Versailles home with Blue Grass Trust designation has ‘historic, classic feel’

Jennifer Bradley first saw the home at 213 Elm Street in Versailles when she came to Kentucky from New York to visit her future husband. He managed Brookdale Farm, located right down the road. As they drove down Elm Street to the farm, Jennifer spotted the house and fell in love with it immediately.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, that looks so beautiful’ – the historic, classic and tranquil feel of the property, the greenhouse at the side of the house – that was part of the charm,” she said.

Later, after marrying, she and her husband began looking around Woodford County for a home in which to raise their family. Quite serendipitously, the house that had captured Jennifer’s heart was on the market – and it was listed for their exact price point. Naturally, the couple snapped it up.

“It’s like the universe went, ‘Here’s your house,’” Jennifer said. “I walked in and I just knew this was the house for us.”

Adding upgrades

Built in 1938, the Federal-style house was the former residence of Dr. Olson Parrott. It was part of an original 2,000-acre land grant farm. It has 3,060 square feet; two floors plus a partial basement and an attic; four bedrooms (one in the attic); and two and a half baths. On the east side of the house is a covered porch with a swing and tiled floor. The garage has a carport and its doors were salvaged from a barn in Nonesuch. The house received a Blue Grass Trust historic designation in 2004.

While the house was in very good shape when they moved in, the couple did numerous renovations and added several upgrades.

“We took up the carpets and redid the hardwood floors,” Jennifer said. “We decided to showcase the radiators, so we took them all out and had them sandblasted and repainted with car paint because that paint can handle heat. We covered the mantles with travertine. In the doctor’s office, we added bookshelves and took off the old paneling to update it.”

Light fixtures were replaced and the original back door widened to make it easier to pass through into the kitchen. This room was improved with Mexican paver tile and custom cabinetry. In the family room, they enlarged the rear window that offers views of the surrounding farmland and put in HVAC and recessed lighting. Off to the side of the family room is a narrow but handy mud room.

Jennifer previously filled the greenhouse with assorted tropical plants and the family would sometimes eat meals out there. It has not been used in recent years but Jennifer stressed it could become an active greenhouse again. “Or it could become a solarium. It’s nice and sunny,” she said.

The garden behind the house served as another venue for growing. Each of Jennifer’s three children had a square plot of their own in which they planted whatever they wanted – catnip for one child, green beans for another, flowers for the third.

“This year I did not plant a vegetable garden but I planted zinnias and now I have all these butterflies,” Jennifer said. “I come out with my coffee to watch the butterflies.”

The back yard transformed into an outdoor room whenever the Bradleys entertained friends in the Thoroughbred industry during the September yearling sales. Hanging lanterns illuminated the space for up to 150 guests from around the world. Jennifer enjoys it even when she’s by herself.

“In the evening when I sit out in the back yard,” she said, “I can see the stars and fireflies and hear crickets. It’s the best of town and country.”

It’s a quick stroll to the up-and-coming city of Versailles, which now boasts new shops, restaurants, artists’ spaces and art galleries.

“I’ve noticed lots more young people are moving into town,” Jennifer said. “There have been a lot of people who have lived in this neighborhood since they were children, but now new young families are moving in. They’re enlivening it again. I love this neighborhood and it’s been fun watching it transition.”

‘It feels the same’

Jennifer said even with all the renovations, the basic footprint of the house – which some people in Versailles still refer to as “Dr. Parrott’s house” – is still exactly the same. A recent visit from Dr. Parrott’s two sons affirmed Jennifer’s assessment that it retains the comfortable feel it had from its inception.

“Lots of happy tears were shed as the brothers went from room to room recounting stories of their life in this home,” Jennifer said. They agreed the house “doesn’t look the same, but it sure feels the same – just great.”

Jennifer is moving to Lexington to be closer to her job. She is the Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner and program manager with University of Kentucky Integrative Medicine & Health. Jin Shin Jyutsu is the ancient art of balancing the body’s energy system to facilitate healing and restore the body to a more harmonious state of being. Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioners use their hands to gently balance the flow of life energy in the patient’s body.

“It’s a light-touch energetic therapy that is utilized for patients of all ages, infants to adults,” said Jennifer, who started studying Jin Shin Jyutsu in 2003. “This is my passion. I can help people feel better and they learn how to help themselves.”

Jennifer may be moving, but part of her heart will always be on Elm Street in Versailles.

“I love this house. It’s just special,” she said. “This has been a magical spot.”