Before & After: After Fixing Up a Gutted Houseboat, a Couple Join a Legendary Artist Community

Retail executive Marka Hansen and sculptor Joe Brubaker call on designer Michelle Chan to turn a dilapidated floating home into a dreamy retreat in Sausalito’s Waldo Point Harbor.
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For years, Marka Hansen and her husband, Joe Brubaker, walked the docks of Waldo Point Harbor in the seaside town of Sausalito in Northern California, coveting the candy-colored houseboats of all shapes and sizes. The marina has a storied past—and present—as a floating community where freethinkers, naturalists, artists, writers, and musicians live, gather, and create.

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