![Upper Jeptha Lake Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects - Windows, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/90d2/f197/cc1a/8100/0033/medium_jpg/0021_012.jpg?1528664258)
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Architects: Wheeler Kearns Architects
- Area: 960 ft²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs:Tom Harris
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Manufacturers: Hansgrohe, FSB Franz Schneider Brakel, Andersen Windows & Doors, B-K Lighting, Holophane
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Interior Design: RDK Design, Robert Kleinschmidt
![Upper Jeptha Lake Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects - Garden, Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/901e/f197/cc1a/8100/002f/newsletter/0021_007.jpg?1528664079)
Text description provided by the architects. The Upper Lake Jeptha Guest House is the latest addition among the cluster of small buildings that comprise an ever-evolving, beloved family compound on a lake in rural SW Michigan.
![Upper Jeptha Lake Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects - Sofa, Table, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/908a/f197/ccb6/ef00/0041/newsletter/0021_010.jpg?1528664186)
The “just far enough away” Guest House is positioned to contribute to and better frame the family’s exterior social spaces, simultaneously turning and fronting the lake beyond.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/935d/f197/cc1a/8100/0041/medium_jpg/Upper_Lake_Jeptha_Floor_Plan.jpg?1528664916)
Composed of calm and muted, carefully curated materials and details, it maintains a stylistic consistency across the multi-building property. In contrast to the cool weathering gray exterior, a refined handling of Douglas fir wraps the interior, a kind of geode.
![Upper Jeptha Lake Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects - Beam, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/9146/f197/cc1a/8100/0035/medium_jpg/0021_014.jpg?1528664374)
The intimate 960 square foot cottage is all a guest could need. A small eating nook, a living/communal area, flanked by two-bedroom suites. A central wood-clad volume divides the social zones, cleverly concealing cupboards, appliances and an efficient stair. A wooden ceiling plane floats above the social spaces; clerestories wrap a light-filled working and sleeping loft, providing panoramic immersion with sky, lake and forest.
The guests all leave decompressed, happy. Just as planned.
![Upper Jeptha Lake Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects - Forest](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b1d/8fd9/f197/ccb6/ef00/003d/newsletter/0021_005.jpg?1528664009)