FEATURE FRIDAY: TRUE NORTH CABIN IN COPPER HARBOR, MI
Today we are super excited to introduce you to the most quaint and cozy cabin in the Keweenaw. True North Cabin is a three bedroom paradise tucked in the woods next to Lake Superior. Trust us, you're going to want to stay here because it's AMAZING! We interviewed the owners, Lynn + Jason, on their experience so far owning this beauty.
We’re Lynn and Jason Makela, wife and husband duo. Most of our friends and family think we are crazy because we never slow down. That constant hustle gets taxing at times but not enough to keep us from running full speed ahead. It's not a badge of honor we carry but more something that we're working to improve on every day. Slowing down and creating a life we love. We live for creating visions together and seeing them through. This turns up in many parts of our lives. Moving out west to build our careers, traveling, meeting new people, and experiencing fun and different things.
What inspired you to buy and renovate the cabin?
The cabin was always two things to us. First, a place to unplug and enjoy the Keweenaw Peninsula. We are a bit busy, so the idea of a getaway — even if it wasn’t very far — sounded really appealing. We also love mountain biking and having a place close to Copper Harbor trails was a perfect fit for us. The second function of the cabin is a longterm investment to eventually build up some cash reserves for future projects and adventures.
Why a cabin in Copper Harbor?
Copper Harbor is a favorite destination. When we lived in the Keweenaw prior to moving out west, we spent many nights camping on the shore of Lake Superior and hiking/biking/skiing the area trails. The area can’t be beat and has many secrets that make exploration even better each time you step foot onto a new trail.
When we started looking for a place we set a max distance of within 50 miles of our home. Preferably with a little bit of property and water access —either a river or a lake and we lucked out with finding this gem on the big lake. We figured if we were going to be weekend warrior/remodelers that a place not TOO far away would be key.
What have you learned while renovating the cabin about renovations, any tips?
The renovation road is long with many curves. :) We aren’t new to the renovation process but there is always something unexpected that comes up along the way. Being flexible, and keeping a positive attitude is one of our biggest tips!
For example, we picked out our appliances at a store over 150 miles away and were really excited when they offered to deliver them for free! I suppose that is what happens when you pretty much stock an entire hardware store in your garage. Which reminds me, another tip is to be ready to budget/plan your costs as Renos are expensive. When the new refrigerator arrived. It fit both height and width like a glove. But this new modern fridge (replacing a burnt orange beauty from the 70s) was more than 6 inches deeper than the older model. In the small cabin kitchen, this was a pretty big error and figuring out the logistics to return/reorder seemed like it would be expensive and not a lot of fun. After a few weeks of living around this mammoth fridge, Jason came up with the perfect solution. Reconfiguring a pantry and the master bedroom to hold this new fridge and hiding its depth from the world. This idea would also add counter space and we could do it in such a way that we could custom build a pantry back into space where the fridge originally lived. A perfect solution! However, we hadn’t planned on the added time, energy, and money that this would take. Ultimately this was the best decision and the fridge looks lovely in its new home even if the project did set our timeline back a bit. Sometimes ya just gotta roll with things.
What is your favorite part of the cabin/renovations?
The done parts—ha! But the joy of the cabin is truly in the journey. When we bought the cabin, we signed up for a minimum of 7 months of weekend work + our day jobs. That sounds kinda daunting but we really enjoyed the process. The cabin kept us out of trouble and we loved seeing the progress as the weeks went on. Each winter weekend was more beautiful than the last and even though we were working, we took time to enjoy the space and the beauty of Lake Superior. We truly felt lucky that no one snatched up this little cabin before we found it and being able to modify a solid structure into our own cabin dreams has been an awesome experience. Now we’re looking forward to sharing it with others and enjoying it ourselves for the next few months.
Where can people find you/how can they stay at the cabin.
Through the modern miracle of technology, we’re sharing our cabin through our website (www.truenorthcabin.com), Instagram (@true.north.cabin) + Facebook, and it's available to rent on AirBnb. We have met (and continue to meet) a whole new world of adventure-minded, cabin-loving friends through these apps. The journey has been amazing and far more than we ever imagined has come from sharing our cabin reno days and little piece of paradise with the world.
Amazing, right?! We want to live here! Haha.
Make sure to give True North Cabin a follow on their social media accounts and share this beauty with all of your friends!