This Georgian-style Mockingbird Gardens home features sleek yet muted Christmas décor
Four-and-a-half years ago, New York natives Niki and André Zdanow were searching for a home in Louisville.
"We were in Florida (at the time) and were relocating here," Niki told The Courier Journal. They wanted a mid-century style home but found it difficult to find one here in Derby City. Struggling to identify something that would fit the bill, the couple wound up buying their Mockingbird Gardens home without ever setting foot in it.
"The first time we came in was after our closing," Niki recalled. "We didn’t know anything about the neighborhood (or) anything. We had 60 days to find a house and move."
Modern remodel
Though it wasn’t the mid-century abode of their dreams, the Gregorian-style house featured big windows and had open-floor-plan potential.
"I felt like we could make it work," Niki said.
As an interior designer and owner of an interior design firm, she says their home remodel is an ongoing process — but the major structural changes took about nine months to complete.
"It was totally different when we moved in," Niki exclaimed. "It wasn’t anything like (it is) now."
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The Zdanows took down a few walls to open everything up; the lower level now flows seamlessly from room to room. A desk and a small closet in the kitchen were removed to make space for a bar, and about three feet from the home office was sacrificed to allow for a little mudroom.
"It’s a small space," Niki said of the office. "I wanted to be smart with storage, which is why I have (the shelving and cabinets). It’s just simple and uncluttered."
She adds that the old fireplace in the living room hadn’t been remodeled in decades, so they DIY’d a new, sleek white fireplace surround with her father. She and André also updated the stairwell and powder room, and created the mudroom themselves, with a little help from family.
A kitchen to covet
Like in many renovations, the room that underwent the most changes was the kitchen. The Zadanows enjoy entertaining, so the space is also Nikki’s favorite.
"The original layout was terrible for entertaining," she explained. "People couldn’t walk around; it was really choppy, (and) we wanted it to be good for parties. I love spending time in there (now)."
The brand-new space includes Donna Sandra leathered marble counters and a backsplash, a waterfall edge on the kitchen island, custom inset cabinetry, and GE Monogram appliances. The bar boasts white oak, while the cabinet hardware and faucets feature unlacquered brass.
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"I chose all drawers (under the counter) for better storage," Niki added. "It’s easier to access (everything you need). You don't have to dig around in the back of shelves."
She adds that one of their goals with the renovation was to ensure everything was utilitarian.
"We didn’t want to fill the house with things that didn’t have a function," she explained. "We didn’t want it to feel cluttered. Everything has a use. We try to be mindful of not filling the house with things that don’t mean something or have a story."
One-of-a-kind finds
Unique furnishings and accessories are spread throughout the home, many of which Niki picked up from random places around the country. The items are minimal, and she can tell a tale of how each one was procured.
"(Almost) everything in here was either found on the side of the road or thrifted — except for the couch," she said of the pieces that fill the living room.
The round side table, for example, was snagged from the side of the road in New York nearly a decade ago.
"It's marble and brass," Niki said. "I felt like it was a sin for somebody to throw that away."
The sideboard, which rests along the wall that features some of Niki’s paintings, was a side-of-the-road find in Florida.
"I redid (the whole thing)," she explained. "I added new legs, (then) stripped and painted it, and added new handles. It (used to be) pink."
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A clay bust — Niki's first flea-market find from when she was in college — sits to the left of the sideboard on a pedestal with two other busts.
"I have an obsession with busts," she said, adding that the other two came from Fleur de Flea Vintage Market on East Jefferson Street.
"(My style is) eclectic," she added, explaining that she likes to mix old and new pieces, and tries to include both hard and soft surfaces within each space. "Where I have a lot of hard surfaces, I try to (incorporate) plants or wood to soften it. I like balance. It’s eclectic — I don't think anything is from one particular time period, but it all works together."
Know a house that would make a great Home of the Week? Email writer Lennie Omalza at aloha@lennieomalza.com or Lifestyle Editor Kathryn Gregory at kgregory@gannett.com.
nuts & bolts
Owners: Niki & André Zdanow. Niki is the owner of the interior design studio Stevi Lily Designs.
Home: This is a 4-bed, 3-and-a-half bath, 4,137-square-foot, Georgian-style home in Mockingbird Gardens that was built in 1991.
Distinctive elements: Donna Sandra leathered marble counters and backsplash, waterfall edge on kitchen island, custom inset cabinetry, and GE Monogram appliances, unlacquered brass faucets, and cabinet hardware, white oak custom bar, and brick walls in the kitchen; naturally finished white oak hardwood floors; one-of-a-kind imported vintage rugs; custom designed fireplace surround; plaster caste cement dining table; slat wall trim detailing on the stairwell; numerous one-of-a-kind vintage furnishings and décor.
Applause! Applause! Stevi Lily Designs; Sullivan Remodeling for remodeling the first floor and bathrooms; McDonald Marble for all kitchen fabrication; North Star flooring for helping bring the homeowners’ flooring vision come to life; homeowners and family members for the DIY’d stairwell, fireplace, and powder room, and mudroom.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Mockingbird Gardens home features sleek Christmas décor
