Stephen and Connie Oliver like to say they live “15 minutes from the start of nowhere.” Their home is just beyond the city limits of
The view is nothing short of spectacular. From their great room, they can watch the Belle of Louisville chugging along the Ohio. In the front, a fence surrounds the quarry, where residents can swim and sun in the azure waters. The only problem with being up so high, Stephen says, is the wind. “I used hurricane straps from the rafters to the foundation to tie the house down,” says the homebuilder. “It can get pretty windy up here.”
Empty-nesters with both sons serving in the military, the Olivers planned their home so they can age comfortably in place. The walkout ranch design places the master suite, kitchen, dining and great rooms on the first floor. All doors are wheelchair-width and the master shower is walk-in size. While stairs currently lead to the lower level entertainment area, a bank of coat closets in the hall could easily, Stephen says, “be made into an elevator, if necessary.”
The Olivers’ art-highlighting library and the light-to-dark browns of the great room. 
Though the two both grew up in the metro area, neither cares for traditional Louisville-style decor. Instead, they like contemporary, but not, Connie says, “the type of contemporary where you feel a chill when you walk in. We like our contemporary warm.”
Critical to transforming sterile to homey is the color palette. Shades she refers to as “earthy and organic” warm the walls: Porter-matched Benjamin Moore Camel in the great room and Grand Canyon in the kitchen; a golden faux stone finish in the dining room; and soothing Porter Saguaro in the master suite. “The key to selecting the right colors is to give yourself enough time to look at them in the sun and after dark,” Connie notes.
Another source of warmth is the abundance of original art, collected during their travels to Russia, Croatia, Great Britain, Sedona, San Francisco, Yosemite, Montana, Maui, Estonia, Copenhagen and Italy. “We try to buy artwork everywhere we go,” Connie says. “It takes you to another place every time you look at it.”
Clockwise from top left: The fireplace mantel on the great room side is burl cherry veneer, which hides an entertainment center; the home’s master bath; a fireplace framed by backlit onyx panels on the lower level; and the giant cooking island and stair-step cabinet design in the Olivers’ kitchen.
Finally, there’s the unique mix of vintage and new. For the Olivers, the mid-century modern furnishings are reminders of their late parents. The couch, table and chairs in the entertainment area came from their parents’ homes, as did the chairs in the great room. A small desk in the library was a favorite of Connie’s father, developer Robert Renfro. “The modern style blends perfectly with contemporary,” she says.
Even the plants hold cherished memories. “We had the ceiling in the kitchen raised to accommodate the ficus trees,” Connie says. “My mother started them from 12-inch cuttings and they’re about 30 years old now.” A huge English ivy plant, which they’ve nicknamed Charlie after Stephen’s father, was a gift when he died. “We’ve given a lot of friends cuttings over the years, and it’s nice to see all the little Charlies when we visit them,” she says.
To the couple, being surrounded by the things they love is what makes a house a home. “Your home should be about you and not about a designer,” Connie asserts. “It should be a special place that makes you feel comfortable the moment you walk through the door.”
Lending the home its contemporary feel are the smooth-faced door and window casings, five-inch plank natural maple flooring, very open floor plan and smart lighting fixtures. Most of the fixtures were made by Tech Lighting, including the company’s Mini Crescendo chandelier over the dining room table. Free-floating arms tipped with frosted lamps and white paper shades give the fixture an airy look. “I like things that are funky and unique,” says Connie. “There should be a surprise in every room.”
Golden faux-stone walls and Mini Crescendo chandelier in the dining room. Above: the master bedroom, smiling “ugly jugs” and the front-yard view down on the quarry lake.
Though the floor plan is open, the Olivers have employed various devices to create visual separation between the rooms. A lighted rattan screen in the great room, for example, blocks the view of the couch from the foyer. The doorway leading from the great room into the dining room was moved to increase wall space for art and give the dining room a more intimate feel. Separating the great room from the kitchen is a see-through fireplace. On the great room side, burl cherry veneer hides the entertainment center, while on the kitchen and breakfast room side, the fireplace is faced with rustic-looking cultured stone.
A rustic-looking cultured-stone mantel in the kitchen/breakfast room.
Lora Nix of Southern Kitchens designed the contemporary kitchen using Crystal Cabinets with book-matched veneers — all the vertical grain on the cabinets and drawer fronts lines up. High ceilings allowed her to place a 54-inch wall cabinet in the corner. Not only does it provide additional storage, she says, but the stair-step effect also gives the cabinets a feeling of movement. Fantasia-patterned glass in some of the doors provides the “look of glass without having to keep everything inside perfect,” Nix adds.
She designed the huge angled center island so the Olivers could cook together. Stephen is a grill master and is renowned among friends and family for his 15-bean soup, while Connie is a seafood pasta aficionado. Many nights, Connie says, the two have a glass of wine while they cook and watch the news on the flat-screen above the fireplace. “With one son in the Marines and the other in the Air Force, we’ve become news junkies,” she says.
The island’s size also makes the kitchen a favorite gathering spot when the Olivers, who are huge Dallas Cowboy and Louisville Cardinal fans, host sports parties. “We can comfortably seat 11 people in the kitchen and breakfast area, set the food out on the island, watch the game and still have plenty of space to cook,” says Connie.
When they moved into their new home, she went shopping for a new breakfast table. “I used to have glass, but it was maintenance, maintenance, maintenance,” she says. “The new table is distressed wood and a big part of its charm is that I don’t have to worry about scratches!”
Stairs leading to the lower level feature wrought-iron spindles with a whimsical pigtail design. A barn door above the landing is a reminder of the Olivers’ beginnings. “My father-in-law was a builder/developer and my mentor. He purchased land in what is now known as Apple Valley subdivision and this old barn was in the middle and had to be torn down,” Stephen says. “We thought it would be a cool way to honor him.”
Another see-through fireplace separates the entertainment room from the screened back porch. Onyx panels on either side of the fireplace are backlit to provide a soft glow. Stephen used a rubber membrane beneath the deck to make the porch totally waterproof. For parties, the Olivers use an antique wringer washer for chilling beverages.
Stephen positioned the house east to west to take advantage of passive energy. Other features to reduce energy consumption are two-by-six wall construction, R-19 insulation, dual zone/dual fuel heating, and Styrofoam sheathing. “Our utility bills have been great,” he says.
By 2020, when the Gene Snyder Freeway in Kentucky is slated to finally link with the Lee Hamilton Highway in Indiana, Quarry Bluff will be within a mile of the new six-lane bridge and practically a stone’s throw from Prospect. While the Olivers will no longer be 15 minutes from the start of nowhere, their breathtaking view will remain.
