Lakefront Homes, Composed Around the Water
Luxury lakefront homes and estates designed and directed as one, where architecture, interiors and craft are attuned to the water, the light and the way a family truly lives there.
A home on the water is a particular discipline. It must hold the view without being overwhelmed by it, draw the lake indoors through glass and sightline, open generously across a summer and weather long off-seasons with grace. Martire takes on lakefront homes and estates as a single, principal-led commission, reading the shoreline, the light and the way you intend to live there, then carrying one artistic vision from pre-architect planning through construction, finishes and styling. Courtenay Martire leads each project herself, so the architecture and the interior life of the home are conceived together rather than reconciled later. The work spans the Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana shoreline and the region's inland lakes, with select availability further afield.
Architecture attuned to its setting
On the water, the setting is the design brief. How the home greets the lake on arrival, where morning and evening light fall, how an interior becomes one continuous room with the terrace and the shore beyond, these are decided long before any finish is chosen. Engaged in the pre-architect, pre-construction phase, Martire shapes those decisions from the outset, reading the land and the home before a single line is committed.
The shoreline here is varied: shingle-and-stone summer estates, dune-framed retreats, and contemporary builds that want the same generosity of light. Across all of them the questions are shared, and Courtenay holds the through-line, selecting or working alongside the architect, guiding or shaping the plans, and keeping the home and its setting in step.
A second home made deeply personal
A lakefront house is rarely only a house. It is where a family gathers, the setting of long-remembered summers, the home that carries the next generation as easily as this one. That emotional weight asks for design that is genuinely personal rather than merely handsome, spaces that feel inevitable, well-built and unmistakably yours.
Drawing on a background that moves fluidly between art, fashion, photography, music and architecture, Courtenay crafts each homeowner's soul print into the home: custom joinery and millwork, considered cabinetry, lighting plans tuned to lake light, drapery and textiles, materials, art and styling, all under one creative direction. Whether a whole-home transformation of an heirloom estate or a ground-up custom home on the shore, the homeowner remains the star of the home.
One voice, often across a distance
Lakefront projects are frequently undertaken from afar, a primary home in Chicago or the suburbs, a treasured second home a few hours along the water. Martire is built for exactly that kind of trust, carrying the project with a calm continuity that does not depend on the homeowner being on site.
Working with long-standing artisans and trade partners, the studio takes on substantial, design-led work, luxury renovations, additions, custom homes, whole-home transformations and full interiors. From the first conversation about the land and the life it will hold, there is one voice reading the home and answering to you, from drawings through to the final styling.
A complete, considered scope.
Engaged as your design lead, Martire carries the work across disciplines so nothing falls between trades.
- Site and shoreline reading in the pre-construction phase
- Architect selection and ongoing collaboration
- Floor plan guidance and indoor-outdoor planning
- Lighting plans tuned to lake light and sightlines
- Custom millwork, joinery and cabinetry design
- Materials, finishes, drapery, textiles and art
- Full artistic direction through construction
- Continuity for homes managed at a distance
Good to know.
When is the best moment to bring Martire into a lakefront project?
As early as possible, ideally in the pre-architect, pre-construction phase. The earliest decisions about orientation, light and how the home meets the water shape everything that follows. Engaging early lets Courtenay read the site and the way you intend to summer there, select or work alongside the architect, and shape the plans before they are fixed, carrying a single artistic direction through to the final styling.
Which lakefront regions do you work in?
Martire works across the Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana shoreline and the region's inland lakes, including Lake Geneva, Harbor Country and the Indiana dunes, alongside Chicago and its suburbs, with select availability nationwide for the right project. Many of these homes are second homes belonging to families we already know.
Can you direct a lakefront home when we are not on site?
Yes. A great many lakefront homes are managed from a distance, and the studio is built for that trust. As a principal-led practice, Courtenay holds the artistic direction and continuity of the whole project, so decisions stay coherent and considered whether or not you are on the shore that week.
What scale of lakefront project do you take on?
Our work centres on substantial, design-led homes and estates, typically luxury renovations, additions, custom homes, whole-home transformations and full interiors. We take on a select number of projects so each receives Courtenay's direct, principal-led attention from the first conversation through to styling.
If a home on the water is taking shape in your mind, we would be glad to begin reading the land and the life it will hold.