It is 1911, just past the turn of the century. A successful, American businessman, dividing his time between St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee, purchases an island on a pristine lake in Southeastern Wisconsin for his Wisconsin luxury home. He builds a beautiful summer lake home and later a honeymoon cottage for his daughter and her groom on the property as well. This property features a botanical garden with exotic plants, and Thomas Edison is a frequent visitor to the treasured piece of property.

Now fast forward to over 100 years later. Over the next several weeks, we are going to look at one family’s desire to save a piece of history while building their dream home. Colby Construction was thrilled to be a part of this project and enjoyed the challenges involved in creating this truly unique home while saving the historical cottage.

Building a Wisconsin Luxury Home

The original home was lost in the 1950’s, but the honeymoon cottage remained. Through the years, the cozy cottage that featured heart shaped door locks was cherished and maintained by different owners. Purchased by today’s owners in the 1990s, the family loved the cottage and spent their summer days relaxing and disconnecting from the chaos of life with their family and friends there. As the children grew and left home, the owners knew that it was time to build their dream home on this rare, spectacular piece of property. They quickly realized, though, that maintaining and keeping the honeymoon cottage was a priority to them as they built their custom lake home.

We are so excited to share the result with you and will bring you more each week. Blackhawk is a prime example of what sets Colby Construction apart from all Wisconsin luxury home builders.

For more design inspiration, check out our Pinterest page: here’s a board filled with ideas for living outdoors even as the weather cools.