Realty Round Up: Pentwater, Michigan

We are on the road again, this time for Jeff's family reunion. We left Wednesday evening stopping in Chicago for the night before proceeding Thursday morning up the west side of Michigan to the town of Pentwater. Pentwater is a two hour drive from Grand Rapids and is just about as picturesque as summer towns in Michigan get. Year round the town's population is very small (around 850 people) but in the summer the village swells with vacationers primarily from the Chicago and Detroit metro areas. One of the main draws to the area is that there is access to both the "big lake" - Lake Michigan and the "little lake" - Pentwater Lake. This gives people the best of both worlds - great beaches on the big lake with all the activities of a small lake. Some of my favorite local attractions are:
- House of Flavors - amazing ice cream!
- The Brown Bear - some crazy large burgers
- Cottage Garden Cafe - really yummy breakfast

House #1: $0 - $250,000

information and images via Zillow

This is a true fixer upper - it doesn't even list number of bathrooms. However, it has such great original charm and is close to town and the beach. So many possibilities with this one!

 House #2: $250,000 - $500,000

information and images via Zillow

This house sits on an amazing lot with direct access to Lake Michigan. I love the big screened porch for those buggy summer nights and how this home is sited amongst the trees. 

House #3: $500,000 - $750,000

information and images via Zillow

This house sits on Pentwater Lake and would be a boat lover's dream. I personally enjoy the use of cedar shake and all the windows.  

House #4: $750,000 - $1,000,000

information and images via Zillow

This home had very few pictures and little description. However, you can still tell what an amazing house it is/could be. I can only imagine the amazing views and how much privacy you would have.  

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend! 

a green sofa

I am working on a living room design that has a green sofa for its focal point. I don't want to reveal too much as I am planning a much more detailed post(s) but I thought I would share some of my different inspiration images and corresponding color palette ideas. 

image via Style at Home

image and design by Tilton Fenwick

image and fabrics by Cowtan & Tout

image via House Beautiful with design by Christina Murphy

garden maintenance

On Monday, I gave the garden some much needed maintenance. I weeded, picked off any yellow leaves or those that were too close to the base of the plant and removed a few spots of soil where it looked like some fungus was starting to grow.  

I also tripped off some flowering buds from the basil as I was told that the flowering will change the taste. Finally, I rotated my flower pots as the amount of afternoon sunlight varies a good amount from the left to right side of the front porch.

I am still concerned about inadequate drainage so I might try to create more holes rather than just expand the ones we already have. Otherwise, I think the plants are doing pretty well. Fingers crossed! Any other tips for me?