A Richmond retreat: Exquisite new home designed for multi-generational living

Tina Bergstrom built her Richmond, Ky., home thinking of her family members — lots of them.

“The house we had in mind was something that had a great room — that when my kids and my grandkids came down, we’d have a centralized place to gather for holidays, with a big kitchen to do lots of cooking. My parents come from big families, with great cooks obviously, big farm families. We wanted something to culminate into the way my parents were brought up and bring family together,” she said.

The Las Vegas resident managed to acquire the biggest lot on Plantation Drive — five acres — and she said its topography initially drew her in.

“This particular five acres, it’s just the way it rolled. Straight out and down and back up,” she said. “And the house, the way we had it situated, fit perfectly. It’s one of the widest lots there.”

They discovered something hidden in the wooded area on the land that made it even more special. And they discovered it as a family.

“In the back, there’s one of those stone stack walls,” she said. “When we first looked at the property, and my dad was alive, (we found the stone wall) and we just thought it was the coolest thing. I thought, ‘We’re going to have a piece of property with Kentucky history to it.’ I was really impressed with that.”

The plans were drawn up to bring Bergstrom’s family and her parents beneath one roof while allowing for space that accommodated their various living conditions.

“My parents were raised in Kentucky. So I was brought up the Southern way, which is to take care of your parents,” Bergstrom said. “(They) just wanted a wing they could call their own. It’s not really a mother-in-law suite, but what we call out here on the West Coast, a multi-generational area. This one got customized for my parents, for their immediate needs.”

That side of the house was constructed with a beautiful kitchen, a walk-in pantry, a living room with a fireplace, a laundry room, a large master suite, and walk-in closet as well as a two-car garage.

“It’s almost like a personalized condo in the end of the house. It’s 1,700 square feet on that top floor that’s finished,” Bergstrom said.

Amid the sprawling 8,645 total square feet of the house, the main kitchen is Bergstrom’s personal favorite space.

“For this house, I think the heart and soul is in the kitchen,” she emphasized.

She deeply admires the craftsmanship of the poplar cabinets, which were produced by a young man working for Millcreek Cabinets. He worked with her on each detail down to the unique stain (and it took 12 tries to get it just right).

“He is the Michelangelo of cabinetry,” she said. “He stick-built every piece, every door, every frame, every corbel. The kitchen itself is just a masterpiece of his carpentry skills. You can tell when you look at it, there’s just nothing else like it. It’s just absolutely beautiful.”

Aside from the contrasting backsplashes, lovely light fixtures, and the exotic marble countertops, Bergstrom said a couple of the most eye-catching features in the kitchen are the fan hood and the butler’s pantry, which stretches roughly 17 feet down the wall.

“It has enough room for all of your china and to display it with lighted glass, and lots of drawer space to put away all of your table linens and that kind of thing,” she said.

Between entertaining in the open kitchen and great room and the downstairs theater and rec rooms, Bergstrom also designed an outdoor area for family and friends to gather. The massive space was built with a stone fire pit and is equipped for an outdoor kitchen. She put in two decks on either side, and both are built with Trex decking to make the spaces virtually maintenance-free.

When standing in the house’s center, you can spot the woods through the back, the u-shaped driveway and portico through the front, the open kitchen area to the right, and to the left, her mom’s quarters. And that’s where the house’s enormity is realized.

“That great room just ties it all together because of the openness and the flow of the house,” Bergstrom said. “You need to be able to spread out. That was the idea of this home — to be able to live together.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 3:37 PM with the headline "A Richmond retreat: Exquisite new home designed for multi-generational living."