As you drive down Dunaway Road, you soon leave the hustle and bustle of Highway 70 and in less than five minutes are in the “country.”
As you drive down Dunaway Road, you soon leave the hustle and bustle of Highway 70 and in less than five minutes are in the “country.” And soon you find unexpected breathtaking pastures where everything before you is clearer, cleaner and quieter. Years ago these pastures went on for miles and miles, but now, as many of these older family farms are split up and sold, people from all around are finding the “perfect spot” to build their dream homes.
One such family are the Busbys which include B.J., Christy, Aaron and Carley. When B.J. and Christy decided to build their dream house, the “house” was the easy part. It was finding the perfect spot to build it on that was a little more difficult.
Christy remembers, “it had to be perfect. Close to town but in a country setting so that Carley could literally run and play in the creek and see horses and cows from the house.” And yes, the creek is what sold them. They had visions of Carley trodding off to the creek and spending her afternoon fishing and looking for turtles or feeding the horses treats, instead of playing video games and watching television. A dream that came true on Carley’s tenth birthday when she hosted a “creek party” at her very own creek!
Christy and B.J. had been dreaming of this house and this life since they first met each other in high school. Christy is from Goodlettsville and B.J. is from Madison, the two having first met while at Davidson Academy. Later they became reacquainted at Dickerson Road Baptist Church, the church that Christy’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Midgett, started.
They married in 1995 and a few years later added Carley to their family that included B.J.’s son, Aaron. Christy laughs about how they ended up in Wilson County. “Well, you see,” she says, “we really were not familiar with this area. What we needed though was a good priced house that was near B.J.’s father who lives in Mt Juliet, as B.J. is a self proclaimed “Daddy’s boy.” We found that here in Wilson County.” It was a small brick starter home that fit the growing family perfectly. The plan was to live in it a few years and then end up back closer to home in Goodletsville. But as they say the best laid plans…
Turns out, that after moving to the area, they loved it. They found a great church family at Gladeville Baptist Church and soon, thereafter, found a great school family. All of a sudden they weren’t too anxious to build anywhere but Wilson County.
So, the first step was finding the land. After searching and searching for the perfect spot, they came upon a farm that had belonged to their good friend, Shanda Presley’s grandparents – the Dunaways. The Dunaways’ 100 acre farm went up for auction in 2007. Both the Preselys and the Busbys attended the auction, along with another set of friends, the Ushers, but at the time, none of them were 100% sure this was the “perfect” place to build. Soon after the auction, however, they all realized they had missed out. Soon each tracked down a few of the buyers at the auction and each bought a piece of the Dunaway farm for themselves.
The three families, the Ushers, Presleys and Busbys, set about building their new homes. And today these families are known to get together at the creek that separates their properties for a “party at the pit,” where they enjoy a fire pit at the creek, where they eat, socialize and let the kids run and run.
To say building this house was a labor of love is simply an understatement. Christy, a stay at home Mom to Carley and B.J., being self employed, spent their time between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. each school day working on the house non-stop. “For over ten years we had kept a building folder that had magazine clippings and photos in it that we had saved of things we wanted to put in our dream home. So when it was time to build, we didn’t have a designer, we just had our folder and our builder and we knew exactly what we wanted. If it wasn’t in my folder, then we would drive around Wilson County looking at other homes, taking photos of windows, doors and styles. We left no stone unturned as we knew this home was possibly our ‘forever’ house.”
“Everyone in the family had a “wish list,” says B.J. “and the house we planned provided for that. Carley wanted a room big enough for all her toys and room for she and her friends to play in. I wanted a large walk-in shower and a fully equipped theater room and Christy wanted a really nice kitchen, because she is a great cook and we knew it would be the hub of the house. And of course, Aaron being a teen-ager, he just wanted a room that was quiet so he could sleep late!”
"The builder was a no-brainer,” according to B.J. “It had to be Kevin.” Kevin Mosley of K & K Construction built their home. Kevin and B.J. have been best friends since middle school. The couple had watched Kevin build four homes of his own and several custom homes. “He is meticulous and a master of his trade. We started digging the footers on the house on July 21, 2008 and moved in November 18, 2008, less than four months later. Kevin was at the house everyday, usually twice a day, overseeing every aspect of the house.” “He was truly a blessing,” commented Christy, “I told him I wanted to be in by Thanksgiving so I could begin hosting my Grandma and Grandpa Wray’s family tradition of having the family over for Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving 2008, I had the whole family over!”
