Tradition at Home

(Left) The ground floor exterior is formal, while the upper level takes its cues from a simpler Creole cottage.

At a Glance

Architecture
Everett Schram, while at Walnut Grove Design Group

Interior Design
Gena Pool

Square Footage 3,250
Outstanding Features Subtle blending of architectural languages that looks evolved over time, detailed trim carpentry, secondary ground floor master suite for aging in place, primary suite dressing room, large front porch and primary suite balcony.

The powder room’s trompe l’oeil cheetah pattern wallpaper is by Thibaut. The Sconces are by Hudson Valley Lighting.

Gena and Bob Pool’s Lake Charles house looks to the past. The residence is located within Lake Charles’ Walnut Grove community, a 21st century “traditional neighborhood development,” with time honored features: sidewalks, tree-lined streets, mixed use buildings (residential and commercial), parks and walkability. The architecture of the house takes its cues from 18th and 19th century precedents and the ways historic houses changed through the years. Even the Pools’ lifestyle at home makes an “if it ain’t broke” statement.

“I don’t own paper plates,” said Gena, who prefers vintage and antique glasses for everything from day-to-day meals to gatherings of friends and family (the latter includes five grown children, their spouses and six grandchildren). “If a glass gets broken it won’t kill me.”

Empty nesters who divide their time between homes in Texas and Louisiana, the Pools came to the project with an appreciation for enduring architecture and had several previous house projects under their belts.  Working with architect Everett Schram of J.E. Schram Architect in Baltimore, Bob brought the directive for a traditional house and a particular style of pavilion roof he admired, while Gena knew she wanted a house that is rooted in Louisiana history and that had stately white columns. Schram, who is originally from Lake Charles and designed many of the high end homes that Walnut Grove sold on speculation, responded with a design that blends several architectural languages found in Louisiana — specifically, elegant double gallery houses found in New Orleans’ Garden District and Creole cottages found in rural and urban areas.

“If you look at the houses in the Garden District, under all the fretwork and ornate woodworking is a very simple Creole house. Most of the ornamentation shows up in elaborate porches. You also see this in plantation houses. They got changed over time and this house is meant to tell a similar story, almost like it evolved over time. I call it ‘vernacular progression’; it’s naturally evolved in its place,” said Schram.

Timeless materials including, the brick used for the floors and the subway tile for the backsplash, bring a sense of age to the kitchen.

On the ground level, the exterior of the house has a formal design with Corinthian columns. The upper level transitions to the simpler parlance of the Creole cottage, with narrow turned posts and a pavilion roof that is modified to be more in the Creole style. The garage behind the house is intentionally clapboard instead of masonry like the main house to look as if it was added later. The interior’s casement openings between rooms suggest that once separated rooms were later opened up for a more contemporary flow. The attention to details, such as the porch lantern with scrolled bracket (designed by Schram and fabricated by Bevolo) and the carved trim carpentry conveys the craftsmanship of other eras.

Gena, an avid collector and design enthusiast, handled the interior design. During the planning and construction phases, she collected and stored furniture, lighting, mirrors and art and once the house was completed, pieced things together in a free-form manner. If something didn’t work initially, she removed it and tried again later as the house progressed.

(Left) casement openings were designed to suggest that separate rooms were opened to flow together. A foundation of alabaster paint ties the rooms together. (Right) Gena and Bob Pool in their kitchen.

“Whatever I love, I pull it together,” she said. “I think outside the box.”

The vibrant and eclectic design scheme began with a neutral foundation of alabaster. Layering of paint colors, patterned fabrics and wallcoverings followed.

“I wanted to add a different palette to every room,” said Gena.

She chose a green inspired by a bedroom in “Downton Abbey” for the dining room, tomato red for the laundry room, turquoise for a guest bath vanity and pale peach for the secondary master suite on the first floor. She painted the secondary master bath’s acrylic tub chartreuse. Wallpapers include an Asian egret pattern in the upstairs hall and a cheetah print in the powder room.

The green of the dining room was inspired by a bedroom in “Downton Abby” and is contrasted with a pearly gold ceiling. Several styles of dining chairs were combined for a collected look.

The Pools’ bullseye success in building a house that is evocative of the past is summed up in the positive reactions they regularly receive, especially from their children.

“Our kids love it,” said Gena. “They feel like they are in a historic house that’s new.”