Lakeside Beauty

This Robert C. Metcalf-designed home along Crystal Lake’s white-sand shore is as welcoming and peaceful today as the day it was born
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Photography by Jeff Garland

The Robert C. Metcalf-designed home takes advantage of gorgeous Crystal Lake views throughout the year.
Vibrant blue exterior doors are a Robert C. Metcalf touch.

The late architect Robert C. Metcalf’s Mid-century Modern designs are prized and esteemed around Ann Arbor, metro Detroit, and beyond. Over four decades, he designed more than 150 homes, churches, and other structures. 

Only one of his homes can be found in northwest lower Michigan, and it’s on Crystal Lake near Beulah. The owner — social demographer and professor emerita at the University of Michigan, Lois M. Verbrugge, and her late husband, U-M professor of aerospace engineering Elmer G. Gilbert — found the beautiful piece of land on Crystal Lake  and convinced the celebrated architect to design a home for them.

Nature takes center stage at this home near Beulah. Simple lines allow one of Mother Nature’s masterpiece lakes to be the star.

The professors were colleagues of Metcalf, U-M dean of architecture and urban planning, and they already owned one of his homes in Ann Arbor, so they were drawn to the architect’s phenomenal attention to detail. 

“Metcalf was a humble man,” Verbrugge remembers. “Elmer and Bob were very like-minded people. Both were engineers, detail people. I would say fussy.”

The great outdoors is invited indoors, thanks to numerous large windows.
The architect’s signature glass blocks, enhanced by a few colorful shapes, are intriguing accents.

For the Crystal Lake home, the couple wanted something simple, unpretentious, comfortable, informal, close to the lake, and with easy access to outdoor activities. The architect designed a three-bedroom, two-bath, 2,046-square-foot house, which was built between the fall of 1989 and the spring of 1990 on 180 feet of private frontage on the north shore of the lake.

“Many people like the south side of Crystal Lake,” Verbrugge says, “but we liked the north side for the weather — it’s more dynamic in all seasons.”

The glass blocks, as seen from the interior, are also unique works of art.

The open-format main floor features a great room with high wood beams and skylights, a wall of windows showcasing the sparkling lake, tile floors, red oak trim, pocket doors, wood lattices, and a wall of Metcalf’s signature glass blocks along the front of the house.  

Built-in cabinetry and vibrant blue exterior doors are also a Metcalf touch. A central galley kitchen with built-in appliances banishes clutter, and the master bedroom at the far end has sliding doors that lead out to the beach. The upper floor features an open walkway that connects two office/study areas and a guest room. It’s the perfect layout for work, play, and guests. Even the detached garage with an attic was well-planned; it holds two cars, sports equipment, and garden tools.

Both professors were avid outdoorspeople who enjoyed all that Crystal Lake and the nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore offered. Gilbert died in 2019, and last summer, Verbrugge decided it was time to simplify. 

Imagine waking up to this view. The interior main-floor bedroom palette echos sky, lake, and sand colors.
An inviting bathroom features a colorful rug and charming wall art.

After much research into finding the right Realtor, she put the two-story, open-plan house, complete with its lightly-used and lovely Mid-century Modern furnishings (mostly teak and oak, and Knoll and Herman Miller), artwork, and original appliances on the market.  

Verbrugge knows the time is right, but her decision didn’t come lightly, and she hopes the next owner will appreciate the home, the lake, and the natural landscape as much as she and her husband did. 

“This was Elmer’s soul place,” she says. “I will weep when I leave this house. It honors him. For me, it is irreplaceable beauty. I will never again in my lifetime have that experience — it will go with me for the rest of my life.”

An inviting study allows residents to get some work done or enjoy a craft project while also taking in exterior views.

The original plans and early photos of this house can be found online at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Metcalf Job 118-89.

A link to the selling specs: 4875crystaldrive.com. 

Buyer’s Guide

Homeowner
Lois Verbrugge

Bathroom, Main Floor
Rug – Contemporary Gabbeh

Bedroom, Main Floor
Dresser – Jesper Bedroom 20 Soft Top Series
Lamps – Scatchard GS200
Night Stands – Jesper Bedroom 20 Soft Top Series
Rug – Contemporary Design, India

Bedroom, Upstairs
Chair, Side – Tulip Chair Armchair with Textile Seatpad, Eero Saarinen, Knoll
Chest – Jesper Bedroom 30 Soft Top Series
Lamps – Hand-Thrown, Groundwork Lamps
Night Stands – Jesper Bedroom 30 Soft Top Series

Dining Room
Rug – Gabbeh, India

Entryway
Rug, Rectangular – Custom, Finland
Rug, Runner – Custom, Finland

Exterior
Door Knocker – Baldwin Brass Hardware, Satin Nickel-Plated Finish, Cape Code Brass
House Numbers – Bronze with Flat Black Finish, Emtek

Garage Attic
Table – Everywhere Rectangular Table, Dan Grabowski, Herman Miller

Kitchen
China – Seaview, Mikasa
Cutlery – Metro, Mikasa
Knives – Wüsthof
Pots – All-Clad

Living Room
Chairs, Side – Reupholstered, Academy Blue, Atlas
Clock – Prisma Clock TL, ChronoArt
Lamp – JT Abernathy Pot (made into lamp)
Lamp, Floor – Generation G300 Rocker with Footstool, Antique
Rug – Gabbeh, India
Rug – Hand-Knotted Wool, Eileen Fisher

Stairs and Landing
Carpet – Alexandria, Rosetta, Unique Carpets Ltd.

Upstairs Study, North
Chair – Setu Chair, Herman Miller

Upstairs Study, South
Chair, Desk – Reupholstered, Herman Miller

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