6 minute read
Horse Haven
Written by Bridget Williams / Photography by Eric Williams
Should Samuel and Mahala Pepper – original settlers of Ardmore farm in the early 1800s – come calling in the present day, one could easily surmise that they would clearly recognize their brick Federal-style homestead. Indeed, present owner Robert A. Cromartie has taken great pains to restore the façade to its original state, while making the home and its accompanying 125-acre working thoroughbred farm and agritourism destination conducive to modern life.
Cromartie, a native of Florida and lifelong horseman who was fortunate to turn his passion into a successful profession, discovered Ardmore while looking for a Bluegrass base for his personal thoroughbred farm (the eighth project he has designed for himself over the years). At the time, the only residents of the dilapidated home, which had sat vacant for 20 years, were no less than 35 raccoons. A brick smokehouse, stone servants’ quarters, a carriage barn, a springhouse and root cellar located on property also date to the early 1800s. As someone who relishes in the challenge of designing and building working farms, this was one project he simply could not pass up.
After stabilizing the home, Cromartie set about clearing the land, adding a mile of paved roads, a dry-stack stone entrance (whose old-world construction belies its newness), removing unusable barns (but taking great pains to preserve the wood for reuse elsewhere) and constructing new state-of-the-art barns. Farm manager Ken Farrell remarked that Cromartie meticulously planned the barns so they are easy to keep clean.
Once the business side was up to his standards, Cromartie turned his attention to restoring the hilltop home, which now boasts commanding views of the idyllic countryside and the spring-fed creek that meanders below. In its original state, the two-over-two floor plan was very dark with isolated rooms lacking natural light. Over the years, there were several poorly executed additions that seemed to have little rhyme or reason, resulting in a very disjointed floor plan.
Farm owner Robert A. Cromartie has taken great pains to restore the façade of the 1800s-era home to its original state.
It was important to Cromartie that all of the expansion and renovations, including a new kitchen, master suite and changes to the second floor, were indiscernible from the front, which boasts the original stone stairs and diamondbeveled front door (a design element repeated elsewhere in the interior). A stickler for details, the homeowner paid close attention to keeping things original when possible and authentically accurate when new. For instance, Cromartie found the brick used for the addition from a house of the same era that was being demolished in Georgetown and relied on Longwood Antique Woods to help him repurpose wood salvaged from old barns on the acreage.
Serving as his own interior designer, Cromartie has exquisite taste and a careful eye for editing; many of the fine antiques, art, and furniture were acquired over the years and traveled with him to the Bluegrass from his Florida residence. A hunt board in the entryway is one of the few pieces purchased specifically for the home and dates to the time the residence was constructed. The period lighting hanging above was converted from gas to electric, while a similar fixture in the rear entry is a reproduction. The hallway is flooded with natural light courtesy of a windowed addition at the rear of the home and a bank of windows added to the second-floor landing when the ceiling height was raised.
Throughout the first floor, reclaimed old-growth ash was laid by Longwood Antique Woods to replace those that had deteriorated beyond repair.
Because the house had been vacant for so long, nearly all of the wood floors on the first floor had rotted, and what little was left was used in the renovation of the second floor. Reclaimed old-growth ash was laid in its place by Longwood Antique Woods, adding instant antiquity that would have been lost using newly milled wood.
In the dining room, tailored upholstered cornices and plaid drapery are in keeping with the room’s restrained elegance. What appear to be built-in cupboards on either side of the fireplace are not exactly as they seem: on one side there are dummy doors that were built to mimic the original.
In the dining room, what appear to be built-in cupboards on either side of the fireplace are not exactly as they seem: on one side there are dummy doors that were built to mimic the original.
A series of sketches of Secretariat done by Jenness Cortez at Claiborne Farm hangs in the hallway just outside the entrance to the master suite. A large window in a long hallway leading to the bedroom looks out to a 1930 art deco bronze fountain from a men’s club in Paris.
In the master bath, a pair of contemporary vanities with discernable Federal-period styling flanks a Kohler soaking tub centered in a large window that overlooks what will become a formal garden. The vanities were crafted by an Amish cabinetmaker from reclaimed pine. A Waterford chandelier hanging above the tub is a family heirloom that has traveled with Cromartie from home to home. What was once a small bedroom oddly accessed via the master bath has been transformed into an enviable closet.
Reclaimed pine was also used for the cabinets in the spacious kitchen. The vaulted ceiling is accentuated by reclaimed hand-hewn beams sourced from an old tobacco barn on property and from Longwood Antique Woods. An antler chandelier hangs over the island, which serves as a repository for the property’s bounty, including fresh eggs, heirloom tomatoes (they grow 30 varieties) and honey. Cromartie is quick to point out that being surrounded by farms has its benefits. “Everybody around us is so good about sharing. In summer we have great tasting ugly tomatoes; we give eggs to the staff and our neighbors; and they return the favor with fresh asparagus and organic chicken.”
A very large Dubonnet poster by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre hangs on the wall behind the equally oversized dining table also fashioned from reclaimed wood. Windsor-style chairs fit the rustic simplicity of the space. The adjacent laundry room is also the inside domain for the homeowner’s pack of majestic Scottish Deerhounds and Norwich Terriers. The former are quite imposing but possess such an agreeable temperament that it is impossible not to be completely enamored with them.
Also home to the dogs is the smokehouse, which has been converted to a very nice dog kennel attached to a three-acre fenced run. In close proximity to the house is the servants’ home. Cromartie kept the renovations limited to a small change in the pitch of the roof and an extension of the covered porch. A root cellar nearby serves as the terminus of all of the pipes for the highly efficient gravity-fed spring water system that supplies fresh water throughout the property. Another boost to the efficiency of the property is a geothermal system that was added during the renovation.
A four-level barn closest to the residence is used for hay storage and is home to Cromartie’s fox-hunting and pleasure-riding horses. The structure was built on the footprint of the original carriage barn and a small door conceals what is purported to be secret prohibition-era storage. A two-story guest apartment was fashioned from the corncrib and features reclaimed wood floors from Longwood and recycled tobacco-stick pickets on the stair rail. A stacked stone wall dating back two centuries is found in an expansive party room on the lower level that Cromartie leases for corporate events and weddings.
Even though it has just been four short months since the 16-month renovation was completed, Cromartie is already focused on what is next. He has laid out building sites for a home and an additional barn on the property’s periphery and has even found himself coveting another farm rehabilitation project. “I’m a horseman first, but I just love building farms – the site planning, design and construction, everything.”
