Inside a Sophisticated Michigan Cabin

Armed with a sewing machine, a jigsaw, plenty of decorating ideas, and an unerring eye, fashion designer Mark Heister and his wife, Linda, upend the conventions of cabin living—while graciously honoring them.

Wildly Creative

Forty years ago, Mark and Linda Heister gambled on reinvention. Mark, a graphic designer, had always wanted to work as a fashion designer, while Linda dreamed of a career in public relations. So that's exactly what they did. By the time the Heisters shuttered their fashion house in 2009, the duo has discovered another outlet for their creative energy: a log cabin in New Buffalo, Michigan.

In this photo: Mark rejuvenated the dining furniture that came with the house, replacing the table's Colonial legs with cut-down utility poles for a more rugged look, and outfitting the Old Hickory chairs with upholstered leather seats.

Bright idea: The Heisters stitched these striking drapes from classic Hudson's Bay blankets.

Great Room

The Heisters approached their retreat with their signature aesthetic: the interiors, which seem simple at first, soon reveal themselves to be the height of sophisticated understatement. Mark and Linda both gravitate towards cast-iron skillets, matte pottery, and twiggy furniture, but manage to wring major drama from plainspoken objects. Contrast has something to do with it. Those black pans, for instance, hang on a white wall.

In this photo: The great room's flagstone fireplace displays a taxidermic buffalo head, vintage iron cookware, and Mexican and American pottery.

Kitchen

The kitchen cabinetry has been updated with handsome pine fronts, but the room still boasts an original apron-front sink. Mark also decanted all the couple's dry goods into glass jars with fanciful clip-art labels. "When you're obsessed," the fashion designer notes drily, "you do that kind of thing."

In this photo: Mark concealed the kitchen's Fisher & Paykel dishwasher with this pine front, which mimics the other cabinetry. He also crafted the window's trompe l'oeil valance—actually a wooden shelf. The walls are painted Swiss Coffee by Glidden.

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