Lawless Retreat in Jones, MI Real Estate Development, American Residential Property, USA Architecture
Lawless Retreat in Jones, Michigan
American Luxury Cabin – design by Searl Lamaster Howe Architects
Nov 28, 2019
Lawless Retreat, MI
Design: Searl Lamaster Howe Architects
Location: Jones, Michigan, USA

The clients had searched five years across four states to find a site for their weekend home that spoke to them. Lawless Retreat was to be everything that their Chicago residence – a lofted space nestled within the attic trusses of a converted church ? was not. The loft is in the heart of the bustling Wicker Park neighborhood; they sought serenity and a slower pace. The loft features a highly curated collection of sleek European contemporary furnishings; they were inspired by the idea of a sanctuary with a modern sensibility but also rooted in its place with hand craftsmanship felt on scales big and small. The loft?s views of the downtown skyline are finely calibrated to maintain a sense of privacy in the dense neighborhood; they sought an abundance of transparency and a direct connection to nature.
Overnights in a tent on the three properties that made it to the final round assured them that their ultimate pick – a strip of land with a valley and a small creek at its center, nestled along the edge of a state park in central Michigan ? was the right choice. On a brisk autumn morning, with stakes, lots of orange tape and the design team in tow, they set ou...