Jennifer Eberle built her four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom Glenmary home in 1999. After 17 years in the one-and-a-half-story house, she decided to give it a minor facelift with some fresh wall colors.
“At first I was just going to do some painting,” she told The Courier Journal. “But I knew Leslie (Lewis, of LL&A Interior Design), and had her come over. (I said), ‘I’m open to your ideas.’ Then we decided to remodel the entire first floor.”
Ready for a revamp
Eberle took the local interior designer’s ideas and ran with them, and she compares the big renovation reveal to something you’d see on a TV show. In one day, she says, Lewis brought in her whole team, hung photos, placed decorations, and set up a completely new, redone space. Eberle had the option of purchasing any new pieces she liked and returning the ones she didn’t.
“I said, ‘I want to buy it all!’” Eberle recalled with a laugh. “(Lewis) just made it so easy. I own a business (and) I don’t have time to shop. … (I) was wowed. It was like I just (watched) an episode on HGTV.”
The original plan to give the house a fresh coat of paint led to updating doors and hardware, installing a new backsplash and cabinetry in the kitchen, completely redoing the main bedroom, reconfiguring the built-in entertainment center, converting a rarely used office into a large walk-in closet, and tearing up the old flooring.
Home of the Week:Step inside this massive 10,000-square-foot Italianate Tuscan villa turned bed & breakfast
“I had ceramic tile in (one room), carpet in (another), and hardwood in (another),” Eberle recalled. “We demolished all that.”
The home now boasts hand-scraped engineered hardwood in an ebony finish throughout, helping to tie everything together. Lewis also incorporated some of Eberle’s existing furniture and accessories, while adding in new pieces that reflected things she likes, such as horses and a blue-green hue that is now sprinkled throughout.
“I just wanted a more cohesive flow and look to the house,” Eberle said, “(but) we have such beautiful views here, I didn’t want it overdone. We wanted the outside to be able to come in.”
Gorgeous glimpses
With more-than-20-foot-tall ceilings and huge windows, both Eberle and Lewis felt strongly about creating a serene and neutral interior space that lets the outside speak for itself. The living room looks out toward the deck and pool, and the backyard that features a stone path leading to a gate connecting Eberle’s property to her sister Julie Kelley’s, who lives right next door.
“I have a video of the (pool installation) — it was pretty impressive,” Eberle said with a laugh, explaining that the original plan was to drive the fiberglass pool to the back of the house through Kelley’s property. But once the pool company realized that plan wouldn’t work, it had to be craned over the roof from the front of the house.
Home of the Week:A love of horses: Second Stride founder’s Cape Cod-style home is full of equine art, décor
“It just got done at the end of last summer,” she added, “so we’ve spent a ton of time (at Kelley’s pool). Everyone asked why I was putting a pool in when my sister has a pool. … But I can’t just bombard, (and) I want to be able to have my own stuff. We’ll still go over.”
Favorite features
Though the outdoor area includes the most recent revamp to Eberle’s home, her most-liked spaces are inside.
“I spend a lot of time in the kitchen,” she said. “I like to cook, (and) it’s where everybody gathers when they come in.”
Her favorite room — hands-down — is the former office that Lewis transformed into a walk-in closet. “Back then, nobody was really using home offices, and it was a waste,” Eberle said. “Leslie had the brilliant idea to make that whole office a big, walk-in closet, which I love.”
The closet was also a major selling point for Kelley, who enlisted the help of Lewis for her own home remodel after Eberle’s was completed.
Home of the Week:Stunning custom renovation of Cherokee Park home matches world-traveling vibe of its owners
“We just love working with her,” Eberle said. “We all have similar styles and similar taste and working with her team is just easy and fun.”
Julie Kelley’s home will be the featured Home of the Week next week.
Know a house that would make a great Home of the Week? Email writer Lennie Omalza at [email protected] or Lifestyle Editor Kathryn Gregory at [email protected].
nuts & bolts
Owner: Jennifer Eberle, who is the vice president and owner of HighNote. Also in the home is Doug Strothman, Taylor Eberle, and Woodford Joseph the bernedoodle.
Home: This is a 4-bed, 3-and-a-half-bath, 5,000-square-foot, 1-and-a-half-story home in Glenmary that was built in 1999.
Distinctive elements: Open floor plan; newly updated painted kitchen cabinets; quartz countertops; large windows offer view toward back deck and view beyond; large, walk-in closet, inground pool.
Applause! Applause! Leslie Lewis and the design team at LL&A Interior Design