Traditional Home Circa 2007

Last month on Instagram, Traditional Home posted a few of the images from today’s home tour, and I got very excited! I had never seen this home before, and I could not wait to see more. I found the feature online, but still no date, which was later confirmed as 2007 by @splendorinthesouth. Eleven years later, this home still feels so fresh and timeless… the kind of home I would like to see more of in the shelter magazines today.

Homeowner Lisa Schrenk Bouchard enlisted designer Ann Heath to help create an inviting respite for her family and friends. She loved the open floor plan of the newly constructed Michigan home, but she “traditionalized” it by straightening out modern curved walls, replacing window sashes to include traditional mullions, encasing the archway in the entry with paneling, adding a fireplace in the living room, and more. She applies an “only if I love it” attitude to her fixtures and furnishings, favoring antiques and dressmaker detailing. Many pieces, like antique chandeliers in the dining room and kitchen, traveled from old house to new.

Lisa’s collections, especially her majolica, Quimper, and blue and white porcelain, drove the interior design. She wanted a background that would enhance them without overpowering. “I wanted the house to feel like a warm hug every time you walk through the door,” she said. “I started collecting in my early 20s with only one rule––buy what you love,” says Lisa. “Unless I truly love a piece, I walk away. I don’t believe in just filling a space with ‘stuff.’ ”

Shortly after moving into her new home, Lisa remarried creating a blended family with six boys aged nine to 24 years old at the time of publication.  This is truly a family-friendly home! Photography by Gordon Beall and captions by Candace Ord Manroe for Traditional Home.