Ellerslie at DelongOpen concept home balances contemporary, rustic and traditional.
There’s a lot of “wow” to capture the imagination in this 10,000 square foot home – the buoyant arches and beams of the open living area, the sleek euro-inspired kitchen, the two-story master closet and loads of custom iron work.
Still there’s an understated quality and natural feeling of comfort throughout that never approaches the overwrought or the over-the-top.
“We started out just building this as a spec house,” said homeowner Jerry Mayes. “Once we started designing it, we kind of went a little crazy with it.”
The five bedroom, five bath home sits on two acres in the Ellerslie at Delong subdivision off Richmond Road in Lexington. The entrance is across from Jacobson Park.
“I had my eye on this lot for a while,” Jerry said. “This was the site of the old home for all of this farm. Through our back woods there’s actually an entrance with a farm gate out onto Old Richmond Road. It’s the only lot in here like it.”
“It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood,” said wife Tina Mayes, “I like that we’re on a cul-de-sac here so there’s not a lot of traffic. I don’t feel like I’m near a city.”
INTENTIONAL DESIGN
“I guess the theme of the house outside would be a cross between country French and Craftsman,” Jerry said. The inside mixes contemporary, traditional and rustic styles.
Jerry and Tina, both dentists, are no strangers to the building process. In their former home of London, Kentucky, they developed a subdivision, built an apartment complex and several homes including a Rocky Mountain cabin on an eight acre peninsula on Woods Creek Lake.
After selling their dental practice in London, they moved to Lexington a few years ago and started Smart Dental on Nicholasville Road.
“We’re kind of notorious for changing things when we’re building,” Tina says. On the fly inspirations keep framers and contractors on their toes.
A case in point is their comfy coffee nook. On paper it started out as a laundry room, but was changed to a wine cellar. “We even had the iron gates made.” Jerry said.
But it never felt quite right until the space became a rustic coffee room, a relaxing functional space that is used nearly every day.
The euro-inspired chef’s kitchen is appointed with German-made Miele appliances and features a large quartzite slab island.
DOWNHOME APPEAL
Graceful archways in the open format living area lift the eye upwards to a series of beams below a soaring 22 foot ceiling. Jerry notes that the series of interior and exterior arches follow the same pitch and are carefully framed by each other.
The open design of the home blends together the kitchen, living and dining areas with a gallery look that is a showcase for art and objects collected from travels to Alaska, Africa, London, Germany and beyond.
But it’s all nattily juxtaposed with downhome pieces like the uniquely-crafted wood mantels from Townsend, Tennessee.
The piece de resistance is Tina’s two-story master suite closet with a spiral staircase connecting the two levels. It should be noted that this is all separate from Jerry’s large walk-in.
“My goal was to create kind of a boutique look,” Tina said. The closet features custom cabinetry and lighting, as well as natural light.
Because Jerry and Tina are traveling more, they are looking for smaller accommodations to fit their on-the-go lifestyle. They recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in Hawaii, returning to Diamondhead, the scene of Jerry’s early morning proposal.
This week’s feature home is listed with Becky Reinhold of Bluegrass Sotheby’s International Realty. To see more images of the home, visit the Homeseller gallery at Kentucky.com
This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 6:05 AM with the headline "Ellerslie at DelongOpen concept home balances contemporary, rustic and traditional.."