At Home in the Heart of Texas Made in the Shade

GREATER KALAMAZOO HOME IDEA GUIDE & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2013 COMPLEMENTARY

AT HOME IN THE HEART OF TEXAS MADE IN THE SHADE

THE KALAMAZOO COUNTRY CLUB

WATERFRONT LANDSCAPING © 2 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local

Feature Home

( ON THE COVER ) 17 Navy blue walls with trim both painted and stained make the formal dining room unique in this Texas Corners home built by Roberts Built Homes. S T

N 23 The Kalamazoo Country Club E 9 Olympic Medal Connection T N

O 27 Waterfront Landscaping

C 13 Made in the Shade! 7 Bravo! Whitefish Recipe © 4 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things L ocal VOL. 20, NO. 2 Summer 2013

PUBLISHER O’Keefe Publishing, Inc. EDITOR John O’Keefe ACCOUNTING MANAGER Donna O’Keefe EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amanda Emme ADVERTISING Betsy Gesmundo [email protected] 269-998-8727 jan k guigue [email protected] 269-383-6040 John O’Keefe okeefepublishing @sbcglobal.net 269-547-0333 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kaye Bennett Zolton Cohen Linda Hoard Brian Lam PRODUCTION O’Keefe Publishing, Inc. PRINTING & MAILING JB Printing Welcome Home Magazine © is published 4 times each year by O’Keefe Publishing, 8235 East O Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048 SEND INQUIRIES TO: Welcome Home Magazine 8235 East O Avenue Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048 Phone 269-385-9281 [email protected] www.welcomehomekzoo.com Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photos, and they will not be returned to sender unless accompanied by return postage. Copyright ©. All Rights Reserved - No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Errors: The Publisher will not be responsible beyond the charges for the advertisement itself, for errors, misprints or omissions. Welcome Home Magazine reserves the right to edit or reject advertising which may be objectionable by law or considered undesirable by the Publisher. Information in this magazine on products and projects is from sources believed by the publisher to be authoritative. The publisher, however, cannot assume responsibility for damages, losses or injuries resulting from the use of any of these products or involvement in any of these projects. Before under - taking any project, you should be certain that it is suitable to your skills. Consult with professionals, if necessary, and observe safety precautions. Before using any product, you should study and understand the manufacturer’s instructions. Welcome Home Magazine is owned and pub - lished by O’Keefe Publishing and is not affili - ated with any other publication or organization.

Recipe by Shawn Hagen Photography by Linda Hoard

Bravo! is recognized as one of the finest Bravo! Whitefish restaurants for Southwest Michigan dining. Adding to the outstanding dining experience • Four 6 oz. Filets Fresh Whitefish is the fact that Bravo! is locally-owned, and • 1/2 cup Flour provides the personal attention and service • Pinch Salt that is as much a Bravo! tradition as the • Pinch Black Pepper superb cuisine. • 1 1/2 oz. Vegetable Oil All Bravo! food is made from scratch under • 1 Tbs. Finely Diced Shallots the watchful eye of Shawn Hagen, chef • 6 oz. White Wine and owner. • 3 Tbs. Lemon Juice • 2 Tbs. Chopped Parsley • 2 Tbs. Capers • 3 Tbs. Sundried Tomatoes • 4 oz. Butter

Heat a large Sauté pan and add vegetable oil Salt and pepper fish filets and lightly flour filets just before cooking Place filets flesh side down into hot pan and saute until golden brown (about 3 minutes) Add shallots, white wine and lemon juice to fish pan and let simmer for 1 minute Remove fish from pan and add butter, capers, and sun dried tomatoes to wine mixture Stir continuously over heat just until butter melts Chef Shawn Hagen Ladle sauce over fish © Great Things L ocal Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 7 © 8 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local Jon VanderMolen, North American Center Sailing, and crew pilot a PStar similar to the ones his company furnished to 13 of the 2012 Olympics qualifying teams. VanderMolen’s PStars took all three medals.

