Renovating a Familiar Face

When the homeowner moved into her current home with her family in 2006, she set out to renovate this charming St. Matthews home to make it her own. Actually, it already was her own in a sense; it was her childhood home that her father built in the 1960s. Her father was an esteemed commercial builder in Louisville who took extra care when building his own home.

Initially when the family moved in, they renovated the kitchen, created a mudroom and laundry room, added a screened porch, patio and fireplace out back all from 2006-2008. Ten years later, she replaced every single window, all of which were 57 years old and original to the house. It was then that she began wanting to update the front of the house and add a front porch.

Instead of replacing the windows in the front room, she started plans for the new front porch with architect Beverly Baker and contractor Todd Stengel. The end result provided the perfect finishing touch to her home. Best part: it was completed right before the pandemic and was put to great use during all the social distancing times.

In addition to the new porch, Stengel gave a facelift to the front of the house, adding finishing touches from the chimney caps to the window pediments. All of these touches created a cohesive aesthetic that elevated the home from traditional to a stunning classic.

Project Highlights:

• The front room windows were replaced with French doors. These doors complement the new front door as well, creating an open and inviting space between the indoor and outdoor spaces
• Todd Stengel designed the porch with subtle luxurious touches made of copper, which he calls the “jewelry of a house”. Here are the copper elements of the front of the house:
  • Sloped roof
  • Half-round gutters
  • Light fixtures at the front door
  • Light post on front walkway
  • Custom made chimney caps
  • Custom tops on the front window pediments
• Recessed lighting was added in the porch’s ceiling. Stengel placed them close to the front of the porch, hidden from view. These lights are smaller in diameter, only two inches, which gives an ambient feel to the lighting.
• Added an “eyebrow” window in the top level that adds light and accentuates the space.

Results

Designer Libby Rush helped add the decorative elements to a new comforting living space both inside and en plein air on the new front porch. This space has all functionality and the versatility to be inviting any season.

The homeowner has updated this beautiful home with her family to make it “theirs” while maintaining the original charm of the house.  The homeowner’s parents have long since passed away, however, her father was alive to see the initial round of renovations (kitchen and laundry room). She has comfort knowing that both of her parents would love the changes and additions she has made to their house. As the second generation in this home, she also has the great fortune of having a wonderful comforting sense of home, literally and figuratively.