Mina and Karen pose for a pic in the completed living room in the newly remodeled home on Sanders Avenue. Green is substantially in evidence in the new color palette, including this forest green upholstered sofa and dramatically patterned wallpaper backdrop.

An Ugly Duckling. Though the sizable home is in a great location, close to Indy's fashionable Fountain Square district, it had previously been divided up into at least three separate apartments, had a confused, labyrinthine floorplan and was generally in disrepair. The outside has been painted in three separate (and all of them ugly) shades of brown, and the front porch had been enclosed as part of an earlier modification.

A Graceful Swan. For the renovation, the enclosed front porch has been opened back up, recreating the home's original curb appeal. A side section is also opened back up, creating a wraparound porch with the front door offset to the right. Other improvements include a new concrete walkway, updated stairs, and new porch columns and railing. Exterior painted in pale blue with white trim.

Strategic Arrangement. Mina and Karen ponder the modifications that will transform the home back from three separate apartments to a single-family dwelling. The interior of the house was an impressive 3350 square feet, but the cobbled-together floor plan would need to be thoroughly revised. To turn it into separate apartment units, the downstairs had been divided up into 10 individual rooms, including two kitchens, with an additional kitchen on the second floor. "And it's just a total hodge-podgey mess," said Mina.