2012 Olympic Medal Winners Had a Local Connection

By Brian Lam Photos Courtesy of Jon VanderMolen

As Jon VanderMolen was growing up sailing on Gull Lake, North American distributor for Cantiere Natuico Lillia, an little did he know his passion for the sport would lead to an Italian boat-maker. The Euro was weak compared to the U.S. international business that would take him to the top of the dollar at that time and VanderMolen was able to sell boats racing world. profitably for a few years due to the exchange. VanderMolen created a business selling Stars, a class Toward the end of 2003, things were going so well that of two-person keelboats. His boats were sold to 37 different he built a brand new facility to keep up with the demands of countries attempting to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in business. He left the daily operations of the Marina, moved London. Of the 16 countries to qualify, 13 did so with the into the new facility, and put all his energies into his distribu - locally made PStars. VanderMolen watched his boats take all tion business. three medals, solidifying his operation – North American It was an ill-timed move. Lillia boats took Gold, Silver Sailing Center – as the top Star-class boat maker in the world. and Bronze in the 2004 Athens games, which gave the Italian The avid sailor said it took the perfect storm to reach the boat-maker an excuse to significantly raise prices. This top of the boat-making business, and it was the success of the happened just as the Euro finally hit its stride, which meant Euro that rousted the first winds. VanderMolen now had to buy his boats for more, but sell them Back in 1999, VanderMolen was the General Manager at for less. He recalls, “I thought, ‘What am I going to do now? I the Gull Lake Marina, a business that has been in his family can’t sell these anymore.’” since the 1950s. While managing, he started to pursue a side With the distribution business struggling, VanderMolen business selling boats. He even signed an agreement to be the considered building boats of his own.

Pickel was a German sailor and boat-builder who VanderMolen had a good friendship with. The German had been working on a model of Star- class boat for the 2008 Olympics that VanderMolen says Pickel was keeping close to the vest. “I knew he had a winner, so I asked him what he was going to do with his tooling and molds after the games were over.” Pickel felt the U.S. needed a Star-class builder and agreed to sell his American friend the boat program, which he had named the PStar. Pickel took 7th aboard the PStar in Beijing, and was all set to hand the reigns to VanderMolen when world economics intervened once again. “The recession hit,” says Vander - Molen, “and I realized that this was not the time to make this kind of investment. But I didn’t want to completely abandon the dream, so I told Mark to build me a boat and we’d wait to see if the economy bounced back.” VanderMolen headed to Florida for some pro-am competitions with Pickel’s PStar. Never technically classified as a professional, the lifelong sailor says at his peak he was able to stay relatively competitive with the pros. With the 2008 Olympics over, VanderMolen found himself sailing against the world’s best in these events. “But suddenly I’m beating every - one,” VanderMolen says. “Everyone wants to know what’s going on. I kept saying, ‘It’s not me. It’s the boat. This is the boat I’m going to build.” Instead of selling the program to VanderMolen, Pickel became his partner. He moved to Richland and the two assembled a team to get started on the American production of the PStar. The key hire was Andy Lowe, one of the premier boat builders in the world. He was brought in from Brazil, and he brought with him the working knowl - edge of a technique typically reserved for airliners. Pre-preg is a term for pre-impreg - nated composite fibers where materials, like resin and hardener in the case of fiberglass, are already present. Typically, fiberglass is purchased as dry, cross- woven cloth. The cloth is soaked in hardener and then laid into a mold, where resin is rubbed in. Because it’s rubbed in by hand, there can be inconsistencies with the weight of the fiberglass.

