(Christine Nesheim)
LUXURY HOMES: Vintage Blend
Stunning Design Incorporates a Pair of Cottages
Bill Hebal chuckles while looking out the window onto Clark Lake. “That’s the view we have to live with,” he said.
Like so many couples living in Door County, Bill and his wife Katie celebrate the beauty that nature has bestowed upon the Peninsula. And in the process they’ve created a home that blends a bit of the property’s history with a modern contemporary look.
Bill had a contemporary furniture store in Stevens Point for the better part of 20 years. He eventually decided to sell and has been an independent representative in furniture manufacturing. He also designs; his distinctive furniture is situated throughout the home. One of particular interest is the living room coffee table that offered the first hint of Bill’s love for cars. The table is 40 years old and constructed from old Chevrolet drive shafts.
More than a decade ago, the Hebals also purchased the property that would encompass three small lots – the property on which their home now sits.
It’s an area Bill is very familiar with. His grandfather owned considerable property around the current home and Bill eagerly anticipated any trip to the cottage. That family cottage sits next door. Bill and Katie bought it from other family members as an “investment” but one gets the feeling it’s more sentimental than monetary.
The home’s U-shaped footprint has historical origins since the design actually fuses a pair of small cottages situated on those lots. One of those cottages now serves as a three-sided living room that provides a stunning lake view. Set behind it is the kitchen, easily accessible to the living space, with a distinctive glass window from the original cottage highlighting the separation between the two rooms. The other cottage is home to a family office and a portion of the master bedroom suite.
“We could have built new 40 feet from the water and took everything down or we could keep the cottages, the setback of the cottages, and keep the original footprint. We chose to do that,” said Bill. “It’s really nice to be that close to the water and save memories of the original buildings.”
Preserving the cottages enabled the home to retain its close proximity to the lake, but the wooden ceilings and massive beams also remain. Now painted white, they add to the clean, airy feel of the home which has many windows — all energy efficient.
Nowhere is the home’s panorama featured more prominently than from its third level. “Kind of like a tree house,” describes Bill, stressing that he and Katie opted not to sacrifice trees for an entirely open view of the lake. Still, you know it’s there.
“It started as a little third story room where you could come and read a book. By the time the architect got done with it, it was a bit larger,” said Hebal.
As we descend to the second level, Bill fills us in on the stunning maple flooring in the connecting loft. It comes from a tree on the property. “There were holes in it from when it was tapped for maple syrup it in the 1900’s,” he explained. “We should have at least put in one hole. You can tell it comes from an aged maple tree with a lot of personality.”
Across the loft are two guest bedrooms, one with a pocket door that Bill said permits guests both privacy and openness. When open, it presents a look down on the first floor dining room off the kitchen. Bill muses that it’s convenient for placing morning breakfast orders.
As the tour returns to the first floor, Bill’s love for the land becomes apparent as he points out the cedar wall which extends from the entryway to the sunroom. Like the maple flooring, the cedars are indigenous to the property. “They’re from trees we turned over to the local sawmill,” said Hebal, who then points out with pride to the landscaping work he, Katie, and Master Gardner friend Lisa, undertook across the front of the home.
The sunroom never fails to raise eyebrows, since in it, Bill’s love for automobiles takes full bloom. In the room sits a 1934 Morgan, a classic three-wheel British sports car, which was enormously popular in its time, since it provided the tax advantages of motorcycles. Katie adds to the vehicle’s appeal by adding a picnic basket appropriate to the season.
“Katie loves the car,” Bill explained, who reaches to share a photo of his wife and her friends posing in and around the vehicle. To accommodate the car and any additions or changes in the future, the Hebals installed a large glass door; one Bill said matched another that went in a week earlier at a Mazda dealership. “People might think we’re a little loony,” he says with a chuckle. “But it (the car) is a lot of fun.”
As important as the car is to the Hebals, Bill points out one of the room’s pieces of art. It’s a poster from the Pebble Beach (Calif.) car show dating back to 1996. In the middle is an autograph that, when studied a bit, reveals the name Jay Leno to which the comedian added a small caricature of his distinctive chin. As famous as Leno is for his years hosting “The Tonight Show,” Bill seems to hold him in equally high regard for his reputation as a car collector.
Hebal’s passion for collecting goes beyond cars and prompted his building of a second structure on the property. The boat house contains a vintage Chris-Craft.
“We heat that to protect the boat,” said Bill, “but it also provides a warming house for iceboating in the winter time which occurs about two days out of the year. But if there’s iceboating everything else stops.”
Returning to the home, Bill emphasizes that the art within the home is a work in progress, but he points out one attractive work.
“This was done by Katie’s aunt, Doris White, who was one of the first artists to have a gallery in Door County,” said Bill. “She was really good at what she did.”
But when you live in Door County and particularly Clark Lake like the Hebals do, Mother Nature’s artwork provides an ever- changing exhibition.
