An Oasis of Elegance

1 Vickie Rosok, Owner of Premier Home Builders, custom built this 3,600 square foot home where she lives with her husband, Jim, in Lexington’s Tuscany subdivision.

OasisAn of Elegance

By Heather N. Russell-Simmons Photography by Walt Roycraft

In addition to owning the award-winning design-build firm Premier Home Builders, Vickie Rosok has also flipped houses with her husband, Jim. “At one point, we moved four times in two years,” she said of that experience. When they found an empty lot in the Tuscany subdivision of Lexington, Ky., the Rosok’s decided to custom build their own dream home, just as she had done for clients over the years. “Like many of my clients, my husband and I wanted to downsize but keep all the bells and whistles without a ton of square footage.”

Windows and natural light were important to the Rosok’s. She runs her business from the home, so she wanted an office near the front door. He wanted a walk around shower in the master bath with benches and a rain shower system. She wanted a laundry room off walk-in his-and-hers master closets joined by a three-way dressing mirror. The couple loves to entertain, so they both wanted an open floor plan with a large kitchen island, a guest bath in the home that doubled as a pool bath, and space for a home theatre and golf simulator.

To make these dreams a reality, Rosok chose to work with her friend, architect James McKay. “Like he’s done with my clients, Jim listened to the ideas I had, talked through the design elements I wanted and then compiled everything together in a proper plan,” she said. “From those plans, I built the home.” That home went on to win the 2014 “Best New Home Design” in the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky Grand Tour of Homes.

After pouring her heart into how the downstairs living space would work, Rosok gave McKay creative license on the second level. He designed a Juliette balcony over the foyer to allow for more natural light to reach the upstairs. “Instead of a long hallway of doors, Jim created an additional foyer between the bedrooms, guest bath and utility closet,” she said. Working with Landscapers Paradise, the couple brought in 64 evergreens to maintain year-round privacy along with a wide variety of lush vegetation to set the stage for an inviting, quiet, oasis.

Despite thorough planning, not of all Rosok’s initial choices made it to the finished home. “The kitchen is where people gather, and I wanted an oversized island to be the home’s showpiece,” she said. Rosok chose a 1,200-pound block of granite that split down the middle during installation. “The supplier called all over the country and no one had a replacement,” she said. It took about a month for the shock to wear off before Rosok and interior designer Holly Hannah visited Artistic Granite in Nicholasville. “I was in low spirits,” Rosok recalled with a laugh. “Then we turned a corner and I gasped.” A new line of granite had just come in, one that was not available when Rosok chose the first piece that broke during installation. “It turned out to be the right one with its black undertone and marbling effect.” Eight-foot wide by five-foot deep, the black marble granite on black cabinets by Danny Castle at Castle Cabinetry is now a dramatic presence in the home.

An upstairs bonus room is complete with a golf simulator, beverage center and elevated theatre seats. The garage ceiling below was lowered to make room for these amenities. In addition to entertaining guests, Rosok uses this highlight of her home to exhibit creative ways to repurpose traditional guest room spaces. “When my clients see this, we adjust the design of their bonus room,” explained Rosok.

Rosok was not intimidated by the wide, shallow lot she and her husband chose to build on. “We decided to have the pool on the side yard and design the home with a side view instead of a back view,” she said. “Because we wanted windows and light, we knew we’d have to rely on landscape for complete privacy.” The home’s interior consists of a livable elegance; which Rosok describes as thought put into design elements and material selection that make the home low maintenance without sacrificing sophistication. For example, she noted that natural stones are falling out of favor for backsplashes in kitchens and baths. However, “Tile can be porous, so we chose porcelain tile for our back splash. It doesn’t have to be sealed, you just wipe it off and it looks brand new,” she said.

“The window treatments were all Holly’s doing,” Rosok said of a painstaking, custom detail carried throughout the living areas. The breakfast nook, great room, dining room and office all share a matching pattern and fabric as window treatments. Regardless of the ceiling height or drapery design, each set of drapes hits the same height on the wall and the pattern repeats in the same manner every 18 inches.

“I don’t chase trends,” Rosok stated. She then added, “If your design is classic, you can stay current.” When the Rosoks were building their home seven years ago, warm earth tones were making way for cooler grays. “Take an earth tone paint with a gray undertone to pull the color current or stay classic,” Rosok explained. “It’s the same for hardwood. Undertones play with what you have, but they can still go into the direction of new styles and colors.” In her home, Rosok chose darker hardwood floors from ProSource of Lexington, “But the floor has a grayish undertone. We did the same for the paint, it has an even more traditional look but feels current.”

2 “I was hesitant with this chandelier being wrought iron because other fixtures in the home had chrome and pewter finishes,” Rosok said of the foyer’s stunning lighting fixture. “Stephanie Moore, now at Wiseway Lighting, guided me through the need to stick with warm tones to set the mood in the home’s entry, and this piece ties it all together.”

3 The home office marries a variety of finishes found throughout the home. Located at the front of the home, the office is a functional balance of professionalism and accessibility.

3

4

5

4 The dining room’s cinnamon-colored rug sets an inviting foundation at the home’s entry. “Used for family gathering and client meetings, I wanted this space to be open and welcoming,” Rosok said. 5 The kitchen blends a variety of color palettes. “There are warm tones with cooler gray undertones along with pewter finishes on lights and cabinets,” Rosok explained. 6 The home’s open floor plan is beautifully evident from the vantage point of the breakfast nook where the kitchen, great room and views of the outdoor pool area are all showcased.

7

7 Sixty-four evergreens provide a lush, year-round view from Rosok’s great room that looks out over the property’s private, landscaped pool.

8

8 Rosok started with the blank canvas of an empty lot to design a secluded, outdoor oasis with the help of Landscapers Paradise. 9 “I worked with interior designer Holly Hanna to have a neutral, monochrome palette with gray undertones working with natural tones,” said Rosok. 10 Instead of a curb to contain water, Rosok designed the custom walk around shower with a sloping floor. Winged walls wrapped around the jacuzzi tub to hold heat and steam back in the rain system shower.