Photography by Kristen Mayfield | Story by Emily Robertson
When Jared and Amber Nugent purchased their home in the Summit neighborhood in Bowling Green in June of 2020, they had no plans of ever building a home from the ground up. They loved the area of town where they lived, their neighbors and their home. When a fire destroyed their home just two years later, the Nugents worked to turn a tragedy into something beautiful. “After the fire, we turned to Focal Building Group to help us determine the best course of action to rebuild,” Amber says. “The old house was leveled down to the footers and we began looking at the original floor plan of the home, which we loved, and added some things to make it function even better for the needs of our family. Jed Peterson, with Focal, did an amazing job with the design. He listened to what we wanted and creatively combined the old things we loved with
the new additions we wanted.”
Amber says the process was somewhat overwhelming since the family had never planned to build a new home and there were so many emotions and unknowns associated with the home, so she brought on Laura Lee Childers, Interior Designer of Cloth & Nail, very early in the planning process. Childers says that they collaborated well with similar visions for the home. “The Nugents hired me as they were in the early stages of developing the plan with Focal,” Laura says. “Amber and I have very similar tastes and we immediately connected on all the fun features of the home. She loves bold prints and patterns, and we had a lot of fun bringing each room to life.” Laura says when they landed on the lemon wallpaper for the prep kitchen, “we knew it was the one, and so fun!”
Construction on the four bedroom, four bathroom, more than 6,000 square foot home began in January of 2023. Childers describes the home as a traditional design with some fun, modern flare. She says each room has its own personality, but there is a consistent flow from one space to the next. She says the house is the perfect forever home, with everything they need on the main level to make daily living efficient. The Nugents knew they wanted to build a home that allowed them to be surrounded by friends and family. The main living space is open and ready for entertaining, one of Amber’s favorite things to do. The children each have suites on the second floor that were curated with growth in mind.
“I am an old soul and I love mixing the old with the new,” Amber says. “I like to hunt, thrift and search for items that I love and I like things to feel collected and layered over time. I had so much fun working with Laura on this project. We clicked right away and she really understood what I wanted for each space and literally brought those visions to life.” The Nugents favorite pieces of décor are housed in areas they used for entertaining. Amber particularly loves the dining room chandelier. She and Laura collaborated with a light artist in North Carolina to pair the perfect colors and pieces to compliment the decor. Jared gifted Amber the custom piece, which added to the sentimentality of the chandelier. Jared’s favorite space in the home is definitely the detached garage and the 600 pound C130 fourblade airplane propeller hanging from the ceiling there.
The Nugents, along with Focal Building Group, set an ambitious timeline for the home to be ready for the 2023 Parade of Homes in Bowling Green, which required team work from all vendors to accomplish a seven-month build timeline with framing beginning in March of 2023. “Everywhere we went, neighsayers said it couldn’t be done on that schedule and adding to
the timeline we had the element of loss from the fire.” Amber says. “This was a stressful experience for everyone, but I couldn’t imagine doing this project with anyone else and I know the end result couldn’t possibly have been any better. The attention to detail, careful consideration, countless hours and love that were poured into our home is evident. Our subcontractors showed up big and made it happen. They worked around and stumbled over each other and did so with determination to meet the deadline. Everyone wanted the house to succeed and was proud of the project developing in front of them. We are thankful for everyone who labored in our home.”
BUILDER: Focal Building Group
INTERIOR DESIGN: Laura Lee Childers; Cloth & Nail
COMMISSIONED ART: Heather Morrison and Roiann Ridley
FURNITURE: Bowling Green Home Furnishings
WINDOW TREATMENTS: Drapery Nation
CABINETRY: Bluegrass Cabinets
COUNTERTOPS: Sugar Grove Marble
TILE: Tile Trends; Unique Tile & Bluegrass Tile
APPLIANCES: Ferguson
ELECTRICAL: Ferguson; J & J Electric
PLUMBING: Ferguson; Hymer Plumbing
FIREPLACE: Bowling Green Fireplace
HARDWOOD FLOORING: Miguel Flooring
CONCRETE: DC & Yates Concrete
ROOF: Phalen Roofing
STONE: Jeremy Keown Masonry
TRIM: WHI; Innovative Construction
LANDSCAPING: Southern Touch; Lawn Landscape