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Last spring, Celia, Evelyn, Elly, Eli and Mason Dyer (above, l-r) purchased this Glendover home, designed and built by Celia’s grandfather, Richard B. Isenhour, in 1958. Photo by Mark Mahan
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For years, Celia and Mason Dyer had been looking for their own “Isenhour,” before their dream home finally became available. Photo by Mark Mahan
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The Dyer family spent the summer renovating the home under the guidance of Celia’s father, Larry, who helped ensure that the integrity of his father’s design was left intact. Photo by Mark Mahan
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Celia Dyer is fairly certain that most of the stone featured in this house designed by her grandfather, Richard B. Isenhour, came from a Kentucky creek bed that has strong family ties. Photo by Mark Mahan
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This view from the backyard reflects a two story addition, that made room for a basement bedroom and expanded master suite. Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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342 Blueberry
Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Two steps down from the kitchen, this small addition added by the prior owners is now used as a second den by the Dyers. During their renovation work, they pulled up carpet to add concrete tiles and added new light fixtures to the room, leaving much of the original work intact. Photo by Mark Mahan
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Two steps down from the kitchen, this small addition added by the prior owners is now used as a second den by the Dyers. During their renovation work, they pulled up carpet to add concrete tiles and added new light fixtures to the room, leaving much of the original work intact. Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Now an interior wall separating the expanded master bedroom from its walk-in closet and bathroom, this stone wall was originally the exterior rear facade of the house. Photo by Mark Mahan
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342 Blueberry
Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
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Photo by Mark Mahan
Like many home seekers, Mason and Celia Dyer longed for a mid-century modern home for years. But it wasn’t just any home they were looking for – the Lexington couple specifically wanted a house designed by late local architect Richard B. Isenhour.
One of the first architects in Lexington to design homes in the mid-century modern style, Isenhour is also often considered one of the finest architects to work in this style, having built and designed nearly 100 homes in various Lexington neighborhoods from 1956-1978. Many of these homes are now highly sought after, particularly among young home buyers, but the Dyers’ interest went deeper than a love of the aesthetic and quality of the architect’s work – Celia Dyer also happens to be Isenhour’s granddaughter.
Isenhour houses don’t come on the Lexington market often, but the Dyers didn’t let that deter them.
“Mason sent letters to multiple owners asking to be called first if they ever wanted to sell,” Celia explained. It was a strategy that paid off – after establishing contact with several owners of Isenhour homes, and even getting a handful of close leads, the couple learned that the Jackson family, which had owned an Isenhour house on the Glendover neighborhood’s Blueberry Lane since 1967, were ready to discuss selling their property.
“When we walked in, we knew within five minutes that we wanted this house,” Celia said. “The Jacksons were adamant that this was supposed to happen – this was meant to be next in the life of this house.”
The Jacksons had made a handful of updates to the home over the years since its 1958 construction, maintaining the integrity of the original style along the way. While the original structure needed minimal updating, the Dyers, who have three children, were looking for a bit more space than the original structure offered, and the home was due a handful of additional updates as well. Naturally, architect Larry Isenhour – Celia’s father and Richard Isenhour’s son – was their first call. Now retired, Isenhour managed the entire project, along with contractor Matt Schweder.
The house features the open floor plan, partial walls (often referred to as ”pony walls”) and natural materials characteristic of mid-century modern architecture. In his book chronicling the Lexington homes his father had designed and built, Larry Isenhour mentions an anecdote in which the owner of a home with similar walls noted he had once overheard a stranger comment, “I wonder when they are going to finish their walls?” Natural light floods the living room and kitchen through the high windows all around the house, as well as through the wall of windows facing the backyard.
“We were so lucky that the previous owners replaced the original glass with new double-paned glass without changing the placement or structure of the windows,” Mason said.
The home’s exterior is constructed mainly of stone, which continues into the living room’s interior to create a stunning fireplace wall. The continuation of the wall from the outside creates the sense that the living room extends into the outdoor space. The Dyers believe that all of the stones came from Fox Creek, a creek bed in Anderson County that has strong Isenhour family ties.
In the living room, only the carpet was removed and original hardwood refinished. Major work in the kitchen included raising some of the lower cabinets and the built-in bar, and subway tiles were used to create a new backsplash. The original beams and trim throughout the house had, happily, never been painted. In the basement, the rumpus room looks the same as it did in 1958, with the original paneling untouched.
Prior to the Dyers meeting them, the Jacksons had added a small addition behind the carport to create a formal dining room.
“When my father saw the addition, he was thrilled that it respected the lines and design of the house,” Celia said. “The Jacksons were meticulous about keeping the house in its original condition.”
The Dyers replaced the carpeting in that room with concrete tiles and installed new light fixtures, and are using the space as a second den.
The most major change the Dyers made to the house was building another addition that allowed them to expand the master bedroom and to create a fourth bedroom and bath in the basement for their son, Eli. Their daughters, Elly and Evelyn, each have one of the original three bedrooms on the main floor and share the original main floor bath. The original master bedroom was reconfigured and expanded, allowing for the creation of a new master bath, and the addition was built so that both the master bedroom and the basement bedroom below it have a wall of windows overlooking the backyard, allowing both to receive a good deal of sunlight.
Those elements are important to the Dyers, as they were to the Jacksons.
“Mrs. Jackson was an avid gardener, and Mr. Jackson was a woodworker,” Celia said. “They loved what they had.”
The Dyers closed on the house in May of last year and moved in Labor Day weekend. The remodeling process was an intensive family affair, with even the kids pitching in throughout their summer vacation.
“I was here every single day,” she said. “We were here scraping up old linoleum, picking up trash and doing lots of small things that could save the contractor time.” As a result, the kids are as attached to the house as the rest of the family. Eli, 13, says that the house will never be sold again.
“This house reminds me so much of my grandparents’ house on Bridgeport,” said Celia, referring to the Bridgeport Drive house that her grandfather built for his family and where they lived for more than 30 years. “I love having my aunts and uncles here and seeing them have the same reaction.
“There are so many features of this house that bring back memories,” she added. “Sometimes I wake up and still can’t believe I live here.”