Hitting the Books

Sharon Harrison and her partner Jim were looking for wide-open spaces and they found them in a turn-of-the-century Baltimore library.

After spending months cleaning out the place and stripping it back down to its original features, Harrison had a blank palette for a wildly creative home.

With the main living space all in the main library room, a series of catwalks and lofts offers additional living space on the second level. With the help of architect Mahendra Parekh, a huge hole was knocked out of the center of the roof to make way for an enormous glass observatory. Almost as interesting as the home itself is watching Harrison clean. A former gymnast, she enjoys walking out on the I-beams that are some 30 feet above the ground to dust the beams and ceilings.