6 minute read
Relaxation Station
Patsy Burnham always dreamed of owning a cottage on Lake Michigan. Now, Burnham and her husband Dave live part-time in a former gas station on the bay. If it sounds to you like the Burhams “settled,” you’re right—they have settled quite comfortably in what has become their dream home on Saugatuck’s Lake Street.
Since a complete overhaul of the building by the bay took place last year, the Burnham’s home has received a Historic Preservation Award from the State of Michigan and been a main attraction on the Parade of Homes. It’s even gained national attention: soon, it will be featured on an episode of HGTV’s “reZONED,” a show about commercialturned-residential structures.
The 80-year-old commercial building became a cozy abode last year, after the couple viewed the property at the insistence of daughter Tammy Kerr, a Saugatuck realtor. The structure was slated for residential use, and when Patsy walked through the door, she knew what had to be done.
“Oh my God, what a vision,” she said. “I had to have it.”
Along with Dave’s sister and brother-in-law, Jeanne and Herbie Williams, the Battle Creek couple purchased the structure at 415 Lake Street. They closed the deal over a bloody mary at Wally’s Bar & Grill—one of Saugatuck’s local watering holes—and within months, that vision would become a reality thanks to the handiwork of Holland-based DeYoung Builders, Kerr’s layout ideas and the creative flair of Patsy, who just happens to be an interior designer.
This transaction represented just another chapter in the story of this building; the history of this structure is just as fascinating as the home itself. A man by the name of George Wright built the edifice in 1922; known then as Wright’s Pavilion, locals and tourists visited the location to buy ice cream, candy and cigars. The bridge connecting Saugatuck and Douglas had yet to be built, so at that time a boat transported visitors between the north and south shores of the river. Since then, the structure has also served as a gas station and an antique store. Today, the façade, with its striped canopies and arching roof, hints at the building’s commercial past. But what awaits inside is a cozy residence that anyone would be happy to call “home sweet home.”
Builder Mike DeYoung worked closely with the Burnhams as they undertook this creative transformation: “We could not have done this without him,” says Patsy. DeYoung Builders’ previous experience with this sort of project came into play: this is the second project the company has tackled that involved turning a commercial structure into a residential dwelling—the first was a condominium project in downtown Holland.
In terms of the interior, the Burnhams were confronted with an essentially blank slate. “There wasn’t even a wall in here when we first saw it,” says Dave.
DeYoung helped them work through their options, going so far as to create a model seethough fireplace that the owners had been considering for the center of the open, upstairs living space. The mock-up was enough to convince them that it was a bad idea, obstructing the view to the bay, and so the fireplace was moved into the brick wall next to the kitchen area. Thanks in part to this change of plans, the structure “has a lot of usable space,” remarks Dave.
Upon entry, the convex ceiling and the uninterrupted hallway lead the eye through the home and to the double doors at the rear which provide a clear spectacle of Saugatuck Bay. This main level features two master suites with adjoining bathrooms and a large, open room that serves as a kitchen, dining and living area.
Patsy says the main level presented the biggest challenge because of space issues. Concern about making the 3,000-square-foot home as uncluttered and user-friendly as possible led her to use tall, space-saving storage units in upstairs closets and to install such accoutrements as a flat screen television that disappears into its cabinet and a vertical wine rack drawer that glides easily in and out of the cabinetry by the bar area.
A maple floor, knotty pine ceiling, and knotty alder kitchen cabinets and front door serve as cornerstones for much of the main floor’s design, filling the home with the warm appeal of natural materials. Meanwhile, modern conveniences like the stainless steel appliances and sink that squiggles across the countertop next to the bar—Patsy calls it the “river sink”—reveal a thoroughly contemporary flair. Seeded glass cabinet doors, unique light fixtures and a curved brick wall encompassing a fireplace complete the sophisticated scene. While the home has a cosmopolitan vibe, it also captures the quaint, art-influenced feel of the town in which it is based. Saugatuck has no dearth of local artists, and much of the home’s art comes from the galleries of local artists like Maryjo Lemanski and Jim Brandess.
Follow the stairs down to the lower level, and a glass partition serves to separate the staircase and the open space that houses the shuffleboard and bar. Off of the main room, which has a southwestern theme, are a laundry area and two bedrooms with bathrooms. One of the bedrooms includes single and double bunks and a nook with a built-in bed in order to accommodate the children and grandchildren of the two couples that own the home. This is yet another example of the space-conserving measures that prevent the moderately-sized home from feeling cramped, even with a full house on holiday weekends. The other basement bedroom is the color of an orange popsicle. “I love color,” says Patsy, a statement manifested by the multi-colored tiles she chose for the bathroom floors. This bedroom also features one of the home’s many examples of one-of-a-kind functional art: a light fixture crafted of canvas and springs.
When local developer and contractor Carl Miskotten purchased the structure for residential use in 2002, he believed that however the home was developed, the owners would use the basement as a drive-in garage. That made sense, considering it had a large garage door. But Patsy would not hear of wasting the view of beautiful
Saugatuck Bay on car storage, and instead installed double glass doors that now lead to a patio area and fire pit. She also had a side door next to the “garage” sealed off, but kept the glass panes as an extra window into the guest bedroom.
“I wanted this to be a fun, uplifting cottage, but I wanted to keep the feel of the original commercial building,” she says.
The owners were eager to share the final product with the community, allowing others to walk through and see what had become of this little piece of Saugatuck history. Yet a few short months was all the time the owners had between closing the deal and the first day of the Parade of Homes.
“It was a whirlwind,” remembers Patsy. “I spent a lot of time here.” In the end, their efforts paid off; so many of the people who toured the home remembered being in the building when it was something else.
Certainly that would also be the case for Wright’s daughter, Genevieve, who still lives in the area—just across the bay in Douglas. While the homeowners and Genevieve Wright have never met, Patsy says she would love to show the home to the woman who once knew the place as her father’s pavilion.
Though the home was initially viewed by the two purchasing couples as an investment that would be resold, when Patsy saw the final product, “I convinced them that we should keep it for awhile.” Today, Patsy says she doesn’t plan on leaving her unique home on the bay any time soon.
WRITTEN BY BRIDIE KENT
PHOTOS BY JAMES YOCHUM
STYLED BY GISELA ROSE
