Distracting the Deputy Inspiration Part 1

When I was working on the storyline for Distracting the Deputy, I envisioned the house where Zadie lived. Summer Creek isn’t a place that’s been thriving, so there wouldn’t be many (or any) new homes available for her to rent. So I started thinking about an house that’s been around for while. One on a quiet street full of people who might have moved there in their younger years and stayed.

Then I got the idea for the house being in great need of renovations, especially after the owner accidentally sets the kitchen on fire.

Enter Zadie, who is as handy with a hammer (thanks to her dad and grandpa) as she is a fishing reel. Just call her a DIY queen!

I searched through a bunch of floor plans to find one that fit with how I envisioned Zadie’s house. This one worked so well. Instead of a garage, there’s a carport in the story, and no basement, just a hallway that goes from the carport to the kitchen. Otherwise, it’s perfect for Zadie’s house.

Some of the ideas I used for inspiration in the rooms, included:

This kitchen. It wood around the sink was so different and I love all the windows framing it. I could easily see Zadie doing this and standing at the sink, watching Knox pull up.

Zadie uses a lot of gray and white in her decor. This living room sectional made me think of her and her preferred color scheme.

One of the things Zadie gets rid of is an old sputnik chandelier from the 1960s. This is what I had in mind when I wrote that part of the story.

And this is one of the pretty lights she installs.

With the help of her friends, Zadie built some of the furniture she uses and I could see her turning pallets into end tables like these.

Her bedroom would have clean lines, like this one, that lets in plenty of light and has a little sparkle!

In the story, Knox (and his friend) help Zadie demo her guest bathroom.

I happened upon this photo one day and thought, “what if that was Zadie’s guest bathroom?” Oh, it was so perfect for the story and I could totally understand why she’d want to change everything about it!

I envisioned the end result of the bathroom makeover looking more along these lines.

I truly have such fun picturing all the little details that go into bring the story to life.

If you haven’t read the book yet, check out Distracting the Deputy for more of Zadie’s home improvement projects!