Quiet condo in Hamburg will surprise you

It’s the best of both worlds for Tom and Cyndi Vines of Lexington.

The Lexington couple re-discovered the pleasure of cooking and eating at home, thanks to their recently remodeled kitchen. When they aren’t feeling it, they can choose from 30 restaurants within a mile and a half of their 901 Star Shoot Parkway condo in Hamburg Place.

“This isn’t just an eat-in kitchen. It’s a live-in kitchen,” says Tom. “We spend tons of time here and outside on the patio.”

The idea of a kitchen renovation originated with Cyndi’s desire to update the frumpy kitchen. “I wanted a backsplash, but the cabinets were made of a low-end material that was peeling,” she said. “Installing a backsplash would have been the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig,” the UK accounting professor explained.

They turned to the late Mike Bailey, the contractor who oversaw improvements to their previous residence, a 4,300-square-foot house in Chevy Chase, to “fix” the kitchen. “For the most part, we kept the footprint that was already here, except for the island,” Cyndi said. “It was too small, so we enlarged it and created seating for three people at the bar,” Cyndi said.

Bailey waited until he had all materials in hand before starting demolition, which reduced kitchen down time to about six weeks. Amish woodworkers wasted no time building and painting solid maple cabinets with roll-out drawers and other convenient bells and whistles. New white quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and a gleaming white subway tile backsplash completed the transformation.

“I wanted a clean airy look,” Cyndi said. “I think I got it.”

She and her husband used the time to become better acquainted with the ever-changing Hamburg restaurant, entertainment, and shopping scene. “There are 30 restaurants within a mile and a half of our home,” Tom explains. “Regal Cinema is less than a mile away, Target’s a mile from here. Costco became our grocery store.”

They and their dog were already regulars on the three-mile paved walking trail that meanders through the residential part of the community. “The trail’s just a few feet from our door, and it’s never crowded,” Tom noted. “We use it a lot.”

Although the desire to leave mowing, landscaping and exterior maintenance to someone else appealed to them, Tom and Cyndi didn’t anticipate getting all of that in a quiet, private and peaceful environment. “We were looking to simplify,” said Tom, a retired Lexmark executive, even if it meant a slightly longer commute to campus for Cyndi.

“When we came over and looked at this place, we were surprised by how quiet it was. I said, ‘I could live here,’” Cyndi recalls. It’s been home for three years.

Almost every room in the 2,937-square-foot condo has big windows and good light. “It’s very bright, which is important to me,” Cyndi said. Nine generously-sized windows and a leaded glass transom above the front door illuminate the two-story living room and the second-floor loft, which the couple use as an office. A few steps from the kitchen table, triple French doors open to the 11-foot by 14-foot brick-enclosed patio.

Two owners’ suites—one on the main level and one on the second-- also appealed to the empty-nesters. “Even though the upstairs master is larger and even has a sitting area, we use the first-floor master suite,” Cyndi said. Another en suite bedroom and a bedroom/bonus space also occupy the second floor.

The condo is well equipped and has the right floor plan for someone who wants to downsize but not throw away everything, according to Cindy. To make up for some of the 1,300 square feet lost in the move, Tom and Cindy hired Inspired Closets of Lexington to install closet systems throughout the house. Premier Garage created storage space in the two-car garage with drop-down racks that hang from the ceiling, wall racks, closets and drawers.

“Our neighbors are amazed by the garage,” Tom said. “We are, too.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Quiet condo in Hamburg will surprise you."