Text by Marion Laffey Fox | Photography by John O’Hagan
The genteel aura of Kentucky’s beloved Bluegrass Country seems to distinguish everything about Donna and Bill Shively’s Dixiana Farm. This is especially true in their elegant, four-year-old columned house that feels as if it has been there forever. Appearing in the distance like the setting of a Southern novel, the home is flanked by blowsy gardens and thick groves of century-old maple, oak, and walnut trees on more than 660 acres of rolling pastures, delineated by white-rail fences.
Within this epicenter of the thoroughbred horse world that has produced legends like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Man o’ War, Bill purchased Dixiana Farm in 2004. Founded in 1877, Dixiana became one of the top thoroughbred farms of its time. During its glory days of ownership by the automotive industry’s Fisher family, the farm rose in prominence. “The Fishers had a good thing going in the 30s, when this property was the home of greats like Mata Hari, Spy Song, and others,” says Bill, who reunited the farm with Domino Stud, a parcel of its original land, in 2009.
After the historic reconnection, the Shivelys planned an ambitious renovation of the pedigreed 1812 house on the property. However, a massive two-day fire soon ravaged the home, leaving only four charred columns and a shed over the garage.
Undaunted, the couple decided to build a new house that would pay homage to old traditions. “We thought if we started from scratch, we would have full say in where the house was located on the property,” says Bill. “However, we soon realized the old structure had been standing in the perfect spot. So we replicated the original columns to create the same welcoming facade.”
Lexington Architect Tom Wilmes of Wilmes & Associates Architects was hired to design a stately yet livable house that would function for the couple and their children, as well as provide elegant grown-up entertaining areas. To handle the interiors, the Shivelys called upon E. Dale Trice and Emily Graham of Design Services of Florida, who had previously decorated two Florida houses for them.
“The farm has a rich provenance that the Shivelys care deeply about, so we did many special things to impart those feelings into the plans,” says Trice. “From the colors and finishes to the furniture and artwork, Donna and Bill were invested in the decisions.”
As a result, each space presents its own unique personality. For example, the dining room, with its tranquil, almost hazy, sepia-toned mural created by Savannah muralist Bob Christian, evolves as a visual masterpiece. The painterly narrative illustrates Dixiana’s story with vignettes that include the couple’s favorite views of an arched stone bridge, a rustic farmhouse, and tidy barns. Even the wine cellar received special treatment with the addition of Bob’s murals of Talavera de la Reina that wordlessly depict the grape-growing region in Spain, where Donna’s family originates.
In her bath, a silver-flocked foil wall covering feels perfectly matched with the pearl satin draperies and glistening white countertops. The feminine vanity chair is reminiscent of high-fashion couture with mother-of-pearl buttons down its back. The luxurious room is outfitted with spacious closets and cupboards, a floating Victoria and Albert soaking tub, and a shower.
In the entry hall, a monumental free-floating staircase feels almost sculptural. More details appear in the breakfast room beams, garnered from a Pennsylvania Amish barn, as well as in the hand-rubbed cypress walls in the gallery and the wide-plank oak floors on the first floor. A soaring dual-sided stone fireplace connects the breakfast and family rooms, while original photo albums in the living room document the farm’s colorful history.
The finished house radiates the unabashed joy of owners who love every nook and cranny. But, as Donna adds, its most precious vernacular is rooted in the specialness of raising children on a horse farm within the beauty of the Kentucky countryside.
