See inside: Renovations transform 'landmark' Ohio estate into modern gem

In 2016, Katy Bainbridge and her family purchased land along Ohio's O’Shaughnessy Reservoir with the intention of building their dream home northwest of Columbus. After receiving a building permit in 2019, they started drawing up plans. Two years into it and before anything had been built, a friend told them the owner of an estate nearby in Dublin was willing to let two couples look at the home and negotiate a sale before it went on the market.

As Bainbridge and her husband walked through the more than 9,000-square-foot home on Deer Run Drive, she took in dramatic views of a ravine, dam and waterfall that flowed from Muirfield Village Golf Club on the west to the Scioto River on the east. In addition to the “mind blowing” views, the bones of the house were good, and it was interesting from an architectural standpoint, she says.

“It’s such a unique piece of property,” Bainbridge says. “We just thought, ‘We can do this.’ We can really modernize this and take it to the next level.”

The history of the Deer Run Drive property

The home was built in 1986 after former Cardinal Health CEO Bob Walter and his wife, Peggy, had engineers determine construction near the dam built in 1920 was safe. The architect was Dick Trott and the builder was Kevin Knight & Co. Later, architect George Acock and builder Ralph Fallon added a grand entrance and a rotunda at the rear of the home.

The Walter family lived there for 30 years before it was sold to a new owner in 2017. That included subdividing 62 acres so the home could be sold with 8 acres in total, including the dam and ravine.

The Bainbridges became the home’s third owners when they purchased the Deer Run property for $4.5 million in 2022 and began renovations with local firm Behal Sampson Dietz as the contractor.

A home for hosting and entertaining

“When we renovate, we think about how we will use each space as a family,” Bainbridge says. “We are constant entertainers and host overnight guests, which was our priority in this home. We do not want rooms that are not utilized.”

The home has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, five fireplaces and, as part of that affinity for entertaining, 17 refrigerators.

The gathering room renovation included adding a hotel-style bar to draw people into the space. The kitchen redo created a “cook’s kitchen” that includes two island gathering spaces and a new pantry.The master suite was reconfigured. It originally had separate men’s and women’s bathrooms. The Bainbridges updated it to a spa bathroom with one large closet. “I even found a hidden bookshelf within the room,” Bainbridge says.

New doors and windows were added throughout “to bring the outside in. In the master, [there was] a Juliet door and a small balcony. We used a Marvin modern window. [It is] huge to be able to see the view.”

The back door was opened up by installing a large Marvin door that helped the view and flow of traffic to outside spaces. The doors from the family room out to the rotunda were small and had trim. While it was stylish at the time of installation, the Bainbridges wanted to be able to see the rotunda from the kitchen, so larger doors were added to open up more views. In the basement, original sliding doors and windows were replaced with larger windows and doors, which improved the view of the outside pool and patio and also helped with the flow of guests when entertaining.

What was updated in the 9,000-square-foot estate?

Meanwhile, the entire electrical system of the home was updated. This included removing all 1980s-era can lighting. Because those lights were enclosed in large boxes, the ceilings had to be redone when new lighting was installed. “When updating the electricity, we were able to remove the wall clutter and make the home into a smart home,” Bainbridge says. “The house had state-of-the-art electronics for the time. For example, there was an iPod on the wall. Now, houses don’t need as many wires with lighting.” An integrated sound system was installed throughout the home.

All of the home’s bathrooms were renovated, and a workout room with sauna and Murphy bed were added.

Bainbridge says she was going for continuity of colors. The same muted white is used throughout, while built-in shelving is done in a shade called “iron ore.” Wallpaper warms up the dining room, bathrooms and the primary suite.

The owner before the Bainbridges was a gardener who preferred a natural aesthetic. Exterior renovations included a more manicured design. The previous owner also removed a pool, outdoor bar and bathroom in the pool house. For entertaining, those were essential for the Bainbridges, so they were added back in.

Exterior work also included extending the driveway to allow for more parking. The exterior was painted in neutral colors to blend with the outdoors. Wrought iron fencing from Fortin was installed down to the dam and other areas for safety. Outdoor lighting was added throughout the property so it could be enjoyed at night.

Who worked on the Dublin ravine home remodel?

This is the ninth house the Bainbridges have renovated.

Susan Campbell of SC Designs was the decorator. “We are very hands-on,” Bainbridge says. “So, she procures items we are looking for. But after nine houses, often we know what we are looking for in materials.”

Audiovisual, sound and smart home work were done by Aaron Carmack Electronic Services (ACES). Exterior work was done by Adam Tokarz at Luxe Residential. The pool was installed by Landfare Ltd.

Kevin Nimon, a partner at Behal Sampson Dietz, says this is a “landmark home” in Central Ohio. “We met with the Bainbridges, hit it off and had an aligned vision for where they were headed with the house, which was dated,” he says. “Top to bottom it needed new energy, new life and they just really wanted to bring things back up to when it was originally built with a more modern aesthetic. The house lent itself that that nicely.”

Johnny Dwyer, Behal’s project manager for the work, says an interesting element of working on the home was that every space felt like a “premier space.” He observed this, “even if it was a back hall or side door off the kitchen that opened up to an amazing deck off the back or the beautiful rotunda over the pool. Then there’s the basement that isn’t a typical basement because it opens up to this beautiful patio that overlooks the ravine. It was a unique project in that there were no secondary or tertiary spaces. Everything required the same amount of attention to detail and refined approach to bring it back to life.”

Says Nimon: “The Bainbridges are very detail oriented. They notice all the little things. Bringing it back to life was a lot of that—just making it perfect again, and that house deserved it and needed it. They’ve been very good stewards of this home.”

This story appeared in the March 2025 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.