Inside Beaver Head Lighthouse's (Almost) Made-for-TV Renovations

"Who doesn't love a lighthouse?" asks Bargain Block's Keith Bynum

By Drew VanDrie | April 5, 2025

Lighthouses possess a rugged allure here in Michigan. Anchored in the maritime lore of the Great Lakes, these beacons (many well over a century old) are physical reminders of the extensive nautical history and heritage of the state.

During the mid-20th century, many of these storied structures were automated or decommissioned, leaving their fate and state of repair in the dark. Organizations like the Beaver Island Historical Society have taken up the mantle for restoring these beloved guiding lights.

Standing for 173 Years

Drawing on volunteers, local, municipal, and private donor support, and the attention of a professional renovator, the rehab of the Beaver Head Lighthouse has been a labor of love and a long time in the making.

As the third oldest standing lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Beaver Head Lighthouse has no shortage of storied history. Per the Historical Society website, the lighthouse was completed in 1852, marking the west approach for ships passing to the Straits of Mackinac for a century before it was decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1962, when a radio beacon was installed on the site.

From 1963 to 1970, the lighthouse was used as a private hunting club before becoming vacant. The site was then purchased by the Charlevoix Public Schools in 1975 where it became an Environmental Education Center until 2016. In 2019 the property was purchased by Charlevoix County and Networks Northwest, and continual renovation has been ongoing with coordination from the Beaver Island Historical Society (BIHS).

For Lori Taylor-Blitz, executive director of the BIHS, the restoration of the lighthouse has been a topic of discussion from the beginning of her tenure.

“When I first started my office hours in April of 2017, community members started coming in at that time and talking to me about their general dissatisfaction with the state of the lighthouse,” she says. “It’s a cultural asset of the Beaver Island community.”

This communal determination to rehab the beloved light resulted in a robust and active volunteer core. “They’re all very dedicated and committed to making sure that it’s properly cared for,” Taylor-Blitz says.

Tower and Keeper’s Quarters

Over the years, volunteers have undertaken several maintenance items, from site clean-up to painting the entire lighthouse exterior. That volunteer group, along with contributions from students of Eastern Michigan University’s Historic Preservation Graduate Field School, allowed for significant headway to be made on the lighthouse.

As a result, the renovation of the lighthouse tower is largely complete and is open to the public, allowing visitors to climb the winding stairs and take in the scenic view. The bulk of remaining work is focused on rehabbing the attached lighthouse keeper’s quarters. Prior to the transfer to the current ownership, the quarters experienced significant water damage.

“There was a lot of work that had to be done,” says Taylor-Blitz. Along with the removal of damaged plaster and lathe and floorboards, there was leftover furniture and miscellaneous items that needed sorting, disposal, or storage. “All of that work had to occur to get to a blank slate,” she adds.

It was around this stage of the renovation that the Historical Society and its cadre of volunteers received help from a pair of reno pros and newcomers to Beaver Island.

Keith Bynum and partner Evan Thomas, owners of NINE Design + Homes and co-hosts of the HGTV series Bargain Block, had come to the island in search of solitude—for themselves and their dog.

“During COVID we were looking for a place that didn’t allow fireworks because our dog was having severe anxiety,” says Bynum. “We went there for a Fourth of July week and we fell in love with the island. It is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been and the people are just amazing.”

All the Right Partners

Bynum and Thomas ended up purchasing a secondary residence on the island, and it was during one of their visits that the seasoned renovators were introduced to the Beaver Head Lighthouse.

“Our cab driver one day was like ‘Hey do you want to go check out the lighthouse?’ and we were like ‘sure!’”

The driver was Bonnie Cull-Rice, an avid volunteer involved in the restoration of the light. Upon arrival at the site, Bynum was instantly hooked. “You fall in love with the views from the lighthouse,” he says. “It was one of those projects that just needed a little love.”

Realizing that he could offer some of his renovation and design expertise, Bynum and NINE Design began coordinating with Taylor-Blitz and the Historical Society.

“We’re extremely grateful that they [NINE Design] are interested and willing to donate their time, talents, and treasures to help restore this cultural landscape,” says Taylor-Blitz.

Likewise, Bynum notes that he and his crew are also glad to be able to pitch in.

“The Beaver Island Historical Society has been spearheading this for a long time,” says Bynum. “This partnership has been wonderful because they understand what we love about design and historic projects, and we also kind of see what they need.”

The Challenges of Restoration

Bynum and his crew began to tackle some of the essential elements like electrical, flooring, and wall replacement within the keeper’s quarters.

Adding to the challenge of the renovation was keeping replacement elements within historical preservation standards as the lighthouse is on the National Register of Historical Places. And that’s where Bynum’s expertise fits in.

“A lot of the specialty things, like the plasterwork, I’m doing myself,” he says. “There’s just not a lot of people to do that.”

Beyond the specialty work, Beaver Head Lighthouse provides a unique challenge for Bynum and his usual design-focused efforts.

“I wouldn’t even call it a redesign. It’s a restoration. Taking it back to be as similar as it was,” he says. “This is the challenge for me, I love big design. Taking the approach of almost no design, just restoring it to hopefully as close as we can get it to what it was. And that to me, I think, is a really fun challenge.”

Almost Made for TV

As with any major restoration project, making the work feasible on a modest budget is also an important consideration for the Beaver Head Lighthouse.

“Our biggest problem or challenge has been to find a way to make this doable,” says Taylor-Blitz. The Historical Society has worked to “get a renovation completed that accommodates a volunteer budget,” she says.

Funds for the project have come from a variety of sources. Private donations have contributed significantly toward the project, including a $25,000 grant from the Donnelly Foundation. Taylor-Blitz also highlights that the owners, Charlevoix County and Networks Northwest, have contributed substantially.

Earlier this winter, the island was aflutter when a preliminary announcement was made to include the Beaver Head Island renovation on HGTV’s Bargain Block. However, in the ensuing months, that announcement was walked back.

“Due to the remote nature of the lighthouse, it was determined that the travel budget for film crew would be too cost prohibitive,” Bynum says. “We have limited funds to complete the project and that was not a productive way to spend those funds.”

In the Home Stretch

But that just means more money goes into the lighthouse itself. Boosted by the support of NINE Design, along with the return of the EMU graduate students this spring, the restoration is on a positive trajectory. Both Taylor-Blitz and Bynum anticipate that the keeper’s quarters will be finished in the fall of 2025, with a commemorative ceremony to take place, though details are still pending.

Once the renovation is complete, the Historical Society plans to place historical pieces in the keeper’s quarters and operate it as a public, seasonal lighthouse museum in partnership with Networks Northwest and Charlevoix County.

As to what the completion of the lighthouse project will mean to the residents of the island, Taylor-Blitz points to one of their most passionate volunteers, Dick McEnvoy. “It will be very gratifying. There was a dedicated volunteer who was the ‘main cheerleader,’ who I really had to work with to get things organized and work around, and he passed away last year,” she says. “So now we’re more than determined to get this finished in his memory.”

For Bynum the work and project has also been satisfying. “It looks good and it feels good to see everyone so excited,” he says. “I have … [a] volunteer army on the island, and I love it. It’s been awesome.”

How to summarize all these years of dedication, hard work, and cooperation to restore the historical site? Bynum perhaps captures it best: “Who doesn’t love a lighthouse?”

Learn more about Beaver Head Lighthouse and follow the renovation progress at beaverislandhistory.org/lighthouses.