Long before Matt and Kelly Shad thought they were going to live in their New Albany loft, they visited the place they now call home for other reasons.
“This was Jimmy’s Music Center before Steve Resch bought it,” Kelly told The Courier Journal. “We’re good friends with them, (so) we used to come here and watch Jimmy rehearse and play music.”
Soon, Matt and Kelly’s daughter McKenna began playing music with them. In fact, Matt’s first concert was on the second floor of the building, below what is now their apartment.
make moves
“We’ve always talked about (living) somewhere we can walk and (quickly) getting something to eat,” Kelly said. Once the space became available, Matt began thinking about the building for both home and business purposes.
“I knew we were going to move our office,” he said of Shad Low, now located one floor below their house. He also knew that he wouldn’t need all the space for the company, which made him think of other uses for the third floor.
He recalls, “The wheels started spinning, and (we thought), maybe there’s a way to make this space work on the third floor. Maybe there’s this synergy between working on the second floor and living on the third floor.”
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Kelly adds that combining work and home in one place has been an ongoing conversation between them over the past decade. And when the opportunity arose, she felt that everything about her was just fine.
Renovation ready
The couple worked with Resch and his team throughout the renovation to create a home that fit their needs. “They worked with us (to insert) the details we wanted, even though they had them,” Kelly recalls. “It was incredible.”
Matt adds that while their home has plenty of modern features, the renovation has remained as true to the character of the building as possible.
“They kept all the old bones, like the stone walls and exposed rafters,” he said. “You can see the DNA of the building, but it[features]a nice, cool and pure color palette.”
The master bedroom suite is located on the main floor, as well as a large open concept area. “This whole area reminds me of an old hotel lobby,[has]a large space[that is]divided into small sitting and dining areas,” Matt said.
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Like the lobby, it is one large room, with different parts defined by precise furniture placement. It includes the dining room, the living room and what they call the jam space – the part of the house that houses an antique microphone, an antique Kalamazoo loudspeaker, and several guitars.
Matt’s collection includes a Gibson Hummingbird, a custom Fender Stratocaster, and a Delta Blues Resonator, to name a few.
“It’s set up so that (people) can come in and have some fun,” Matt explained. “We shoot videos here so people can use them to get gigs and stuff.”
The house also features the addition of a second floor with a bedroom and another bathroom, as well as a rooftop area, which Kelly will use for her yoga classes.
community reasons
Kelly explains that once their deck is complete, she plans to teach donation-based yoga classes on their rooftop, with the proceeds benefiting various organizations throughout the community.
“This space is not just for us,” she said. “A big part of the reason we moved here is because of his work and because of my work. We love this space… but (the thing) the main thing that drew us here is that we want to be… part of the community, (and we want to) allow the community to take advantage of this space too.”
She adds that although she was a bit worried about moving out of the country – they previously had seven acres in the woods – the sense of community she has experienced since is all she could possibly imagine.
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“I knew there would be a lot of people here (because of the local business), but I didn’t think there would be (such a strong feeling) of community,” she said. “(And) it’s cool. If you go out, you’ll see a lot of people walking around all the time.”
Matt adds that their home has become an organic space to sit and spend time with old and new friends.
“(We can) hang out, enjoy the sounds and walk to the river,” he said.
Do you know a house that would be a great home for the week? Email writer Lenny Omalza at aloha@lennieomalza.com or lifestyle editor Catherine Gregory at kgregory@gannett.com.
Bolts and nuts
owner: Steve Risch. This home is occupied by Matt and Kelly Shad. Matt is a personal injury attorney at Schad Law, and my agent is a yoga instructor. Also in the house are McKenna Robertson, 19, and Calico sisters Margo and Althea.
residenceThis is a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, loft apartment of 2,800 square feet in a New Albany building built in 1872.
Featured Items: A space completely renovated with facade reworked to resemble original period corrected windows, original limestone stripped paint, repainted facades, and new ceiling doors; Interior renovations with new mechanics, elevator, new spiral staircase, engineered oak hardwood floors, and new stone windows in the master bedroom to provide natural light to the interior corridors; Addition of a loft on the second floor with a second bedroom and a full bathroom.
clap! clap! Matt and Kelly Shad would like to give a special thanks to Steve and Jacob Rich and their crew for creating such a beautiful home, and the Paul Keeger Group for helping make it happen.
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