Award-winning Birmingham ‘Shutter House’ hits the market for $1.395M

Just outside of downtown Birmingham sits this magnificent redesigned home in its own serene oasis. Surrounded by mature trees, this house has multiple outdoor spaces for appreciating nature, and large windows to enjoy the view. Natural materials were used in the 2007-2010 redesign by McIntosh Poris, which won multiple awards from AIA Michigan and Detroit Home. It’s now listing for $1,395,000.

A 2011 Detroit Home article called the 1966 home before the redesign a, “1960s-era two-story house with pink brick and a homely mansard roof,” and architect Michael Poris referred to the house as “dated.” A renovation with interior designer Gayle Shaw Camden turned into a complete makeover of the home, including building an addition onto the garage, adding the “Shoji-inspired garage door,” and changing the entire design into a Northwest/Japanese aesthetic. The results are breathtaking.

Shutters frame the enclosed second-floor deck facing the street, and the house has garnered multiple names from this: the Zen Boathouse, the Shutter Residence, and the Zen House. In all, the house has an open, airy floor plan on the main level, with a wood beams and columns, a custom kitchen, and hand-picked furnishings. A downstairs living space opens to the backyard and includes a great stone fireplace. Four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths complete the home. It’s listed through Dylan Tent at Signature Sotheby’s.

• 520 Willits Street, Birmingham, Michigan [Realtor.com]