Who’s Who What do you get when you cross luxurious, modern style with the history of one of the oldest families in Lexington? Doug and Katie Cauthen’s beautiful home on Sandersville Road. When driving past, you might not think of it as a place of residence, but the young family has called the old Hillenmeyer Nursery home for two years now. The history of the Cauthen’s land goes back to 1874 when Hector Hillenmeyer bought a 100-acre plantation to expand his father’s existing business. Interestingly enough, the land’s fame didn’t start with Hillenmeyer. Some of the land and office building were once owned by Robert Smith Todd, father of Mary Todd Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln supposedly spent a lot of time at Todd’s office during his courtship with Mary Todd. The building the Cauthens live in was built in 1950. Robert McMeekin, who designed Keeneland, designed it as a retail store for Hillenmeyer Nurseries. “We still get people knocking on our door wanting to buy Christmas trees,” said Katie Cauthen of their unique living space. Katie says her husband Doug had a vision. He worked with Robert Trujillo of Robert Trujillo Architecture to make his vision come to life. Cauthen and Trujillo were sure to keep the original structure of the building, including the 4,500 square foot wrap around porch. Designed by Trujillo, the wood front door turns on an axis to reveal the living space. Standing in the doorway, you are able to take in the breathtaking décor and layout of the home as well as the backyard through a similar glass door at the back of the house. Inside, the floors that run through the entire house are actually reclaimed poplar from an old barrel warehouse in Cincinnati from the 1800s. The first stop is the foyer, which functions as two quaint sitting rooms open to the main living space through modern wood shelving units designed by Matt Carter that house horseracing memorabilia fit for the Kentucky Derby Museum and key to completing the floor plan. In the living room, the fireplace takes center stage. The Spark Modern Linear fireplace is raised from the ground with its hearth serving as a bench. Above the flames, a steel wall houses the flat screen TV. The fireplace becomes a work of art with gorgeous dark wood leading up to the ceiling.
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The entire thing was designed by Trujillo and brought to life by Gil Cloud, the “super contractor” as Katie likes to refer to him. Birkman and his team at Kimbrel/Birkman Interior Design are responsible for layout and placement of all the furnishings in the Cauthen’s home. All the decorative pillows and many of the rugs came from his downtown shop, Circa Home. Hallways flanking either side of the magnificent fireplace lead to a