Renovation to bring back historic look on Bardstown Road (Courtesy Casey Emrich)

A narrow building at 1013 Bardstown Road is being renovated for use as a live-work gallery space. Casey Emrich and Will Garner are renovating the 19th century house with a 1920s-era, 520 square foot commercial space in front space to accommodate a new gallery called Consider Boutique.

With the help of a low-interest facade improvement loan, the storefront will be brought closer to how it appeared originally. Emrich describes the renovations currently underway:

“We are in the process of putting in a new floor (the original was rotten due to trenches dug underneath for heating ducts; the dirt pushed up against the joists). There were 4 total layers of flooring that we took up: carpeting, 2 types of linoleum, and then the original wood floor… We added a support beam to replace a load bearing wall that divided the space in two. This obviously makes the space seem much larger! The new boutique floors will be wood. Our next big project is the removal of the metal ‘awning’ to reveal 8 beautiful windows.”

The couple also removed fake walls to enlarge the gallery space and are in the process of adding a handicap accessible bathroom and an energy-efficient HVAC system.

Casey Emrich says the new gallery will sell hand crafted, one of a kind items such as jewelry, men’s and women’s accessories, and artwork. She plans to sell her own jewelry line, LeeluQ, and is currently looking for artists to sell their merchandise. If you would like more information on selling your art, you can contact Emrich at consider.something@gmail.com.

A sculpture garden is also planned on the side of the building. A back warehouse, formerly a flea market, will be used as studio space, but Emrich hopes to potentially convert the space into a gallery for rotating artist exhibitions in the future.