© 10 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local Pre-preg is unidirectional cloth, and the hardening materials are already soaked in evenly. It’s just a matter of laying it out and heating after that. Pre- preg material is typically considered too cost prohibitive, but VanderMolen’s suc - cesses in Florida caught the eye of some clients with pretty big pocketbooks: countries. VanderMolen explains, “We were the only ones in the world using pre-preg for fiberglass boats. It’s way too expensive for retail sales. If we hadn’t found this niche selling to Olympic teams, we couldn’t have made Gold Medal Winners from Sweden. Freddy Loof and Max Salminen any money.” It took VanderMolen, Pickel and their team eight months to build their first boat, and that was after several months of simulations on specific software designed to identify drag coefficients. Once the new pre-preg PStar was complete, the orders came flooding in. Most countries wanted two, one to train on and one for the event. The pre-preg vessels sold for as much as $90,000, almost $30,000 more than a standard Star-class sailboat. The crew worked tirelessly. Even with the process stream - lined, each boat took nearly 700 hours to make. The PStars dominated the London Games. VanderMolen and his crew had made their mark on the sailing world. Shortly after the games, the winds shifted for VanderMolen again. The announcement was made: due to a shift toward TV-friendly events, the Star-class Silver Medal Winners from Great Britain. Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson would be eliminated from future Olympics. “I put the word out early: ‘I’m done. This was incredibly rewarding, but I’m not going to chase it again with a different boat,’” VanderMolen recalls. “In my career, I’ve enjoyed the sport and the business. I reached the pinnacle. I was on the podium and took gold, silver, and bronze. Now I know it’s done.” Now VanderMolen’s pursuits are a little closer to home. Still an advocate for sailing, he promotes youth sailing programs and spends plenty of time out on Gull Lake. VanderMolen worries that the next generation will forgo the joys of sailing for stunt sports, like jet-skiing and wakeboarding, but says he still entertains the occasional order from a sailing enthusiast that knows where to find one of the great sailboat makers of the modern era. Bronze Medal Winners from Brazil. Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada

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Made inBy Katye Bhenneett Shade! You wouldn’t build a house you could only use for a few hours a day. So why let the sun limit the time you can enjoy your deck, patio or yard? A wide variety of shade solutions now make it possible for you to expand the number of hours you can safely and comfortably relax in your yard. According to Ashleigh Kosin, owner of Bell Tower Outdoor Living in Richland, hotter summer temperatures and an increased awareness of the dangers of getting too much sun have made shade products a big trend in recent years. Bell Tower offers three main types of products to provide shade, says Kosin: market (free-standing) umbrellas; cantilever umbrellas; and awnings. Market umbrellas range in diameter from 6 ½ to 11 feet. Made from solution-dyed polyester or acrylic fabric, with Kevlar lift cords, these devices are strong and tough. Canopies come with four to five-year fade warrantees and are machine washable. Cantilever umbrellas, Kosin points out, are larger, ranging from 11 feet in diameter (providing 99 feet of shade coverage) to 13 feet in diameter (giving 133 feet of shade). Cantilevers rotate 360 degrees and can be tilted at a variety of angles. Like market umbrellas, cantilevers come in a huge variety of fabrics Photo courtesy of Sun & Shade Awning and are guaranteed for years.

© Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 13 The third option offered by Bell Tower, awnings, are mounted on aluminum brackets affixed to the roof or above the soffits, says Kosin. The starting size is 10 feet wide, and they project 8 feet from the house. The biggest consideration in adding a shade device, no matter what the product, is wind. Kosin says, “If it’s too windy outside to comfortably read a magazine, you should lower your umbrella.” But the products themselves are also designed with Michigan’s wind in mind: Market umbrellas come with double wind vents, while cantilevers are not only double vented, but also have hundreds of pounds of sand or pea gravel in their base. The awnings come with optional wind sensors and even remote control devices to allow them to be quickly retracted, should the wind pick up. Mark Bidelman, owner of Sun & Shade Awning in Three Rivers, special - izes in retractable awnings. Bidelman says that providing shade not only protects people from getting too much sun and heat, but can also offer financial benefits by decreasing the cost of air conditioning and minimizing sun fading of carpet and furniture inside the house. Bidelman designs each awning to meet the homeowner’s needs and tastes. “I come to the house, look at where the deck is, and ask how much shade you want,” he says. Most people, he finds, prefer shade over about two-thirds of their deck. Most of Bidelman’s customers opt for a wireless wind sensor, which automatically retracts the awning if the wind comes up unexpectedly. His products are U.S. made, with fabric from Sunbrella, in North Carolina, and the NuImage awnings are made in Maine. Bidelman points out that the National Cancer Institute has found that the Sun - brella fabric retards more than 98 percent of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Maintenance and care for retractable awnings, Bidelman says, are simple: There’s nothing to oil or adjust, and the heavy-duty triple-coil springs carry a lifetime warrantee. More than 250 colors and patterns of fabric are available. For those homeowners who want to get even more use from their outdoor space, Howe Patio and Windows in Plainwell offers a range of building options. Owner Gary Howe’s projects

