When champion sailor and businesswoman Chelsea Simms decided to sell her beloved house at 4 Cameron Place in Grosse Pointe, she wanted a Realtor with extensive experience who would appreciate the home's beauty and location. After meeting with Michael Fikany, the broker/owner of The James R. Fikany Real Estate Co., she knew she had found him. The agency has been in business for 64 years, and Mike has 50 years of experience.
“James was my father, and he started in the business as a young man after he came back from the Korean War,” says Mike. “He was about to get married and went to work for a good friend of my grandfather's, who was a very successful businessman. My dad went to work for him in 1952 and then went out on his own in 1962.”
The second of eight children, Mike left college in 1975 during his sophomore year to get his real estate license in order to help his father, who had undergone open-heart surgery. He finished his education at night at the University of Detroit and went on to become a success in his own right.
Mike is honored to work with Chelsea. She’s selling her luxurious, traditional Georgian Colonial on Lake St. Clair, which she has lovingly renovated over the last five years. Built in 1990, it had retained many of that decade’s design influences.
“The wallpaper throughout the foyer had these gold and yellow stripes, and it didn't give the space justice,” says Chelsea. “The first floor has high ceilings, and all of the doorways are about eight feet tall. The windows go almost down to the floor. My wheels were turning on just how impressive the home would feel if it could just be opened up and stripped down to just white to let all of its beautiful details shine through.”
So, that’s exactly what she did. The kitchen was originally painted a bright yellow, the cabinets were an off-white, and the backsplash was a really dark travertine. It even had a big mosaic behind the stove.
Chelsea had all of the cabinets refaced, added new quartz countertops, and an amazing marble backsplash. A new sink, faucet, and high-end appliances, combined with all new chrome hardware, gave it a nice facelift. It also has tons of storage.
“I wanted to go as crisp as I could to make it feel brighter and happier,” she says. “I love modern design, but since it's a very traditional house, I wanted to make sure that I was really honoring that.”
When it came to the primary bathroom, she made very few changes, since it had been updated by the previous owner around 2006. “It was modernish, so I kept some of the elements in that bathroom, but then decided to go a little bit bolder and even more modern because that bathroom had already deviated from the style of the house.”
The guest bathrooms were also totally renovated. “They had Formica® countertops, and all the materials were brown, even the toilet,” says Chelsea. “The Jack-and-Jill bathroom was pink and purple, and the countertops were lavender. We used many of the same materials that we used in the kitchen to tie it all in.”
One of the things she loved about the house was its dentil moldings and other architectural details, but these were lacking in the guest bedrooms. She added those in as well to flow with the rest of the home.
Chelsea didn't want people to walk into a room and feel like they were in a different house. “When we were finished with the project, I was actually pretty blown away with how it felt, especially in the kitchen,” she says. “In my mind, it could have been designed with the home originally.”
Another definite goal was to make the house feel cozy. “Even though the house is 4,600 square feet above ground [6,100 in total], and I was a single woman at the time, it didn’t feel that large to me. It felt homey.”
Chelsea handled all of the designs herself. “I've always loved decorating. My mom is an interior designer, so I've been exposed to it my entire life.”
One of the things she didn’t have to change, and which sold her on the house in the first place, was the view. “When I first pulled into the circular driveway and saw that view of the lake, I remember saying to myself that I didn't even need to go inside the house.” She bought the home that day!
Since that was in December, nothing was in bloom, but she was in for a wonderful surprise in the spring. “I love being outdoors and hosting outdoors,” says Chelsea. “The original owners did such a beautiful job with the landscaping. Each month, from May through September, something new is in bloom. There’s a little tea garden that has four lilac trees, so in May the smell is incredible. It's such a sweet, otherworldly experience back there.”
She and her now husband, George Peet, ended up having their wedding party in a big tent in the backyard. “We had around 70 friends and family. The house was big enough that we were able to host some of our family, too. It was a really special day.”
Today, Chelsea, her husband, who’s also a professional sailor, and their two daughters spend most of their time in Harbor Springs, where she owns and operates Running Water, a very successful wellness club. Now that they have children, it’s harder to travel to Grosse Pointe regularly, and she wants the home to be filled with life again. The circular stairway in the center of the house would be a great place for prom photos, and the backyard should reverberate with the sounds of parties or serve as a sanctuary for quiet contemplation.
“Ever since I opened my business, selling this house is something I've wrestled with,” she says. “It's my dream home, and the fact that I was able to buy it as a young woman in my early 30s means a lot. It's bittersweet, but the house definitely needs to be loved and lived in.”
To see the home for yourself, go to fikany.com/properties/4-cameron-place-grosse-pointe-mi-us-48230-1852-50193129.
“It's bittersweet, but the house definitely needs to be loved and lived in.”
“I love modern design, but since it's a very traditional house, I wanted to make sure that I was really honoring that.”