The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Custom-built 2,400 square foot home in The Meadows is a fully smart home
Alex and Gloria Restrepo’s ranch home proves that downsizing does not mean downgrading. Set in the single-family home community of The Meadows – part of The Estates at Floyds Fork – the 2,400-square-foot space was built by Fischer Homes, and includes custom touches to ensure the Restrepos enjoy their dream abode for decades to come.
“The whole concept – (and) the reason we downsized,” Gloria told The Courier Journal, “(is that) we wanted to have a senior-ready house.”
Alex explains that after seeing their parents struggle, they decided to build their new house in a way that would allow them to avoid major renovations later.
Gloria says that by planning for their senior years now, they are relieving their children of the burden of helping with home adjustments in the future.
“Plus, I don’t like their taste,” she added with a laugh.
Smart and senior-ready
The Restrepos’ new home build was completed this past December, so they’re still getting accustomed to some of its fun new features.
“It’s a smart home,” Alex said, “and we’re pretty technology savvy, (but) there’s a lot of stuff we haven’t figured out yet.”
One of the smart capabilities they’ve enjoyed is setting the thermostat from work so it’s ready when they return. And motion-sensor lights as well as touchless faucets have been game changers.
When it comes to overall design, the Restrepos made sure to incorporate walk-in showers throughout. They also kept all the full bathrooms on the main level for ease of cleaning and maintenance.
“We’ve had (bathrooms downstairs) before, and it’s too much to do,” Gloria said. “We don’t want to (deal with) that – especially as we get older.”
Dedicated family design
Though their new home was carefully crafted to accommodate future needs, much of the space is dedicated to enjoying time now with their family.
The first room immediately to the right of the entrance is slated to be a game room for their 7-year-old granddaughter. And downstairs, the Restrepos’ only grandchild has her very own bedroom.
She picked the pale pink paint color for the walls and helped decorate with little butterflies and flowers. The space is filled with books, toys and personalized touches.
“We don’t indulge her,” Alex chuckled facetiously. “We blame our kids – they only gave us the one.”
Gloria adds that while much of the room’s contents are new pieces selected by their granddaughter, several items have been around for generations. Most of the furniture belonged to their daughter, as did the numerous Cabbage Patch, Madame Alexander and Barbie dolls.
Upstairs, dozens of framed photos of their granddaughter – as well as the rest of their family – are displayed along three walls of the main living space. The images are mostly monochromatic; just a few color photos are popped in throughout the mostly black-and-white space.
It’s all a work in progress, though. Gloria says there are many more photos to come.
“My whole idea is to get (the display) as high as I can; (all the way up) to the ceiling,” she said.
Personal pieces
Of course, there are also areas throughout that showcase Alex and Gloria’s more personal picks.
Downstairs, decades’ worth of Alex’s model-plane building hobby are in glass cases. A graduate of an aviation high school in New York, he was an aircraft mechanic for UPS. Now retired from UPS, Alex teaches in the aviation program at Kentucky Community & Technical College System.
Building models as a child is what got him interested in aviation, he said.
“It stuck with me and gave me a wonderful career (and) the opportunity to travel all over the world,” he said.
Gloria’s hobby is on display in the living room, where a large, five-level shelving unit is filled with house plants of all shapes and sizes. She incorporated a monochromatic theme here as well; nearly every plant is in a white pot, providing a beautiful, flowing display of green and white against the windows that look out toward the woods and river beyond.
“The reason I picked this layout of the house is because of the windows,” Gloria explained. “I don’t like (using) blinds unless I need to. (The plants provide) a way of filtering out some light.”
While the Restrepos love their new home and everything they’ve brought into the space to make it their own, they agree there’s something that makes it truly special.
“The really great thing is … that we have wonderful neighbors,” Alex exclaimed. “We’ve been so blessed that every time we’ve moved into a new home, we’ve always ended up with the best neighbors. Everyone that we’ve met is so great, (and) that makes everything so much better.”