© 14 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local range from patio covers to pergolas to screened rooms and finally to three- and four-season sunrooms. Howe care - fully designs each option to make it easy and economical to upgrade from one step to another. “Most people,” he says, “within two years will make their cov - ered patio into a three-season room.” Photo courtesy of Sun & Shade Awning Here’s what each option from Howe looks like: Patio covers overlap the deck on all sides and are supported by aluminum posts, which can easily be changed to wall panels if a screened room or sunroom is added later. Modern materials make it possible to put supports farther apart these days, which Howe, who has been in the business for 31 years, says is more attractive. Pergolas are also proving to be popular, says Howe, although they are open to the elements and do not keep out the rain. Used as garden arbors to display hanging plants, they can block 70 to 80 percent of the sun. Many people, says Howe, choose to install pergolas over hot tubs, outdoor grills and fire pits. The next step up is to construct a room. Screened rooms work well for people who don’t need any additional space in their home, but who, Howe says, “. . . want the outside without the bugs.” Screening in existing porches is especially popular among condo owners. For those who want to be able to use their outdoor space eight or nine months Photo courtesy of Howe Patio & Windows a year, a three-season room is a good choice, says Howe. It’s not heated, but glass sashes can be put up in just a few minutes, allowing the owner to have a finished floor and to use electronics (like TVs and computers) in the room. Whether you choose a simple umbrella, a retractable awning, a three- season room, or any of the options in between, there are many ways to extend the use you get from your outdoor spaces – even in Michigan’s varied weather conditions.

Photo courtesy of Bell Tower Outdoor Living Co.

© Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 15 © 16 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local At Home in the Heart of Texas A stone fireplace with custom wood mantel, comfortable and inviting-looking furniture, and stained and painted wood detailing highlight the family room.

By Zolton Cohen Photography Zolton Cohen

Mauri and Chad didn’t wind up with the first house they intended to purchase from Todd Roberts, President of Roberts Built Homes, Inc. “We were thinking about buying one of the houses he had already built, but it didn’t work out from a timing standpoint when we had a difficult time selling our previous house,” Mauri says. Instead, when the time was right, the couple decided to have Roberts build a custom home in the Texas Corners area. “This was a plan Todd had built before,” Mauri says. “It was originally a bigger house and he shrank it down for us because we didn’t need all that space. The hearth room, for instance, was downsized by about half, and he also adjusted the size of the laundry room and master bedroom.” Altering an existing plan the way Mauri and Chad wanted is nothing out of the ordinary for Roberts. He says, “I have had customers from time to time ask if I could adjust one of our plans to make certain areas, like the garage or one of the rooms, Maintenance-free stone and vinyl siding exterior finishes bigger or smaller. That’s a customizable service we can do, and we can work with either their plans or ours.” add texture and interest to the front of the house.

Mauri and Chad were familiar with the area; they were both raised locally. He went to Loy Norrix High School, and she to Portage Central. One of the appeals to the location of their home, Mauri says, is the Mattawan public schools. “We had heard nothing but good things about the school system and our daughter will join her cousins in going to school there.” They also like the proximity to both Kalamazoo and Portage. The location, they say, “Is close to everything, but it still kind of seems like it’s tucked away. We’re only ten minutes from South West - nedge Avenue. But with the woods and the retention pond, which gives us a view over water, it’s a little bit of the country too; it’s really pretty in the summer.”

