Emily Laura Blog's: Kentucky’s Thicket House Conceals a Curious Color Palette

Wednesday, 2 June 2021

Kentucky’s Thicket House Conceals a Curious Color Palette

Thicket House in Kentucky — Justin Jordan

The concept for a distinctive home in Kentucky came to its original owner in a vision.

Known as the Thicket House, the residence in Goshen, KY, is now available for $429,500. It’s been a viral hit, thanks to its imposing exterior and quirky interior.

“The developer of the neighborhood had conceived this house in a dream. He built it for himself and raised his children there,” says the listing agent, Nanette Cody Tafel. “It was made out of wood—all sourced from the property. He used chestnut, hickory, elm, oak, whatever happened to be out there.”

The wood, she says, came from trees that he had removed from the property and then made into boards.

Built in 1976, the home possesses a few design quirks that Tafel acknowledges may not appeal to everyone—especially more traditional buyers in this small town just north of Louisville, KY.

“We’re typically a two-story, town hall Colonial type of town,” Tafel jokes.

The Thicket House is four stories tall, with a meditation room on the top floor, as well as a rooftop deck.

Exterior of home in Goshen, KY
Justin Jordan

A buyer must be prepared for a cardio workout.

“It’s a very vertical house, with lots of steps,” says Tafel.

She adds that this is the reason why the sellers are letting go of a house they love.

“They’ve downsized to one level,” she says.

In addition to its stairs, the home has an abundance of wood, a feature that appealed to both the original and current owners.

“The current seller’s family has been in the wood business for over 100 years, so the wood spoke to her as well,” says Tafel.

Wood is on full display in the kitchen, where the cabinets and walls are all custom cherrywood.

As the agent tells us, “It’s all hand-hewed lumber and cabinets. It’s not a factory kitchen, by any stretch of the imagination.”

Tafel says the colorful surfaces, added by the current owners in the 1990s, can catch some people off guard. They are the handiwork of a local decorator who has used the bright colors as a signature, and is still doing interiors in a similar vein today.

“It’s kind of his trademark,” she says.

The palette surprises buyers, not always favorably.

“It definitely has a wow factor—with wow having several different connotations,” she says.

The four bedrooms and three bathrooms are splashed with colors in keeping with the seller’s tastes.

“She has a flamboyance about her own persona, so it matches her personality and her husband,” Tafel says of the couple, whom she has known since she was a teenager.

As it turns out, the style did appeal to a number of prospective buyers. After 31 showings in the first 24 hours that the house was on the market, a contingent offer is in place.

Tafel says she believes the prospective buyer may rework the interior.

“They’ll do more current colors and a little softer palette,” she says.

With the pool and its private setting, on more than an acre of wooded land, Tafel says the home is a perfect staycation property, with incredible views.

“There’s so much of the outside coming in through those large windows. So once you’re in the house, you focus more on the scenery from those huge windows,” she explains, adding that the window with the Chippendale framework is her favorite.

The agent tells us she wasn’t surprised by the interest in the home, or the fact that offers came in quickly.

“It’s unique and something a little different,” she says. “I think that’s what speaks to people. It’s not really part of a subdivision.”