping used as shelf supports, keeping the

“farmhouse” modern and fresh.

“Kim’s love for design and excitement toward pushing

the envelope with color and industrial style drove the

dramatic elements for the space,” Rasschaert says. And it

doesn’t stop on the first floor. On the second floor, the

master suite and guest bedrooms feel like a luxury hotel

on Martha’s Vineyard. On the third floor, there are kids’

bunks, a gaming system, a mini fridge, and more.

“Our record is sleeping 18 people,” Viviano says. “Last

Fourth of July, it was such a great weekend. People

didn’t want to drive home after the fireworks, so we

made it work. Kids in the bunks upstairs, on pull-out

sofas, and in the screened-in porch — and each adult

had a bedroom. I love my family and friends, and I love

that we get to spend so much time together.

“The house is very bright and warm and sunny. When

you walk in, the lake is the first thing you see, and it’s

everywhere. You feel like you’re outside. It’s my happy

place.”

Adds interior designer Rasschaert: “It was a very

satisfying feeling knowing the home reached its true

intention — a lake home with warmth and energy that

mimics the personality of the Viviano family.”

come on in! · 2016-10-07 · you walk in, the lake is the ﬁrst thing you see, and it’s...

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