Two years ago, a Chicago couple asked a Realtor to help them find a place in the country for summer getaway weekends, with room for their young children. "They had no idea they would end up with 27 acres and a 100-year-old apple orchard," said Suellen Long of Heartland Alliance Board, the sponsor of the upcoming Harbor Country housewalk.

That home is one of seven residences open for during the June 6 housewalk in southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana.

After buying the home, the owners immediately enlisted an architect to rework the existing home. "The colorful interior is now an eclectic mix of traditional, antique and contemporary furnishings," Long said.

This season, landscape architect Craig Bergmann's first priority will be a redesign of an old victory garden. "Last season, the children learned to harvest tomatoes, squash and herbs," she said.

Here are other homes on the tour:

A Chicago family of six wanted a new home that drew from their memories of classic New England shore homes. From the open kitchen, it's possible to partake in most of the activity of the first floor. The rooms have views of the pool, yard and Lake Michigan.

Family bedrooms are located off a shared open corridor on the second floor, and each bedroom has its own bank of windows. The master and guest bedrooms feature cathedral ceilings and balconies. The exterior is limestone, cedar and zinc-coated copper, and the interior features hand-scrapped oak flooring and stone, tile and pine siding. The home has 8 bedrooms.

The owners hired an architect to design a home reminiscent of buildings they had visited in Japan. The home features a two-story w wall of windows.

A 1924 European country home sits on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The current owners acquired the house 24 years ago, and started restoration. They have added several additions over the years.

Visitors will enter the home through a turreted foyer -- which features an 18th century fireplace found in Paris. Several rooms have balconies overlooking the garden areas, which include boxwood and yew hedges, topiaries and a hydrangea section. Stairs lead down to the private beach house and deck.

A shingle-style house is set on wooded land. The exterior of the home was designed to have three separate areas around the pool. One of the owners is an interior decorator, and the rooms are filled with art and collectibles, assembled from her and her husband's traveling.

Originally, the home was a modest, 750-square-foot log cabin, built in 1939. The current owners expanded it substantially, including skylights and a back deck.

"They used many locally harvested woods and added recycled materials," Long said. The home is set amid old pines.

Set on a hilltop, a log cabin residence has been totally renovated -- with new windows, roofing and log siding. It's been expanded with a new entry, a screened porch and a deck.

It's the 16th annual home tour.

"What brings us together is the wonderful combination of attractive homes, scenic gardens and celebration of summertime," said Long. "Above all else, the event is a perfect way for people from all over Chicago, northern Indiana and southwest Michigan to support Heartland Alliance."

The event has raised $2 million in support of affordable housing initiatives.