T hat's it like to have a television crew
invade your home and make it over?
Just ask Sam Taylor of Detroit. A crew
from HGTV's My First Place recently gave the liv-
ing room in Taylor's Cultural Center apartment a
three-day, on-the-air facelift.
Providing panoramic views of the surround-
ing city, Taylor's 12th floor, two-bedroom apart-
ment in the circa-1920s Park Shelton building on
Woodward Avenue is highlighted by plaster mold-
ings, beautiful wood floors and a provenance that
includes a past as one of Detroit's top hotels. "This
would be a $3 million apartment in New York or
San Francisco," says Taylor.
It was the view, in fact, that swayed him when
he was looking to buy his first place. "I looked at
apartments throughout the building, some with
[Detroit-crafted] Pewabic fireplaces, but ended
up here because of the amazing view," he says.
"Woodward lights up at night. During the day, I
love looking out of the window at the city. From
here I can see everything, all of the great vin-
tage buildings downtown and even the bridge to
Canada. It's a little like the view of New York City
from New Jersey.

NA/

Opposite page: Sam Taylor, a young medical student, was chosen
by HGTV to have the living room of his Park Shelton apartment
made over. This page, above: Northville designer Erica Pedrosi
created a serene yet masculine environment for Taylor, bringing
forward the architectural details of the historic building. Pedrosi
scanned family photos — like this one of Taylor as a child with
his father (below) — and mounted and framed them with his
family's original manumission papers (above).

Despite its good bones and breathtaking view,
the apartment needed a little help. Taylor lived in
a temporary apartment in the same building with a
bed, a folding table and a small TV while waiting
for it to be renovated. Meanwhile, Taylor's mom,
Sherry, who lives in Bloomfield Hills, saw a notice
in the Jewish News of the HGTV show's search
for new metro Detroit homeowners to feature and

encouraged her son to enter.
Both Taylor and his mom are recent San
Francisco transplants. Sherry, a neurosurgeon at
midtown's Henry Ford Hospital, moved to Detroit
a year ago. After being accepted at Wayne State's
medical school, Sam followed a few months later.
"I knew Sam was struggling with having recent-
ly entered medical school and trying to put his first

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