Michigan House Envy: Bingham Farms mansion mimics Mt. Vernon

This large, classic colonial stone house was built in 1930 in Bingham Farms, a tiny area of fine houses on big lots, winding streets and woods. It stands on more than four acres with a fountain, two gazebos, a bridge, a second small house and a showplace colonial-style garden, built to mimic Mt. Vernon.

It comes with a heck of a pedigree. The man who built it was industrialist George Kennedy, a golfing friend of Henry Ford and head of auto supplier Kelsey-Hayes.

Kennedy hired that eras esteemed residential architect Wallace Frost to design his home, now listed at $2,975,000. But before it was done, he quarreled with Frost, fired him and hired Albert Kahn.

Although the house is pushing 85, its on only its second owner. Kennedy stayed till he was 90. Then 37 years ago, he sold it to Carole and John OGurek.

But Kennedy didnt let go easily, Carole OGurek said. A strong-willed man even at 90, hed drop in to visit the family, usually on slim notice. Hed pull up with his chauffeur. Hed march in and look around, she said. Hed note their changes and tell them which ones he didnt like.

Carole OGurek and her late husband were history buffs who had toured most of the founding fathers homes. From those visits, she said, We recognized how well this architecture copied that 18th-Century design.

That includes the deep colonial woodwork, the wainscoting, the set-back mullioned windows, the heavily trimmed front entrance.

When you enter there, you are in a large foyer that includes a graceful curving staircase. To one side is a walnut-paneled sitting room, to the other side a 20-by-40-foot living room that runs from the front of the house to the back. The owners bedroom is directly above it and the same size.

The OGureks enlarged the original kitchen, which had been a beat-up little place used only by staff. From the kitchen, a second smaller staircase leads up to three bedrooms and a bath over the garage, also meant for staff. Carole OGurek, a tutor, made that into a place to meet students.

They added a three-season sun room off the living room that combines stone structure with three sides of screens and storms. When I sit out there, I can hear my fountain, she said.

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Michigan House Envy: Bingham Farms mansion mimics Mt. Vernon