The renovations of the lighthouse have been a multi-year project: First was cleaning and taking stock of the interior condition of the building. Next, was getting a new coat (or 2 or 3) of paint on every interior surface to refresh the walls and ceilings and stem the cracking, flaking, and dropping off of the old paint. Third was the interior build out and finishing of the kitchen, bedrooms, living, dining rooms and basement bunk room. The exterior painting came next and the utility installation came last.
Furniture for the lighthouse was sourced from around the country via eBay, CraigsList, antique stores, and furniture outlets, trying to stay with period pieces from when the lighthouse was built (1920s), while modernizing certain areas to today’s standards.
One of the key rooms that has a modern flair is the kitchen. Even as recently as the 1970s and '80s, American kitchens were small, cramped and lacked adequate storage for today’s household necessities such as large blenders, food processors and coffeemakers, not to mention enough room for aspiring chefs and bakers to practice their trade.
During the renovations of the lighthouse, the kitchen was relocated from where it was originally – on the second floor – to where it made more sense today – on the main living level. Designed around a center island facing the living and dining rooms, the lighthouse kitchen has distressed black beadboard cabinets and speckled black and gray granite countertops. One of the common questions I get asked about the kitchen is how the appliances (a full-sized refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher and stove) were moved to the lighthouse.
The simple answer is “by boat.” But it certainly was not an easy feat. It was an enormous amount of coordination with Mentor Home Depot, which designed, procured and installed everything for the kitchen, and the boat captain who needed to use a barge with a large crane to lift everything into place.
On a cloudy day in late September, the barge set off up the Grand River loaded with my entire kitchen – including the granite countertops, sink, faucet, washer, and dryer. Fortunately, the delivery went smoothly. All the large pieces -- the full complement of household appliances -- flew in the air and were hoisted over the chain link fence to the platform. The Home Depot delivery staff moved each item carefully from the platform into the house. The actual Installation was equally as smooth – including the extremely heavy granite countertop. (BIG Shout Out to Mentor Home Depot!!)
The lighthouse went from an empty space to a fully furnished kitchen in just a couple of days. It’s truly my favorite room in the lighthouse and highly functional for cooking a simple meal or serving a throng of hungry people.
