Lexington, KY - It's becoming a common trend in the annals of Lexington real estate: recent empty-nesters are trading in the convenient amenities of suburban life to take advantage of, and participate in, the renewed interest in Lexington's downtown core. Big lawns morph into short walking distances to cultural hubs; multiple children's bedrooms give way to manageable personal space.
For Dr. Willem and Catherine de Villiers, the steady rumble of car and foot traffic along South Mill Street between downtown and the University of Kentucky was more desirable than the deafening quiet of their previous neighborhood once their children had left home.
"It felt like living in an old-age neighborhood," Catherine said. "It was far away from everything. Downtown was attractive to us because we wanted the buzz, we wanted to be a part of the rejuvenation, we wanted to create a nest for ourselves."
The de Villiers' transition into a downtown lifestyle was realized earlier this year when the dramatic renovation of their historic 1818 home, which included a sweeping reconstruction of an addition to the original structure, was completed after nearly two years of planning and building.
The project, which added roughly 2,600 square feet of living space including a studio over a new two-car garage, came with some hefty obstacles. For starters, the home is located in a downtown historic district and design plans for any remodel or addition had to be approved with the city preservation office. Second, the deep, yet slender makeup of the property provided some interesting design challenges for architect Jack Stewart and builder Chip Crawford - namely how to maximize space and flow within a snug capacity.
Instead of opting for numerous individual rooms in the two-story addition, Stewart's plans called for long, open corridors without any structural interruptions. From the front of the house downstairs, it's one long shot from the original dining room to the back of the house, though you pass through a family room, kitchen and sitting area before emerging on the new patio. Upstairs, a long study functions as a hallway, and a lengthy walk-in closet serves as a pathway from the master bedroom to the master bath.
Many environmentally friendly materials and practices were incorporated into the project, such as open cell foam insulation, high-efficiency windows, a dual fuel air conditioning system and tank-less water heaters. The benefit of many of these fixtures was two-pronged. "We did that as much for space savings as we did for energy efficiency," Crawford said.
Along with the innovative technology, the reconstruction on the original footprint of the structure's old addition, which had been turned into a rental unit and had fallen by the wayside, was also handled in a conscious and sustainable manner. The two brick chimneys and brick faÁade, which had to be torn down, were refashioned into the north wall of the new structure. "We only had to provide a couple thousand additional bricks to finish the project," Crawford said.
Other items were also used throughout the reconstruction, such as the large floor joists, which became ceiling rafters, bookshelves and desktops. Material that couldn't be used was donated to the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore deconstruction project. Now completed, the home is the fourth Energy STAR 5-star rated reconstructed house in the state of Kentucky.
"We were thinking a lot of the time about how we live, and I wanted a house that would function for us in the way we wanted to live with the new lifestyle we wanted to create for ourselves," Catherine said. "But there was only so much space. The footprint that we were working on, it was quite challenging, but I got everything I wanted."