Editor’s Note

What a Year

What do you do when the world shuts down, everyone huddles at home and your job is to try to get inside of some of those amazing dwellings to share them with your readers?

Our short list of possible home features whittled down to one homeowner still willing to work with us—if we used the photos that had been previously done. We can thank aging expert Lisa Cini for hanging in there with us, for sharing the beautiful reincarnation of her condo at Park Towers on East Broad Street. Others on my list of potentials were still trying to finish projects at a time when businesses were shutting down. We were only two weeks into a global pandemic when we started to plan this issue, and we feared that any surface—including bags and boxes— were transmitting the virus. My goal was to protect every homeowner we worked with, as well as the photographers and writers involved. Safety was my utmost concern. Safety and finding some great stories to share. Thus, I pleaded and I stalked. I pleaded with friends, colleagues and freelancers, for leads about homeowners we knew and those who may want to help us during this challenging time. Our cover story of a wonderful New Albany renovation came to us that way. Then, I peeked onto the Facebook feed of a former intern, observing her move into a charming industrial space fit for these magazine pages. The former intern, who has grown into a professional female engineer, complied, too.

We switched up our processes, moving from in-person interviews to FaceTime tours. In some cases, we traded out photos done by our in-house photography team for images that were previously done by others.

Finally, what we have in this issue is a compilation of cozy and comfortable dwellings shared by some very generous homeowners, as well as information provided by some trusted advertisers. You’ll note, more often than not, that those owners share the trials and tribulations of getting through the last several months of quarantine and social isolation. There’s nothing better than settling into a home—and maybe a great sofa—during these trying times. In the back of this magazine, I also share some of my journey of moving—a lot—during this pandemic.

I hope that you and your family stay well, safe and content in your own home in the coming months. Imagine, a year from now, the stories we will all tell regarding this unusually trying time.

All the Best,

Sherry Beck Paprocki Editor