Indiana Dunes Home (Dorothy Buell House)
Role
Exterior Design
Interior Design
Cabinetry & Furniture Design
Landscape Design
Fine Art
Photography
Michael Bill Smith
Exercising restraint and a gentle touch
This beautiful home once belonged to Dorothy Buell, the visionary responsible for saving the beloved dunes of Northwest Indiana.
The challenge involved undoing and mitigating the previous remodeling to the house and the landscape design, bringing back the original design to honor the history and essence of this remarkable place.
This residence, locally known as The Dorothy Buell House, is where she founded Save the Dunes to prevent the steel industry from destroying all that remained of the lakefront dunes in NW Indiana.
A historical picture shows her holding a meeting in the living room with Illinois Senator Paul Douglas – an ally in her campaign which ended up in the US Congress resulting in the creation of The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, subsequently the Indiana Dunes National Park.
The property did not feel welcoming. Demolishing the 30-ft long wood privacy fence blocking the front of the house opened up the site while also allowing wildlife to traverse the land.
On the house exterior, I designed cedar wood shutters, as well as a cedar wood portico to emphasize the entrance. The garage door was replaced with a craftsman door similar to the original.
On the outside, I applied permaculture design principles and my understanding of the local ecology to create a landscape design that incorporates the beauty of indigenous vegetation. The design incorporates food producing guilds, biodiversity, habitats for wildlife, water management, composting, and dark skies initiatives.
Inside, I integrated numerous aspects of biophilic design such as natural materials, colors, textures, shapes and forms, natural fibers and organic patterns in rugs and fabrics, curvilinear furniture and of course, a lot of plants! Lastly, I designed a cedar wood console, cedar wood built-in dining room cabinet, and both curated and created the artwork.
This holistic approach creates a strong connection between inside and outside, between oneself, nature and the ecology of the Dunes.
