Photographs by Chad Holder
The screen porch
The screen porch, which overlooks Fish Lake beyond, is a favorite hangout for rainy days or when it’s buggy out.
At first, Lisa Clark Balke was less than enchanted by the towering evergreens that are synonymous with cozy cabins tucked deep into the Wisconsin woods. “I’m from North Dakota,” says the Minneapolis resident and co-owner of Victory Vintage in Linden Hills. “There are so many trees here; I was starting to feel claustrophobic. Every road looked the same.”
But her husband, Jeff Balke, had grown up vacationing in the area, near Danbury, where the couple eventually bought a 1920s fixer-upper that was once part of a nine-acre fish camp. Today, nearly 25 years later, it’s hard for Lisa to imagine not having this secluded getaway where they have made so many memories with their three now-grown children. “We found our groove doing projects at the cabin,” she says of the years spent taking down walls, rearranging rooms, and adding layers of paint and personality.
Similar to at her Minneapolis home goods shop, Lisa’s love of collecting is on display at the cabin, too, albeit in a contained and restrained order. There’s a metal pharmacy cabinet that holds natural curiosities near the front entry, a grouping of vintage clay pots from Red Wing sitting above the TV armoire in the family room, and a series of Audubon prints that Lisa plucked from a book, framed, and hung along a wall in one of the bedrooms. “I don’t like having a lot of things out everywhere,” she says. “But I do like junk and weird stuff, so I try to keep it all in one place.”
“I like clean lines and industrial mixed with vintage.”
—Lisa Clark Balke
Always a collector, Lisa likes to shop restaurant supply shops for hardworking dishes that aren’t as likely to break or chip. Impromptu table settings are simply elegant with antique linens embroidered with old monograms, glass domes, tarnished silver, and wildflowers. A vintage stove she picked up for $50 at an estate sale and industrial-style light fixtures add character.
Daughters Ella, 27, and Kate, 25, inherited their mom’s love of the hunt and also have fingerprints on the spaces. The sisters lived for nearly six months at the cabin during the COVID lockdown and spent much of that time with paintbrushes and hammers in hand, making repairs, building an outdoor herb garden, and giving rooms a refresh. “We aren’t very good at relaxing,” Ella says. “A few years ago, we built the rock retaining walls around the firepit as a ‘fun’ summer activity.”
But when they do unwind, a dip in the lake, beers around the bonfire, or a puzzle on the porch are favorite pastimes. That is, until someone comes up with an idea for the next project to tackle at daybreak. “It’s a more meaningful space because we created it together,” Ella says.
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Lisa Clark Balke with daughters Kate and Ella
Lisa Clark Balke, with daughters Kate and Ella, along with Balke’s husband, Jeff, and their son, Tom, remodeled the cabin and have been vacationing here for nearly 25 years.
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front porch inside
The screen porch inside.
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kitchen
“I designed the kitchen to make it big enough for three people to comfortably work in there together,” Lisa says. The combined kitchen and dining area accommodates the 10-foot-long table for larger family gatherings. The CHEESE letters are from Hunt and Gather in Minneapolis, where Lisa and her business partner, Susan Blankenship, ran three booths prior to buying their shop, Victory Vintage. Lisa’s daughters recently painted the island and stools in Subway by Hirshfield’s.
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Bar
Self-Serve: Kate Balke spotted the Hoosier cabinet in a Spooner, Wisconsin, antique shop and convinced Lisa to buy it for the kitchen to serve as a bar. “It fit in here perfectly,” Lisa says. A former server and bartender, Kate mixes the family’s cocktails for predinner conversations.
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A vintage wooden church pew
C’mon In: A vintage wooden church pew provides a perch to kick off your shoes on the way in the front door. Beadboard ceilings with crossbeams, clapboard walls, and weathered floorboards provide extra charm.
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Den fireplace
Wisconsin fieldstones form the den’s fireplace surround, where a pair of white-slipcovered chairs (scored from an estate sale of Bruce Dayton) and a vintage cocktail table lighten the look.
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Curiosity cabinet
Curiosity Cabinet: Lisa uses the metal pharmacy cabinet in the cabin’s front entry (above) as a rotating display of nature. “All the creepy critters ended up here,” she says. Beyond the foyer is a pass-through bedroom with two sets of bunk beds.
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Lisa with daughters on deck
All in the Family: Lisa and daughters Ella (left) and Kate (holding their dog, Wendy) enjoy frequent getaways where they garden, cook, and work on the upkeep of the cabin, including giving the exterior a fresh coat of paint (Porpoise by Sherwin-Williams).
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main bedroom
Cozy Quarters: Vaulting the ceilings in the main bedroom and adjacent family room (not pictured) was one of the first remodeling projects Lisa and Jeff undertook. Lisa pushed together a pair of metal Room and Board twin beds and dressed them with vintage linens. Wood lamps from Victory Vintage, log chairs, and the wool blanket further the camp vibe.
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guest bedroom
Utilitarian Chic: A pair of metal hospital beds outfitted with Room and Board bedding flank a tramp art dresser and a map of North Dakota, a nod to Lisa’s home state. The Audubon prints on the wall were torn from a book and hung in a row with inexpensive frames from Target.
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bathroom
Old-Time Charm: Lisa outfitted the cabin’s only bathroom with a cast-iron kitchen sink as the vanity. The grommeted quilted-canvas shower curtain is by Quiet Town.
