Much of the material used in the kitchen was recycled. The couple salvaged heart pine flooring from a mill and beadboard from an old train depot. Beautiful French doors and old wooden doors with ornate glass windows were gifts from friends or just happened upon. Door hinges were carted back from a Paris flea market. Vintage windows were found in dusty shops, and some items were snatched from dumpsters at construction sites where old houses were being demolished.
The US Life-Saving Service operated between 1871-1915, employing full-time crews that often risked their lives pulling people from raging seas. Kinnakeet’s original 1874 Gothic-style station was converted to a boathouse in 1904, when the larger Southern-style building was completed.