Restoring a Victorian for the ages Paris address returns to its former glory
Owning and restoring a Victorian home sometimes comes with a responsibility that can’t be measured in dollars and cents.
“We were thrilled to find the house and felt it would be such a cool place to raise kids,” said Jim Clark who has lived for the last 22 years in the home with wife Liz Croney. “In some ways we didn’t necessarily know what we were getting into.”
“Walking through, we immediately felt its historical value,” Jim said. “The house had been a neighborhood gathering place for generations and meant a lot to the community.”
When the family of five moved in to the Paris home, a neighbor gently informed them that there was an expectation that Christmas lights would be hung a certain way.
“Cypress Street is a wonderful place where everybody stays a long time, and normally the houses do not go up for sale,” Jim said. “Now it’s nice when we’re seeing people from the neighborhood thank us for the time and money that we’ve put into it.”
Although much of the original charm remains, the home has all the comforts you’d expect from a newer home such as modern heat and air, along with updated bathrooms and kitchen.
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
The four bedroom, two bath, 3,878 square foot home at 1495 Cypress Street is known locally as The Davis House after the physician who built the home in the 1890s.
The old “they don’t build ‘em like they used to” adage generally holds true for distinctive Victorian features like the decorative railings of the wrap-around porch, the iron balustrade around the rooftop “widow’s watch” and the seven unique fireplaces throughout the home.
“Structurally, the place has very good integrity,” said Jim who credits wife Liz with making wise choices when it came to restoration. “We didn’t take shortcuts and really tried to make sure it was high quality work that stayed true to the period.”
A case in point is the most recent wave of renovation which tackled the baths and kitchen. “I took the old claw foot tub from downstairs and had it redone and put it upstairs,” Liz said. “So now the original tub is featured in the upstairs bath.”
“The kitchen has all of the latest appliances,” Liz said. “It’s become my favorite spot in the house with the gas stovetop, drawer microwave, lots of wonderful storage space with pullouts, a farm sink and a big pantry.” Liz adds that it’s an ideal kitchen for entertaining with room to cook or just to hang out and socialize.
CONVENIENT TO LEXINGTON
“Over the time we’ve lived here we’ve seen the change of Paris Pike from being a two lane to a major four lane highway,” Jim said. “It was just a beautiful way to start the day passing all these horse farms on my commute into Lexington.”
“A lot of people think Paris is too far away, but the 20 minute drive getting to the University of Kentucky was much faster than my colleagues coming from Heartland or the south side of Lexington.”
After 22 years in the home, the Croney-Clarks can’t help but wax nostalgic. “Paris was a great town to raise kids,” Liz said referring to daughters Pearson, Cameron and Meg. “We celebrated every Christmas at that house. It’s the best Christmas house ever. And there were Easters and big Halloween parties in the back yard.”
Jim and Liz will relocate to Tallahassee where Jim was recruited by Florida State University as Dean of the College of Social Work. “With the latest renovation I think the house has really come back to glory,” Jim said. “The place is ready for the next 30 to 40 years.”
This week’s feature home is listed with Donna Thwaites of Thwaites Realtors in Paris. To see more images of the home, visit the Homeseller gallery at Kentucky.com
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Restoring a Victorian for the ages Paris address returns to its former glory."