Belle Maison

from Social Northshore | December/January 2021

President's Arts Awards

This is Home BY LIESEL SCHMIDT

At nearly 40 years old, the Schaumburg home in Covington has some stories to tell, some history that has seeped into its bones and settled in, a patina that covers it the way copper turns an amazing shade of teal as it ages. But the bright white exterior of the three-story colonial belies its age, so well has it been updated and maintained, so intentionally has it been tended to. With manicured lawns on a property that is plentiful with azaleas, camelias, and mature oaks, this home is a true Louisiana gem, hidden from the street and tucked away like a treasure.

For owners Justin and Erin Schaumburg, the house was meant to be, found not so much by serendipity but by divine intervention. “I believe in God more than I believe in anything in the whole world, and I knew He spoke to my heart when I saw this home, and I heard

Him tell me, ‘This is where you’re going to raise your kids,’” says Erin, owner of Eros

Home Clothing and Outdoor Furniture, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

At the time, Erin was pregnant with their fifth child—a boy, like all their others—and had just renovated and sold their previous home. The house sold in 24 hours, leaving them casting about for a new place to live. “I’d actually put in a full price offer on a house because I was pretty much desperate. I was about to give birth, and they’d given us 30 days to move out. So I put in a full-price offer on a house in the front of the neighborhood, and they accepted it,” Erin recalls. “I really hadn’t looked at this house, because it was too big; and my husband and I both felt like it was too much house for us. So the next day, the people whose house we’d made the offer on called to cancel on us and told us they’d decided they didn’t want to sell. We had nowhere to live, so I decided to come look at this house. I walked in, and I was by myself with the Realtor. I didn’t even make it to the kitchen before I started to cry. I knew. I just knew. It was the most breathtaking, cozy, authentically Louisiana home. Wainscoting on every wall, cypress-clad rooms, brick floors, a real stone masonry fireplace. I felt like I was in a charming hotel. I told the Realtor not to tell my husband how much I loved it, because I wanted him to love it as much as I did. The last thing I wanted to do was to buy a house that he didn’t like. When he finally came to see it, he walked into the kitchen and the keeping room, and he said, ‘I think this is it.’ We both fell in love with it and bought the house the next day.”

Built by Piazza Architects, the home has had four owners previous to the Schaumburgs, keeping its original detailing and fantastic millwork along the way. The result of Erin’s expertise in interior design is, of course, the thing that makes their home elegant yet cozy, despite the notable square footage—something that people notice immediately. “People notice the warmth when they walk in,” says Erin. “They never want to leave; they love how cozy it is. They also notice the number of details— especially the woodwork. There are almost no sheetrock walls in this house, most of the rooms have wainscoting from top to bottom.”

Along with the wainscoting, the hart pine floors are a detail that adds warmth in an otherwise neutrally toned house. The kitchen and keeping room are another point of interest, boasting brick flooring and natural pine cabinets crowned with Crema Marfil marble countertops from Spain. Perfect for making meals for the large family, the stainless appliances include a Subzero refrigerator, a six burner Viking range, and double oven.

As an interior designer, Erin sees many new houses that make her envious—if only for a moment. “I go into a lot of new homes, and every time I do, I think, ‘I want a new house, this is so amazing.’ And then I come home to my house,” she says.

“I go into a lot of new homes, and every time I do, I think, ‘I want a new house, this is so amazing.’ And then I come home to my house.”

Hard-pressed to name a favorite, Erin loves each room of her home for different reasons. “Every room is a treat, and each room I walk into is prettier than the last,” she says. “I love the keeping room because it’s where we gather, eat, spend the most time celebrating life. I adore the formal living room because it has a masonry fireplace. It’s so beautiful you just want to go and sit in there and relax. But all of the rooms are special.”

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With five boys, the house is normally cluttered with signs of life. Toys and sports equipment are a natural part of the scenery, though Erin’s taste is redolent throughout the home—and all the men in her life, both big and little, love it. “For a family with six guys and one girl, they don’t mind. I feel like I’m out numbered, so I get a pink room,” she says of the formal living room. “I get my pink and my flowers, and they actually love it! When I showed them the wallpaper I was considering for my bathroom, it was kid approved. My nine-year old said, ‘That wallpaper makes me happy.’”

It is details such as these that are the hallmark of the Schaumburg home, balancing style with liveability, ease, and comfort. Comprising five bedrooms, three full baths, and two half baths along with the living spaces, the home boasts grand square footage in a way that is still unassuming. It is all lived in, all loved in. It’s home.