Anderson House, Third Street, Lexington, Kentucky
Have you ever had one of those dreams where you discover a hidden room in your house and wonder why you haven't been using it? (No surprise that I have them quite often.) Some might say it's a sign of untapped potential. I think it stems from obsessing about beautiful houses like this one.
After all, its entire third floor is a big and beautiful blank canvas with a princess-worthy turret window.
But I'm putting the carriage ahead of the horse, because there's plenty of dreaminess the minute you walk through the front door of this 1880 Lexington mansion.
It was built in the Richardson Romanesque style (popular from 1880-1900) which nicely overlapped with the Arts and Crafts Movement.
In this case, it means that elaborate stonework, arches, and tower are paired with some pretty marvelous wallpaper.
It makes me think of a British designer who fills castles and manor houses with William Morris prints:
He could show us how to cozy up this spacious living room.
It opens to a room that I would call a library, but I think our designer would call it unfinished:
Books spill everywhere in his grand libraries...
all the way up to elaborate wall moldings and then up and over the doorways:
The rest of the first floor rooms are move-in ready for someone with equally grand ideas.
There are seven bedrooms upstairs. The house has four bathrooms and is 8,116 square feet.
Here's that fabulous third floor that I mentioned earlier. It's almost as good as that surround shower system above.
The basement also has a lot of unfinished potential, especially with the laundry facilities moved to the upper floors.
There's also a carriage house just a short walk away from the main house.
If it were mine, it would be a great home office (and sometime guest room), like this:
Although the house's first owner, Richard T. Anderson (1839-1911) parked his carriages there, it probably wasn't his workspace. He was the director and vice president of the Northern Bank of Kentucky, and his estate in 1911 was the largest in Lexington's history. His niece and heiress, Mildred Dunning, became known as "the richest little girl in in central Kentucky."
He was born just around the corner at 3rd and Market Street.
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The site originally housed a soap and candle factory until Richard Anderson's father John built the home in 1834.
It has three bedrooms and two and half bathrooms in 3,204 square feet.
It's obviously been just as well-loved and cared for as the house around the corner. That means my sub-conscious will be busy furnishing my dream room in both Colonial and Arts and Crafts style tonight. Hope you have as much fun in yours!
The listing is here.
