HOMESPUN TOUCHES

homespun

T O U C H E S

very well-worn board has a story. Every handcrafted furnishing and vintage accent in the loft does, too.

But the most remarkable element is the wooden fishing boat suspended from the rafters.

Mark TeVogt designed the living space especially for it.

TeVogt grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, where the tourist population swells each summer. His parents owned Clem’s Big Dock, popular for fishing and sightseeing excursions on the big lake.

“Everything was about the water —

Decorating for the holidays is a sentimental journey for this Minnesota native

STORY CHRIS CHRISTEN PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY BEBEE

from water skiing to ice fishing,” TeVogt says. “It was wonderful.”

During the 1950s and early ’60s, Clem TeVogt put his carpentry skills to work at Ole Lind Boat Works in the off-season.

Mark always thought it would be fun to have one of the boats that this dad had helped make. Out of the blue, TeVogt’s sister, Linda, called. She had located a boat of the same vintage near her cabin at Long Lost Lake. The boat was free, but TeVogt would have to fetch it.

“I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I just knew I had to have it,” TeVogt says.

About the same time, the do-it-yourselfer was finalizing plans to build a basic two-car garage at his North Omaha home. The project grew more ambitious when TeVogt got the idea to add a workshop and a second story — for a guesthouse that would include rafters to suspend the 1960s-era Ole Lind craft.

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TEVOGT FAMILY CHRISTMAS

LIVING ROOM

Among vintage items and family heirlooms in Mark TeVogt’s loft, the crown jewel is a 1960s-era boat like the ones his dad built.

EXTERIOR

The whole project took four years, starting as a modest two-car garage, then evolving into a guesthouse with rafters for the boat.

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The project took four years, with TeVogt doing most of the finishing work while also manning his Old Market store, Iron Decor & More. He celebrated the garage loft’s completion last December with a round of open houses for neighbors and friends.

A plaque at the foot of the stairs lives up to the invitation: “Come on up! I’m fabulous.”

The loft has a cozy Minnesota cabin feel.

“I come from a family of builders and crafters,” TeVogt says. Among his coveted family heirlooms

KITCHEN Reclaimed and restored items adorn this corner, including Mark’s dad’s workbench, made into a kitchen island.

BEDROOM Yellow tin ceiling tiles cover a wall that separates the living and sleeping areas.

and quaint odes to Mom and Dad: » Furniture that his dad built in the ’60s for the

family’s cabin at Perch Lake. » A workbench from Clem’s marina, repurposed as a kitchen island on casters. » A wire fishing basket filled with wooden lures whittled and painted by Dad. » A handmade plywood sign that reads, “God Bless You, Mom,” woodburned by Mark in 1969.

Christmastime brings another nostalgic layer

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MORE PHOTOS ONLINE! See more images of Mark TeVogt’s vintage and family heirloom Christmas decorations on omaha.com/inspiredliving.

DINING AREA

For Christmas open houses last year, decorators Damon and Sylvia Samuel followed the loft’s cozy Minnesota cabin feel. Note the fishing bobber napkin rings.

The artisan kitchen cabinets — handcrafted in Mexico — have a distressed turquoise finish with copper inlays.

POWDER ROOM

The custom copper countertop and hand-painted sink also came from Mexico, matching more artisan turquoise cabinetry.

WALK-IN SHOWER

The shower floor repeats the stone work found around the powder room vanity.

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of carved toys and Santas, a ceramic nativity scene, crocheted ornaments, pinecone wreaths, fishing-themed garlands, and the TeVogt kids’ stockings.

It’s more than a throwback to Christmases past. It’s a collection of memories held dear, with a wooden fishing boat made in Detroit Lakes overlooking it all 365 days of the year.

The loft space also is a work of craftsmanship, an assemblage of materials and fixtures reclaimed, repurposed and renewed.

“It’s something different,” TeVogt says. “I’m always looking for things and wondering, ‘What can I do with that?’”

Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, street peddlers, Mexican artisans, rural landowners, friends — all have been sources for items he’s incorporated.

For wall areas, he used white shiplap, tin ceiling tiles and hand-selected boards from a crumbling barn in Nebraska and a vacant house in Kansas, plus remnants from Clem’s Big Dock

and the boat shop. Ceilings are done in weathered corrugated metal, salvaged from an Iowa farm.

The kitchen cabinets were crafted by artisans in the mountains of Mexico and shipped to the U.S. border where TeVogt buys imported decorative iron and pottery for his store. The cabinets have

BACKYARD

Mark built a mini barn and bought a windmill to help his pet goats Thelma and Thumper feel at home.

FIREPLACE

Stone for the fireplace came from Habitat ReStore. The carved Santas were annual Christmas gifts from Mark’s dad.

a distressed turquoise finish accented with copper inlays. The finish involved two rounds of painting and sanding, followed by another round of staining.

To continue the theme, TeVogt installed custom copper countertops from Mexico and an enameled cast iron farmhouse sink reclaimed from an old cabin in Minnesota. “It’s a little inconvenient with separate faucets for hot and cold,” TeVogt says. But the style is exactly what he wanted.

The fireplace — built with stone from Habitat ReStore — is a focal point. At Christmas the mantel is lined with hand-carved Santas, Dad’s Christmas gift to his three kids for 20-some years.

The live tree is loaded with ornaments, most made by Mom. Dad’s wooden fish decoys dangle amid the tinsel and lights as well.

Last December, Damon and Sylvia Samuel helped deck the rafters and dress the tables for two boat-reveal gatherings. Perfect imperfections prevailed in mismatched placesettings and other thrifted tableware.

TeVogt’s garage loft isn’t currently listed on Airbnb. But it’s something he might consider after the pandemic. Tuesday Scotch Club has an open invitation, and a second annual holiday open house is a possibility — socially distanced, of course.

TeVogt’s winter project? The house next door. He bought it late last year and is redoing it for rental.

“I’ve always got to be building something.”