Its a Mans World

By STEVE KAUFMANContributing Writer

Visitors to the 100-year-old Victorian Italianate house on the upcoming Tour of Remodeled Homes will see early 20th century architectural and design touches.

Theyll also see an early 21st century mans sense of humor.

Matthew Burkley, who bought the house on South Brook Street in Old Louisville, loved the historic integrity of the house its bones. And his brief to Brad Abell, general manager of Vincent Abell Contracting, was to preserve or restore as many of the period aspects of the home as possible.

Abell did that, burnishing whatever was in good condition like the oak floors with mahogany inlays, the wood trim, the cabinetry and the pocket doors on the main floor, and adding what needed adding, like gorgeous wainscoting with nailhead trim and inlaid antique glass panels, and an artistic iron railing on the front-most of the homes two staircases.

Abell restored all the ornate fireplaces in nearly every room of the house to working condition. It completely upgraded all the electric and plumbing and repaired the rope-and-pulley system in all the original windows so they all work for the first time in years.

In the entryway, Abell installed an antique wood-burning soapstone stove that actually functions, heating the entire area.

Also in the entryway, as you come through those dramatic front doors that make Old Louisville such a historic treasure, is a jar filled with spent bullet casings. Presiding on the same table is a statue of the Madonna, her hands raised in prayer, appearing to be blessing the bullets.

Contrasts like these form the personality that Burkley has brought to his uniquely male habitat.

For example, on the upstairs landing hangs a poster of Joseph Stalin, sharing the space with a red bust of Elvis Presley. Hard to imagine the two had much in common, other than their juxtaposition in Burkleys home. (That and Suspicious Minds.)

Excerpt from:
Its a Mans World