Debi Graham-Leard

Although I tried to get a tour of the inside of the old village library on the town common, vandalism a few years ago created safety issues, so I was denied access.  So I contacted our town historian, who walked me around the outside of the old brownstone and brick structure, shared bits of information he had gleaned over his many years of digging into the history of the town, and provided me with old photos of the library spaces.

With no feel for the actual size and space of the old library, I had to dream-up the interior of Gwen’s home using only my imagination. It was exhilerating to design this unique home, even if it’s fictional!

Because the interior shown in the old photos was rather tall, I decided to add a second floor balcony with a larger master bedroom on the deeper gable end, and a smaller guest room on the other. A sitting room along the back wall with a row of windows to look down into the rear gardens appealed to me. These three rooms would be tucked around the perimeter of the second floor, with an oval balcony defining the center, open to the first floor below. I did consult with a local architect, and he advised that the balcony was viable as long as there were criss-crossed steel girders incorporated during the conversion.

As I thought about the first floor, I decided an open floor plan worked best, interrupted only by two obstacles: 1] a double-sided fireplace that opened into the music studio in the rear corner and the living room in the front gable alcove. 2] a circular stairway that swooped to the second floor. Along the back wall, the kitchen was placed in the right corner, opposite the music studio, with French doors between these two spaces leading out to a back deck and the rear gardens. A dining room in the shallower right front area completed the downstairs floor plan.

I have to tell you that as I revise my novel, I walk through this dreamed-up home as if it truly exists… how fascinating!