LAYOUT TO FIT THE FAMILY

Roberts says “One of the character - istics of this particular design is that the house has a good flow to it. The rooms are all adequate in size for their use, from the bathrooms to the bedrooms and living room. The whole house is laid out very well for Chad and Mauri’s needs.” Mauri and Chad say they spend about 80% of their time in the kitchen, family room and the “hearth room” adjacent to the kitchen. “The way things are configured,” Mauri says, “while I’m in the kitchen cooking I can keep an eye on our daughter as she is playing.” From that vantage point, “It’s a big, open space and the kids can run around and you don’t have to worry about them because you can see them from just about anywhere.” The master bedroom is on the first floor while the children’s rooms are on the second. “We came from a ranch,” Mauri explains, “and it was nice when our daughter was a baby, because she was just down the hallway. But as the kids get older, it’s nice to have your own space away from them. In this house, if they’re up in their rooms playing and we’re down here, we can’t even hear them. So we did it for privacy.” A den off the main foyer, originally planned for a home office, is for now a TV room. “We moved into the house in February of 2012, when our daughter was 10 months old,” Mauri says. “And if I wanted to be on the computer I needed to be where she was, so we moved the computer into the kitchen. So, right now, the den is acting as a retreat. If I want to get away for an hour on Sunday and watch TV, I can just shut the door.” © 18 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local A modern glass tile backsplash area under the range hood contrasts elegantly with the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Mauri and Chad had Roberts extend the deck on the back of the house to accommodate more people when they are entertaining. The basement, recently finished off, will serve as a play area as the couple’s children get older. At present though, there is a special area down there set aside for that use. “We had them do a partial wall for the playroom, because I wanted the kids to feel as though they had some privacy,” Mauri says. “They almost don’t want you to see them play. It’s not totally closed off though, so we can still keep an eye on them.” “We came from a house with no natural light in the basement,” Mauri says. “So this is a nice change, with light pouring in through the windows.” A spare bedroom and a bathroom complete the downstairs living area.

COLOR AND DETAILS

It is hard not to notice, when first walking into the house, that there is not a white wall in sight. “I came from a house where everything was white,” Mauri says, “and we decided we wanted something different. White is what you A peaceful "TV retreat" room off the front foyer could eventually be turned see in a lot of spec homes. But I’ve into a home office. always loved dark wood and dark © Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 19 colors. So we painted the walls in rich hues and decided to stain the fire - place mantels, stair treads, cabinets and bookshelves. If we had the chance to stain something, we did.” The deep navy blue dining room is a good example of the color scheme. “I always wanted a navy blue room but never had an opportunity to do it,” Mauri says. ”So we said, let’s have it for the dining room.” The master bedroom, she says, “Is a pretty big room, and we’re not used to this much space. So the dark colors make it seem cozy and just a little bit smaller.” Some of the custom touches stand out as well. The couple had a photo of a fireplace mantel they wanted in the hearth room. Roberts subcontracted the project out to a local cabinetmaker. “He did an awesome job recreating it,” Mauri says, “and he did the same excellent work with the details in the master bedroom walk-in closet.” For the draperies that add texture and color to every room, Mauri worked with Ava Green at Draperies on Wheels (now named Flair Interiors). “She is amazing,” Mauri says. “She is very excited about what she does, and that gets you excited. With so many ideas, it’s hard when you go in there because there is so much to pick from. But she helps you to winnow it down and doesn’t throw it all at you at once.” The light fixtures were all ordered online, something Mauri says she probably wouldn’t do again. “They would ship half the order,” she says, “and then either backorder the rest or tell me they were no longer available.” In terms of energy efficiency, Roberts says the house is up to current energy code standards. “We’re a 5-Star Energy Star builder,” he says. “The extra interior basement wall insulation and air sealing we do tighten up the house a bit better than they were being built in the past. And 90% + efficiency furnaces are the standard of what we put into our homes these days.” Roberts, an acquaintance of Mauri’s dad, was “fun to work with,” Mauri says. “He’s not so serious all the time, and he has a lot of good ideas - like matching up the arched openings in the family room. We’re glad he mentioned that.” So, even though the house they’re in now wasn’t the first one they thought they would purchase, Mauri and Chad seem quite pleased in the house in which they wound up.

