photography: Paul Whicheloe A tiny bathhouse is used year-round by the family. The outdoor shower is used in the summer and the Finnish sauna when it's cold.

Initially, Bonnie resisted Mark's desire for an island cottage "I just couldn't see myself in a home that didn't float," she says, but eventually he won her over. They both agreed that their new family house would have to be really special—a place of great emotional significance:

"We couldn't build just any house on this incredible piece of property; it had to be a place in which I could see myself growing old," Bonnie says.

Enlisting the talents of Michaela Mahady of SALA Architects, Inc., in Stillwater, Minnesota, the couple began what Mark describes as an "ongoing dialogue" of design, following Michaela's helpful suggestion to write down everything that they envisioned themselves doing here.

photography: Paul Whicheloe "We were very conscious of wanting a house filled with natural light," Bonnie says. "We avoided ribbons of double-wide glass windows that would have admitted too much harsh sunlight, and opted for casement windows with true divided panes."

photography: Paul Whicheloe An outdoor deck off the screened porch provides prized space for cookouts and entertaining. The deck steps down to a ground-level stone patio for even more outdoor living.