Bling artist Rita Sue Memering’s home sparkles with alluring elements, exciting color combinations and unapologetic fun. Using neutral tones throughout the house as her backdrop, Memering dressed up her home with pops of personal character, pulling inspiration from nature, her artwork and her family. With a fireplace on every level and many spaces for entertaining, the home demands to be filled with the warmth of company. The designer incorporated rustic rejuvenated pieces with energetic contemporary elements throughout the home. The homeowners worked closely with builder Mike Maverity and electrician Donnie Hendrix to create this original, intricate house at the summit of a sloping hill along the Kentucky River.
Visitors enter through a stately door bearing the fleur de lis emblem. Mindful of her budget and with a mission to repurpose pieces, Memering bought the grand mahogany doors online from a restaurant in Colorado that was closing. The foyer includes smooth ecofriendly bamboo floors and Memering’s self-designed flower arrangements in wall-mounted vases. The high foyer ceiling is illuminated by three staggered Le Klint pendant replicas, which Memering retrofitted to fit the sloped ceiling.
At the center of the home, the ceiling reaches its highest point in Memering’s stylish black and white-themed art gallery, a room that was remodeled by Black Brothers Construction. With the backdrop of the wilderness visible through a glass window that encompasses the far wall, Memering fills this towering space with her original artwork. Prints of sparkling koi fish and a black canvas with a gem-eyed owl are showcased on the clean white walls while smaller pieces are propped up across the striped black and white carpet. The eye is drawn upward to Memering’s prized chandelier that drips “bling” in the form of swirling teardrop crystals from Brecher’s Lighting. Hidden among the eye candy of this room, an understated timeless couch with floral seat pillows provides a spot to lounge before the opposite side of the double-sided fireplace.
A comfortable hearth room allows guests to mingle in front of the double facing fireplace while enjoying cocktails from the miniature bar. Memering used bold blue and green peacock patterns to enliven her beige sectional couch.
A seamless transition from the hearth room into the kitchen provides the homeowners the flexibility to access the kitchen while entertaining company. Cushioned, swiveling barstools are permanently bound to the caramel travertine tile flooring at a long marble-topped island. The homeowners enjoy a roomy kitchen and a Jenn Air Range on the opposite side of the island.
Returning to those favored breezy neutral tones of the sea, the backsplash of the yellow-beige cabinetry alternate with thin rectangles of cool greens and blue and frosted beige tiles. The far side of the kitchen looks out to the patio, with a window-surrounded modernly styled breakfast nook tucked into the corner. A large walk-in pantry and additional refrigerator are hidden away from the main entertaining areas.
The home includes an office space and guest bedrooms. The hallway bathroom is painted in thick stripes of gold and white with an overlapping decal of a birch tree. This rainforest-inspired room includes a textured tile corner shower that resembles the bark of a palm tree. The flooring tile complements the earthy theme with yellow-gray tones.
A slightly bending iron-railed stairway rises to double doors that open to the second-level master bedroom. Inside, tones of clean white and an accent wall of charcoal gray are warmed by a plush gray carpet and fireplace across from the bed. The fireplace is framed by white cabinetry with an edge of industrial influence. Memering used recycled grates as faces for a few cabinet doors. A private patio off of the bedroom looks down the tree-filled back slope of the property. Memering designed a pale gray pattern sprinkled with tiny crystals to decorate the glimmering wall behind the master bed. On either side of the bed are modern mirror side tables and silver floor-length drapes. Above the bed, a hint of Memering’s fascination with bling is apparent on the sky blue painted ceiling, which includes a pattern of sparkling gems in the shape of the Big Dipper.
The master suite includes a breezy, spacious bathroom tiled in gray. A luxurious Jacuzzi framed in swirling pale pink squares of marble sits between two square pillars topped with ferns. Behind the pillars, an open shower area with neutral pebble tiles overlooks a koi pond below from a wide, arched-top glass window. Past the bathing area, his and her vanities with white marble tops are embellished with glass adornments and unique cubed overhead light fixtures from Kentucky Lighting.
The master suite includes a breezy, spacious bathroom tiled in gray. A luxurious Jacuzzi framed in swirling pale pink squares of marble sits between two square pillars topped with ferns. Behind the pillars, an open shower area with neutral pebble tiles overlooks a koi pond below from a wide, arched-top glass window. Past the bathing area, his and her vanities with white marble tops are embellished with glass adornments and unique cubed overhead light fixtures from Kentucky Lighting.
A stairway of speckled black and white spotted carpet leads to the basement where color, quirkiness and personality are escalated to a new level.
In the pool table room, past guests have scribbled kind words on a full chalkboard wall, and a pink flamingo figure stands in the corner. Beside the bar, a lounge is decorated whimsically with a pea green shag rug and a dandelion yellow barn door that Memering found and refurbished from Cowgirl Attic. Concrete Designs stained on the glossy cement floors including blotches of brown and forest green to create an easy-to-maintain solution for frequently used recreational spaces.
A stairway of speckled black and white spotted carpet leads to the basement where color, quirkiness and personality are escalated to a new level.
In the pool table room, past guests have scribbled kind words on a full chalkboard wall, and a pink flamingo figure stands in the corner. Beside the bar, a lounge is decorated whimsically with a pea green shag rug and a dandelion yellow barn door that Memering found and refurbished from Cowgirl Attic. Concrete Designs stained on the glossy cement floors including blotches of brown and forest green to create an easy-to-maintain solution for frequently used recreational spaces.
The basement turns right into a second kitchen with gray granite counter tops and clean gray tones. The wide kitchen windows provide one more expansive view of the multi-tiered patio that hovers among the tall trees that surround the home.
The dining room is painted in a tranquil turquoise with an expansive front window framed by satin drapes. A stone statue of a white galloping horse serves as the focal point on the perfectly square dining table, with a contrasting tone of pale blue cushioned chairs. The dining area is distinctively set off from the hallway by two thick, ceremonial white columns.