Tour the Kentucky Derby Festival president's home before the Run for the Roses

You might need sunglasses when you step inside Kentucky Derby Festival President Mike Berry and Bill Petter's Glenview home. It's eye-popping and bold, to say the least.

You wouldn't expect it from the outside of the traditional French/Tuscan-style home, but the inside is bright, contemporary, and really, a work of art.

Berry and his partner, Petter, have created a space that reflects their love for all things local and Louisville — cuisine, art and the Kentucky Derby.

Modern and immaculate

While the outside of Berry and Petter’s home is a traditional French or Tuscan look, the inside is alive with color and contemporary décor.

There is one-knife millwork throughout the home, featured especially on the two-story chimney wall of the Great Room. A vibrant red painted wall up the custom-made stairway ties the upstairs, main floor and lower level together.

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You can explore the many pieces of contemporary art by local and regional artists such as Joshua Jenkins, Roy Schallenberg and Ann Degara. Other collections include works by Peter Max, Marc Chagall and Salvador Dali, which hang alongside a collection of Kentucky Derby Festival Official Posters and contrast with numerous glass pieces by artists such as Brian Russell, Rollin Karg and George Bucquet.

Bold details

When Berry and Petter moved into the home 15 years ago, the home was decorated with a neutral palette, which wasn’t exactly the couple’s style.

“(We thought) we’ve got to reimagine things,” Berry said.

And reimagine they did. The bright and contemporary dining room table contains a sand-blasted glass water fountain in the center.

The spacious kitchen is perhaps the most distinguished part of the home. It has a geometric drop-zone ceiling painted yellow and sports the logos of Berry and Petter’s favorite restaurants from around the world.

A bold touch is also found in the newly renovated master bathroom, which features a unique wavy tile, a waterfall shower head and therapeutic spray jets. In the backyard, the family’s favorite spot to entertain is a saltwater pool with a stone waterfall. The cabana structure also has a blown glass chandelier and a handmade pelican mounted on a totem pole.

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Kentucky Derby memories

Berry has been with the Kentucky Derby Festival for 32 years and has served as its CEO for 22 years. The Kentucky Derby is a huge part of Berry and Petter's life, so their home reflects their love of all things Louisville.

Not only does almost every room in the home include Kentucky Derby Festival posters through the decades, the home office features an extensive collection of Kentucky Derby and Oaks glasses and Derby Festival Pegasus pins.

The couple enjoys spending time in their walkout lower level basement, which is a bright orchid color with a matching pool table. The full wet bar on one wall is something out of a Miami club, and the couple’s interest in Broadway is displayed all over with a large collection of cast-signed posters.

Kentucky Derby 2018 may be wrapping up, but Berry and Petter’s home is an ode to the Run for the Roses all year long.

If you or someone you know wants to be featured in Courier Journal's Home of the Week, contact Taylor Riley at triley@gannett.com. Twitter: @TaylorRileyCJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/taylorr.

nuts & bolts

Homeowners: Mike Berry and Bill Petter. Mike is the President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival and Bill is the retired COO of Republic Bank. During the summer months, grandchildren Samantha, Hayden, Raygan, Lukeand Simon can often be found in the backyard’s pool.

Home: 7,500-square foot, 7-bed, 6-bath home built by Blacketer Company in 1987. In the City of Glenview, less than a mile from the Ohio River, it is situated on a lush acre lot along a secluded cul-de-sac in northeast Jefferson County. Frequent wildlife guests include deer, wild turkeysand an occasional red fox.

Distinctive elements: There is one-knife millwork throughout especially on the two story chimney wall of the Great Room; a vibrant red painted wall ties the upstairs, main floor and lower level together; custom-made stairway; contemporary art by local and regional artists such as Joshua Jenkins, Roy Schallenberg and Ann Degara; works by Peter Max, Marc Chagall and Salvador Dali; collection of Kentucky Derby Festival Official Posters; numerous glass pieces by artists such as Stephen Powell, Rollin Karg and George Bucquet; dining room table contains a sand-blasted glass water fountain in the center; the spacious kitchen has a geometric drop-zone ceiling painted yellow and sports the logos of Mike and Bill’s favorite restaurants from around the world; orchid color walkout lower level includes a large collection of cast-signed Broadway posters as well as a full wet bar; one upstairs bedroom is decorated with a “The Wizard of Oz” theme and the home office features an extensive collection of Kentucky Derby glasses and Derby Festival Pegasus Pins; a newly renovated master bathroom features unique wavy tile, a waterfall shower headand therapeutic spray jets; out in the back yard, a patio leads to a saltwater pool with a stone waterfall; the cabana structure has a blown glass chandelier and the entire space is “presided over” by a handmade pottery pelican mounted on a totem pole; visit at Christmas and the Great Room frames a 17-foot tree decorated with over 250 Christopher Radko glass ornaments.

Applause! Applause!: Mike and Bill would like to thank: Dennis Tapp, Designs by Dennis Tapp; Nick Clasen, Clasen Design Build; Dennis Druen, Backyard Pools; Tom Simms, Extreme Scapes Lawn & Landscaping; Gail Galiette Graham, Bluegrass Frames; Adam Russell, Key West Pottery; Mark Stoll, M&J Landscaping.