© 20 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local The master bathroom has both a walk-in shower and a whirlpool type tub. Richly-hued walls and the warm colors of the wood cabinetry create an intimate atmosphere.

The "hearth room" adjacent to the kitchen is an inviting A cove ceiling creates "lift" in the master bedroom. The space where the owners and their children spend much dark walls, the owners say, make the large space seem of their time. cozy.

© Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 21 © 22 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local Photo courtesy of James W. Carter Kalamazoo Country Club Fun for the Whole Family By Kaye Bennett

The Kalamazoo Country Club (KCC) has been a treasured part of the local social landscape for more than a century. Added together, Dick Stewart and John Fulling have been working there just about half that long. Stewart is the golf director at the club, and Fulling is its grounds and facilities manager. Between them, they have 56 years of KCC memories, not to mention an absolute devotion to the club. “I’m the luckiest guy on the face of the earth,” says Stewart. “After 35 years [at the KCC], I still love it.” And Fulling, who started working at the KCC in 1993 and who has spent his entire career working in country clubs, says, “I wouldn’t consider another job.” The job security isn’t bad either: “As long as people still keep slicing and hooking,” says Stewart, “I’ll have a job.” Stewart, a native of Petoskey and a graduate of Aquinas College, started caddying when he was 10 years old. Recognizing how important that experience was in his own life, Stewart is proud of the KCC’s youth caddie program, which, during his tenure, has introduced 3,500 youngsters to the game. Working with the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the KCC sponsors a caddie scholarship program that has helped Photo courtesy of KCC launch hundreds of careers. © Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 23 Fulling is from Illinois, where he attended Northern Illinois University and Kishwaukee College for Horticulture/ Turfgrass Management. The gorgeous landscaping at the KCC is Fulling’s baili - wick; “We made a conscious decision 20 years ago,” says Fulling, “to make it a spectacle.” Stewart has some fond memo - ries rooted in Fulling’s flowers, which, as he describes them, “. . . look like they are on steroids.” Many years ago, Stewart recalls, four of the club’s seasoned members each threw a golf ball over his shoulder to choose partners for a match. The balls, he laughs, landed in a flower bed so lush that “. . . they lost all four balls. They couldn’t find any of them.” Golf at the KCC offers something for everyone, says Stewart, with men’s, women’s and couple’s leagues, a huge junior program and a variety of tourna - ments. The club’s 27 holes include a nine-hole short course unique in the area, and the perfect place for beginners. “It’s the easiest, most user-friendly course in the world,” says Stewart. Through the years, many pro golfers have played in the club’s invitational tour - nament, including Davis Love III, Camilo Villegas and Bubba Dickerson. As a stu - dent at Stanford, Tiger Woods visited KCC two summers in a row. “He stood on the back of the old range tee and hit balls over the trees onto the fourth green,” Stewart shakes his head, “. . . using a two iron.” Visiting entertainers also stop by the KCC to play golf, says Stewart. Singers Kenny Rogers and John Denver have played the club’s courses, as well as radio personality Don Imus. Imus showed up wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots with golf spikes, says Stewart. After Kalama - zoo, where he was doing a show at the State Theater, he was headed to New Jersey to play in a charity golf event. He took a quick lesson from Stewart before leaving town. “I think it was the first time he’d ever played golf,” says Stewart. The KCC tennis courts are also busy, with leagues, an active junior program, cardio-tennis and tournaments. Three platform tennis courts offer one of the few places in southwest Michigan to play that sport. The 200,000-gallon, half- Olympic-sized pool is popular with both kids and adults; pool activities range from lap swims to an annual water show with a hundred youngsters participating. In their years at the KCC, Stewart and Fulling have seen many changes, changes which mirror trends in clubs nationwide, they believe. The greatest of these, they agree, is the movement of country clubs toward becoming more family oriented. When the KCC was begun, in 1909, by some of the leading businessmen in Kala - mazoo, it was primarily viewed as a club where they could play golf and – to a lesser extent – relax and conduct some business.

