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Designer Josh
Wadzinski converted a builder-grade rear exterior into
an inviting and Craftsman-detailed facade, which
includes a second-floor master bedroom balcony and an
entryway to various lakeside views for relaxation and
dining. |
Designing an outdoor space for
a residence is as much about allowing the home’s exterior to blossom
to its full potential as it is for the landscape to take hold.
Such is the case at a
6,000-square-foot, waterfront domicile on Lake DuBay near Stevens Point.
Designer Josh Wadzinski, founder and lead design architect of Think
Design in Glendale, focused on providing personality to the
builder-grade home, which was originally built in the 1980s.
The owners, a couple who bought
the property as their empty nest, also envisioned their home as a
welcoming place for visiting customers of their international business.
“There were not a lot of
architectural homes being built in the 1980s in Central Wisconsin,”
Wadzinski says. “We wanted to tie what we did on the inside to the
exterior.”
As part of the entire-home
makeover, the designer’s interior work leaned heavily on Arts and Crafts
style, with a new kitchen and other hospitality-focused amenities
sculpted from existing space. The outdoor space needed to be a seamless
continuation of the home’s social setting.
Wadzinski redesigned the
exterior, infusing intricate details to achieve a cohesive style. That
included over-framed roof extensions to correct the previously clipped
gables; relocated windows to take advantage of lakeside views; a
Craftsman-detailed, second-floor balcony for the master bedroom; a
natural shingle roof; and facade features, such as a renewed, more
colorful limestone base and added chimney stack.
The physical connection is a
redesigned bay window and added entry out to a deck — a starting point
to several landscaped features. The exterior emphasizes a series of
gathering places placed strategically both near the home and in front of
an expansive lawn leading to the lake.
“The client really wanted to have
their guests be able to enjoy a variety of different settings so they
can experience the entire environment,” Wadzinski says. “And the idea
was to do that in comfortable groupings.”
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An
in-the-round casual paver patio equipped with a fire pit
and Adirondack chairs is just one of the settings making
this residence perfect for entertaining. |
The deck serves as a dining
area, as does a paver patio below. The lower space includes a
kitchen and bar under a pergola that provides convenient shelter.
Among other informal breakout spaces are a bar-like backed stool set
around a stone column table and a beachy arrangement of Adirondack
chairs on a paved patio surrounded by limestone shelf seating,
forming a curved shape around a fire pit.
Wadzinski’s plantings design
emphasized keeping it natural with minimal maintenance.
“We basically used the plantings
as borders and edges,” he says. “We wanted them to help define the
various sections of the property. There’s a mixture of colorful annuals
and perennials.”
There also was an effort to
maintain the property’s trees — they not only maintain the natural
setting, but also provide a natural privacy screen. The only casualty
was a sickly pine near the patio kitchen area.
“The clients needed a home they could
enjoy for themselves and for their business guests,” Wadzinski says.
“Everything about the design was meeting both of those needs.”