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Crestwood Civic Club Holiday Home Tour

Civic Club to feature three stops
on its Holiday Home Tour

Cohn home was designed by
architect Arthur W. Smith

By Helen E. McKinney
Contributing Writer

CRESTWOOD, Ky. (November 2012) – When Paula Cohn purchased her circa 1910 home in 1991 in Crestwood, she was struck by the fact that, except for the mechanics, the home had not changed much in several decades. The home retained its interior and exterior charm, Victorian detailing and most of all, had physically stood the test of time.

Barry & Paula Cohn home

Photo provided

Barry and Paula Cohn’s home
in Crestwood is among three
stops on the home tour.

Originally from Lexing-ton, Ky., Cohn found this house irresistible. She was taken with the front porch and a second floor landing that quickly became “a nice place to read,” said Cohn.
This almost 6,000-square foot home will be decorated for the Thanksgiving season and is one of three on the Crestwood Civic Club Holiday Home Tour. Tours begin at the Crestwood Civic Club located at 7215 Kavanaugh Rd., and will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. Two luncheon seating times will be available at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Arthur W. Smith, a well-known architect in this area and throughout the south, originally built the Cohn’s three-story home for the J. Will Jefferson family. It was designed to be the summer home for this family from Louisville, Cohn said.
The Jefferson family owned the home for 53 years before it passed into the hands of the Jack Acree family, who resided there until 1988. It was during the Acree family ownership that front steps were added where previously steps had led off of each end of the porch. A bay window was installed in the kitchen to create more dining space.

Crestwood Civic
Club Holiday
Home Tour &
Luncheon

• 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16
• Luncheon and tour tickets $17. Tour only $12.
• Tours begin at Crestwood Civic Club, 7215 Kavanaugh Rd.
• Information and tickets: Call Anne Murner at (502) 292-2701

The James Lutes family then bought the home. They rewired the house and updated the heating system, making it more efficient.
When Cohn and her husband, Barry, purchased the house, they had very little renovation work to do, she said. They removed the radiators and painted the woodwork, which had retained its original mahogany stain. Cohn thought this made the rooms too dark and updated the woodwork with a fresh coat of light paint.
The home contains three floors, six bedrooms, two fireplaces and sits on less than two acres. The third floor was employed by the Jefferson family as living space for their butler. In terms of furnishings, the Cohns have attempted to maintain a period English style throughout the home.
One feature that marks the home as a unique piece of property is the original “refrigerator room,” said Cohn. The room is only large enough for a refrigerator and “it still contains the old wooden refrigerator.”
She said that “anyone who has lived in the county for a long time knows the home as ‘Mrs. Jefferson’s Place’ and anyone new to Oldham County knows it as the ‘Acree Place.’ ”
Jo Ann Griffin and Joe Passafiume own the second home on the tour. Their 20-acre horse farm, Gotta Dance Farm, was named after Jo Ann’s much-loved horse, Gotta Dance. The property contains a seven-stall horse barn, green pastures surrounded by black fencing and a contemporary home designed by architect Gerald Stuart Baron.

Jo Ann Griffin Home

Photos provided

Two stops on the Crestwood Civic Club’s Holiday Home Tour are the Gotta Dance Farm home (above), owned by Jo Ann Griffin and Joe Passaflume, and the Matt and Christy Weaver home (below).

Matt & Christy Weaver home

The 4,500-square-foot home was designed on an open floor plan that takes advantage of a breathtaking view of the surrounding rolling acreage through floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the home. A walkout deck was built onto both the main and upper levels of the back of the house overlooking the pool and garden area.
A unique feature of the home is the second level Japanese spa room. The residence contains a simplistic and natural beauty throughout its design.
The third home on the tour, “High House,” is owned by Matt and Christy Weaver. It is located in the Ashwood Avenue Historic District of Pewee Valley. The house earned its name from the young son of a former owner who said it appeared to be “awfully high” in his eyes.
This 21/2 story home is one of two nearly identical houses built around 1906 on the former site of the Kentucky College for Young Ladies, which burnt in 1898. The home retains its original porch detailing, which includes truncated Corinthian columns on battered stone plinths, a frieze with a band of details and a roof-top balustrade.
The home is approximately 4,000 square feet and contains its original hardwood flooring. Two sets of historic stone gateposts at the front of the property mark the original drive and front walk.
Proceeds benefit the Crestwood Civic Club’s four-year scholarship program, in addition to other educational, religious and outreach programs within Oldham County.

Back to November 2012 Articles.

 

 

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