© 24 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local But a few years ago, things began to change. “The age demographic has really come down,” Stewart says. The KCC has always had youth tennis and golf programs, but today, says Fulling, a kids’ room, a director of youth activities and a full youth schedule mean that the KCC “... is like Disney World in the summer. . . It’s packed with kids every day.” Matthew McDade is the current KCC president, and he agrees with Fulling and Stewart. McDade and his wife Michelle have four children, ages 9 through 16, and the entire McDade family is deeply immersed in KCC activities. A member of the club since 2002, McDade, the owner of a financial consulting firm, appreciates the opportunities the KCC offers him to network and entertain new people and old friends. But even more, he says, the club Photo courtesy of KCC lets his family spend quality time together. His wife, says McDade, has made a lot of friends at the KCC and enjoys playing golf there; the kids are all avid golfers and swimmers. And the entire family enjoys the holiday celebrations and special events the KCC is famous for. “It’s unlike any other place in Kalamazoo,” says McDade. “We love the club and what it stands for.” Part of what makes the KCC so family friendly, Nikki Perk believes, is tied to food. Perk is the KCC’s director of marketing and membership. A vari - ety of dining rooms, including a family- centered grill, are overseen by Chef Todd DeKoekkoek, whose menus feature foods from local farmers’ markets and the KCC’s own vegetable garden. Perk says that dining together at the club can help strengthen families. “There can be great conversation over the table,” she says, “. . . when Mom and Dad aren’t distracted and can focus on the family.” In addition to providing a plethora Photo courtesy of Michael Terri Studios of activities for its members, ranging from cooking classes to theme parties and holiday extravaganzas, the KCC reaches out into the community. The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, Kalamazoo Public Schools and the American Cancer Society are just a few of the organizations that have benefitted from KCC partnerships through the years. The Kalamazoo Country Club offers a tangible link between Kalamazoo’s past, its present and its future. No better evidence of this link can be seen than the club’s current vice president, A.J. Todd, IV. Todd is a great-grandson of Albert J. Todd, one of the KCC charter members. The Todd family has maintained membership at the KCC continuously for five generations, spanning the entire 104-year history of the club. For information about the Kalamazoo Country Club or to tour the club, call Nikki Perk 269-345-6149. Photo courtesy of KCC

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Waterfront Landscaping By Zolton Cohen

“Waterfront landscaping,” says Jim Garrison, owner of Sandstone Creation Stonework and Landscape, “is all about the lake. That’s the driving theme of whatever landscaping you do – how it relates to the lake and how people spend their time by the water.” Troy Stefl, owner of Landscape Designworks, emphasizes that the perspective of the lake is why people buy lakefront property in the first place. “Everyone wants to preserve that view,” he says. “With regular landscaping you’re doing it to be looked at. When you’re doing waterfront landscaping you want to make sure it can be looked over or through - and out into the view.”

INCORPORATING A LIFESTYLE INTO THE LANDSCAPE

“Naturally, people like seating areas by the water,” Ken Murray, owner of Murray Landscaping, LLC says. “Ground level wood decks are popular, as is a patio so people can sunbathe without being on the grass.” Murray says many lakeside homeowners want firepits these days. “They can be made of stone, poured concrete or steel. Or a ring of rocks works just fine too.” Stefl says a firepit or even an outdoor fireplace can help Photo courtesy of Murray Landscaping residents extend their cottage season. “In May or September © Great Things Local Welcome Home • Summer 2013 • 27 Photo courtesy of Landscape Designworks

