What began as a place to escape the weekend crowds at Lake Tahoe has turned into a complete remodel of a houseboat and a love for the houseboat community.
Patrick Hughes has become a full-time houseboat dweller and his renovated home is one of 12 houseboats that will be open to the public during the upcoming Floating Homes Tour, sponsored by the Floating Homes Association to allow guests to see the possibilities in houseboat design and living.
Hughes was introduced to the docks during a weekend getaway at The Inn Above Tide in downtown Sausalito. At the time, he was living on the north shore of Lake Tahoe, but the weekend crowds in Tahoe made him long for a quiet, peaceful place. The docks seemed like the perfect location.
He bought a houseboat in 2013 and gutted it. During the 7-month renovation project, Hughes lived on board and soon fell in love with the floating home community, its people and its diversity. When the project was completed, Hughes became a permanent resident.
Although much of the original design of the houseboat was lost to the remodel, Hughes kept the original lighthouse-like cupola over a central atrium. He installed a new copper cover and added sitting areas on the roof level reached by spiral stairs from the back deck.
Hughes opened up the main level to create a contemporary great room and added a new kitchen with a custom-made Italian cooking range, a wall-mounted gas fireplace in the dining area and a new staircase with glass and wood railing. The Brazilian cherry wood floors are new, too.
Inside, black and burgundy tones tell the main color story, with gray and white for the exterior. Hughes added aluminum railings and a faux-window next to the entry with an etching of a lighthouse.
On the two-bedroom lower level, Hughes included a small office, a laundry room and a bathroom for the master bedroom.
Hughes houseboat
Address: 1 Liberty
Owner: Patrick Hughes
Square Footage: 1,300 plus a 1,000 square-foot deck
Number of stories: 2
Tickets: Prepaid registration is $50 per person; $55 on tour day
Time: 11 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Sept. 14
Location: Tour events are anchored at the Kappas Marina Green, 100 Gate Six Road, Sausalito, where there will be live entertainment, food and refreshments for sale, and artists and authors from the community offering their creations for sale. The tour is the primary fund raiser for the non-profit, volunteer association and also benefits other local non-profits, including Sausalito Village and the Friends of the Marin City Library.
Other homes
Check out the other homes featured on the tour:
- Floating on a dream
- “White Elephant” houseboat focuses on whimsy, eclectic art
- Houseboat is a salute to modern Danish art and Hawaiian wood
- 4-story ‘Dragon Boat’ houseboat will be open to visitors
- Tiny houseboat makes a big statement
- Romance is only part of this houseboat’s attraction
- Floating museum celebrates Denmark, old San Francisco and Jimmy Carter
- Summer always in season on this Sausalito houseboat
- Colorful floating home suits a ‘pair of docs’
- Contractor takes his floating home ‘by storm’ to build his dream
- Transforming tiny floating home into a weekend getaway