Once the floor plans and materials had been picked, Kevin, Christy and B.J. got to work. B.J. is the owner of Nashville Flooring Interiors, Inc., (www.nashvillefloors@att.net) which obviously meant they were going to get a great deal on their floors. B.J. specializes in commercial installation but was able to find practically any type of flooring for the residence and Christy took full advantage of her flooring mecca!
As you enter the home from the covered front porch, you immediately notice the Acacia wood floors. The floors can be found throughout the home. B.J. says “I saw these floors in a house years ago I was working on. I thought at the time, if I ever build a house, I’m going to have these floors. Christy loved them too and so we quickly made the decision to put them throughout the home.” The floors are dark and sturdy and set the tone for the warm house. Christy complimented the dark floors with oil rubbed bronze fixtures throughout and warm paint colors on the walls.
It’s the type of home that just beckons for a fall day, a fire going in the fireplace and a good pot of chili on the stove.
As you walk into the foyer you come upon a large dining room and the formal living room. The dining room has a coffered ceiling that mimics the prairie style window casements found throughout the home. The formal living room has high ceilings, a gorgeous chandelier and lots of windows that make it a great open room for entertaining.
These open rooms lead to a magnificent kitchen, hearth room and porch off the back of the home. “We live in these three back areas. I’m either in the kitchen cooking watching Carley in the hearth room or else I’m on the porch watching Carley outside,” notes Christy.
Christy’s favorite part of the kitchen is her “hidden ’ walk-in pantry. “It looks like it’s just a door to another kitchen cabinet but when you open it, you actually enter another small room that is a pantry.
Downstairs the couple also has another room where both Christy and B.J. have their desks and computers. “B.J. works from home, so it was important the he have a separate office and I wanted a room for my own desk to keep up with all that I do.”
The master bedroom and bathroom owe their compliments again to B.J.’s flooring connection. The bathroom is tiled top to bottom in mexican and turkish travertine with glass accent tiles. The counters are granite. And off the large bedroom is another door leading to their much used back porch.
Another stunning aspect of the home are the lush window treatments found throughout. Christy’s mother is a seamstress who sews for Cathy Grayson with Ta Dah Designs. “I asked Cathy to help me with some decorating needs I had. Cathy came out and helped me find the perfect colors, drapes and materials to really make the house stand out. My Mom worked with Cathy and made my curtains. I love knowing that she did this for me. It makes me love them even more.”
Upstairs – well the kids rule – for the most part. Carley and Aaron both have their kid friendly rooms on each end of the upstairs. Christy let each of them decorate as they saw fit. Carley’s bedroom floors are hard wood but her huge closet has a bright neon pink rug. “Her Daddy is in the flooring business so she gets to see all sorts of colors and patterns of samples and once she saw that neon pink rug, she said that’s the one I want!”
Both B.J. and Christy’s favorite room upstairs is the media room/craft room. The media room is equipped with all the bells and whistles for the family to be together to watch movies which they often do. And off the media room you walk right into the craft room. That’s where you will often find Christy with her boxes and boxes of craft supplies. “At my other house, I could never find my things. I was sprawled all over the kitchen table and got in everyone’s way and to be honest they got in mine. So this was my “wish” – to have a room just for me, my scrapbooks, my pens, my scissors and all the things that make me take time out of my busy life to just sit still and indulge in my hobby. And once a month I have all my girlfriends over and we will scrapbook all night long.”
In the center hallway of the upstairs landing is a small eliptical window. Christy asked Kevin to place it there so that she could always spot the pond that sits behind their home. “It’s touches like this, that make this home perfect for us. Every morning when I wake up the kids for school, I look out that window and count my blessings” says Christy.
The house has become more than the Busbys ever dreamed of. They have made a home that fits their family perfectly in a town that fits perfectly. “We love this house, love our neighbors and love living in this town. We couldn’t have wished for anything more!”