you still have beautiful days, but maybe the nights are GRADE CHANGE IS A CHALLENGE, chillier than you would want. So a firepit or fireplace will let AND AN OPPORTUNITY you sit outside in comfort.” Garrison notes, “Since you’re sure to use the area by the One unavoidable fact of owning lakeside property is that water, it is a good idea to consider whether you want to be in there is usually a grade change from the dwelling down to the sun or the shade. Putting in a tree can create a nice amount the shoreline. That can present a challenge for homeowners of shade.” From an aesthetic standpoint, Garrison says, he likes desiring a flat spot for various activities. “floppy” grasses and trees, like river birches and locusts, that Stefl says, “People are very specific about ‘this is what move in the wind. we do at the lake.’ They’ll say they want a flat area for soccer,

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© 28 • Welcome Home • Summer 2013 Great Things Local badminton or lawn darts. And that’s where we sometimes get to be creative, because we need to build that flat spot in a graded area.” Garrison says having a grade change next to a lake can make for dramatic spaces. “You can have a landing up top, a main patio in the middle and a fire pit and a sand area down by the lake.” Terracing can increase the usability of what are often narrow and deep lakeside lots, Garrison says, and allows different areas to be used at different times of the day. Tumbled pavers work well for patios, Murray says. As does concrete or stone. “Anything with a hard surface will work, and there are a lot of good choices these days. But it has to be flat, and you want it smooth so you can set a chair on it without rocking; that’s a big concern these days for many people.”

ANYTHING IN THE WATER REQUIRES A PERMIT

The State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulate, by issuing permits, what landscaping or hardscaping is allowed to go into the water at a lake. Though the permit process can take quite a long time, depending on the scope of the proposed project, Garrison says he has found everyone at those agencies friendly and easy to deal with. But they aren’t pushovers, Stefl says. They have strict rules about what can and cannot be done, all in the pursuit of what is in the best interests of the lake and its residents. Murray notes that the DEQ encourages lakeside homeowners to consider adding or restoring a natural vegetation buffer zone between the shore and lake. “The trend is to go back to a natural landscape,” he says. “What was put in at waterfronts in the past, like straight seawalls, is not the way nature works. And for the good of the lake there needs to be a These Before and After shots of this lakefront property kind of a buffer between the land and the water; a natural show the dramatic changes which can help create a filtering area that can stop polluted runoff from lawns and pleasant view from the shore and the water. Grade streets from entering the lake.” changes create usable spaces for varied purposes. “Another reason it would be nice to have natural Photos courtesy of Sandstone Creation vegetation along most of the shoreline, except for maybe a nar - row opening,” Murray continues, “is to keep geese out of your yard. Geese will come onto a yard and do what they do all over your lawn. But a natural cover area could conceal a predator, so they won’t come in there.” Adding natural, uneven materials like boulders to the shoreline and out into the water encourages organisms like crayfish to populate the area. Those in turn draw predator fish and birds like herons. But, Garrison, Stefl and Murray say, natural areas have to be balanced with the needs of the homeowners for swimming and boating.

HOW MUCH MAINTENANCE IS NEEDED?

Maintenance, or rather the desire for less maintenance, is a hot topic in landscaping these days. Stefl says, “The biggest shift I’ve seen in 25 years of doing this work, whether it’s lakeside landscaping or not, is to low maintenance. Clients used to say ‘I want it to look pretty,’ or ‘I want season-long colors,’ or ‘I want day lilies by the front mailbox.’ Now they’re very specific about what they don’t want, and that is maintenance. It’s one of the first things out of people’s mouths.” That seems to be especially true when the lake home is a second home, Garrison says. “The owners don’t want to drive to the house and then have to spend the whole weekend mowing, weeding, pruning and mulching and not being able to enjoy the lake.” At the end of the day, says Murray, “Sitting on a lakeside patio in the evening, getting a little fire going and having a couple of cold ones; that’s life at its finest.” Hard to argue with that…

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