Hello Tod. It has been awhile since we last talked. Mike and I have spent the past month putting the Pine Street house to bed for the winter. Because it will be empty for six months there is reason to touch every surface and dig into every corner. The entire time I am engaged in that activity, I am also consumed with appreciation for the work that was done on this property.
We are coming onto our 17th year here and I continue to be amazed that everything looks as beautiful as the day we moved in. It remains, in my eyes, a timeless work of art. One that would never exist in the form it does, without your vision and effort. We just want you to know that not a day goes by without our feeling fortunate and grateful that you took the project on with all it's challenges.
Tod, this week the sun will hit the fireplace at precisely 4 pm, just as you promised. We have never taken for granted the details that were considered by you and just wanted to share a warm fuzzy greeting before we take off for the winter. The house was indeed, a co-creation. However, in order for that to happen one needs an architect who includes the home owner on every level. The ability to bring the dreams of others to life is a great gift. How lucky we were to find you. Hope all is well with you.
Mike & Margie Walsh
Mahtomedi, MN 55115
The best aspect of our house is how it blends into the environment and feels like a tree house. Its orientation to the sun, beautiful warm woods, use of stone in floors and fireplace give it an earthy informal feeling. The angles in the house provide interest and lead from space to space enticingly.
It is hard to be brief, describing the best our house offers. The site selection is perfect. The sun arcs through all the windows as day passes. It is very inviting and warm. The extensive use of stone and wood detail captures the sun and gives the house great interest.
I just wanted to write because I feel like we didn’t get a chance to thank you properly for all you did for us on the house. We’re enjoying the house immensely and finding that it fits our lives extremely well. The design process was a lot of fun, as I suppose it is for most people. It was always reassuring to have you in our corner. I believe your enthusiasm and obvious love of your work went beyond mere professionalism and gave me a new appreciation of the architect’s role. I had always pictured architects as lone artists who produced sculptures with doors and windows (like Philip Johnson’s glass house, say) to be externally viewed with interest, but only maybe to be actually lived in. What you really do is just as creative, but perhaps more valuable…to help people find a beautiful and organic setting for their lives (within budget, of course).
Our Tod Drescher designed home on Madeline Island brings the natural beauty of Lake Superior right into all of the rooms. His creative use of windows, woods, lighting and stone is magnificent.