A Turn-of-the-Century Turn Around ‘Before’ photo of the home in a northern Detroit suburb, which served as the inspiration for Love Me If You Must, the first book in the Patricia Amble Mystery Series by Nicole Young. Challenge #1: Undoing the ‘Forties Fix Asbestos shingles, seen strewn on the ground in the upper photo, were probably applied sometime in the 1940s to cover the original wood siding. The panels were professionally removed to reveal dark green wood beneath. At first we feared wood rot. Thankfully, it was merely the dark-colored paint popular in the early twentieth century. Historic photographs show the home in its green, vine-covered glory. The covered porch is the home’s most attractive feature and had been nicely maintained over the years. The aesthetic damage was reversed with high-quality paint to protect the original wood siding, which had been nicely preserved by the asbestos board. Trim and pillars were freshened with bright white. A bare off-white provided contrast for the main body. The shakes on the peaks and balcony, along with the front door, received a cheery shade of blue.
Author Homepage Author Blog Sign Guestbook E-mail me with your comments!	Challenge #2: Making it Livable Everything is tainted by previous time periods. This home was no exception. The once-grand dame had been chopped into two apartments – an upper and a lower. The main floor kitchen was a one-wall set-up with outdated appliances. We immediately pulled the double oven and a section of cupboards to make room for dishwasher, stove and refrigerator. The big fix came after several years of enduring the poor layout. A breakfast bar island with upper cupboards and lower storage with under-counter microwave became my salvation. New countertops, glassed-in upper cupboards, trash compactor, and new flooring brought the space into the new millennium.
	Challenge #3: Making it Attractive All the beautiful features of the home were hidden by glaring ugliness and years of neglect. This upstairs bedroom got a new paint job to hide the brown-painted trim of another era and give the room the airy elegance it deserved. Challenge #4: Saying Good-Bye This home served many years as a popular bed-and-breakfast establishment, giving me home-employment as I raised four children. Once everything was in order and mostly perfect, I found a buyer for the place and sold it. Leaving was difficult. It was our home and our hometown. But we looked forward to the adventure that awaited us in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula… the same way main character Patricia Amble looks forward to her next project! The Truth Revealed Readers of the Patricia Amble Mystery Series want to know: Does this home have a spooky old cistern in the basement? The answer is – yes! During the basement renovation project, the stone structure was walled off. No body was discovered in the process, however. But I’ll always wonder… Copyright 2007 by Nicole Young. All Rights Reserved Web design by Nicole Young.