8 minute read
Belle Maison
Deck
the Halls...
AND THE WALLS
STORY BY LIESEL SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAPHY BY EUGENIA LUBRANO-GANGI OF NOLA RE MARKETING
Decked out in its festive finery, the Venus house in Bedico Creek Preserve is like a home on a Christmas card, an enchanted place filled with sugar plum dreams and holiday cheer. With its heavy white sack-washed brick, the French country modern home is crisp and clean looking, the expanse of whiteness broken by windows trimmed with black and coordinating black gutters, capped off with grey slate lap ridge tiles. Two large gas lanterns add a welcoming glow to the exterior, illuminating the cypress ceiling of the front porch and the old Chicago brick work underfoot that matches the five-foot ribbon of old Chicago brick that trims out the driveway. Making the picture an even more impressive one, the elegant eight-foot front door is made of iron and features beautiful bubble glass for privacy and delicate scrollwork for a touch of design.
Inside, the French country aesthetic gives way to transitional style, with antiques and family heirlooms to add a touch of warmth and dimension to the home. Giving it color are accents like the art on the walls—an example of which holds pride of place in the foyer. “I commissioned an artist named Tony Mose for a breath-taking peacock painting for our foyer that I am honestly obsessed with,” says co-owner Gina Venus, who shares the home with her husband, Charlie. “Anyone who knows me knows I adore peacocks, and this piece of art truly completed our home.”
Overhead, a trio of spectacular crystal chandeliers lead down the hall to the home’s main living spaces—each of which also features its own noteworthy lighting fixture, chosen for the couple by designer Julie Ponze of Julie Ponze Designs. Her influence, in fact, can be seen all throughout the home, from the lighting fixtures and the bold accent wall colors to the thoughtful incorporation of the Venuses’ antique furnishings. “Julie was instrumental postconstruction to work with me on design decisions,” says Gina. “We have a pretty fair amount of family heirlooms and antiques in our home that we really treasure. Those are what we truly love the most as they have a lot of history, love and memories. Julie did a fantastic job helping us marry our heirlooms with the modern pieces we were adding and made it feel seamless, like it all belonged together from the beginning.”
Running from the front foyer throughout all the spaces of the first floor with the exception of the master ensuite, the flooring is everything one would expect in a home of so many unexpected design features, made of textured overlay, stained concrete with a five-foot slate grey diamond pattern. To the left of the foyer, the formal dining room holds a bold greeting with its royal navy blue walls, immediately leading into the stark contrast of the all-white walls in the formal living room. “I love looking into the formal dining room,” says Gina. “The wall color combined with French white chandelier and newly recovered chairs brings this room to life and brings back childhood memories for me.”
Those pieces to which she refers include antique sewing machines from both Charlie’s and Gina’s grandmothers as well as a Queen Ann sofa and love seat set that Charlie acquired as a young man that the couple had restored and reupholstered. “One of those pieces is in our family living room, the other in our master bedroom,” says Gina. “I have many, many pieces of China and tea sets, crystal bowls, crystal dessert dishes and cups that were my grandmother’s. Our dining room furniture was my parents.’ I also have an antique tea cart imported from France that my father gave to my mother, and our dining room mirror and Last Supper picture was Charlie’s grandmothers’ and parents,’ respectively.”
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As a blended family with six grown children and six grandchildren, the Venuses require enough space to accommodate them all. Fortunately, the fourteen rooms within the 6,104 square-foot home offer just that, with four bedrooms, four full baths and two half-baths as well as various other rooms including a game room, formal living and dining spaces, and informal living areas. Naturally, their kitchen sees a great deal of use and was designed not only for functionality, but for form. “I enjoy cooking meals and love the kitchen,” says Gina. “During the holidays, my mom, aunt, youngest daughter and I enjoy baking together. It’s our tradition. I’m looking forward to doing that this year in our new home, especially with all the countertop space!”
And, indeed, there is an impressive amount of counterspace in the sprawling kitchen, which extends almost the entire length of the back wall of the home, boasting double-height ivory custom cabinetry along the perimeter and contrasting navy cabinetry on the four-foot-by-twelve-foot island, all crowned with Bianco Rhino marble countertops. The matching marble backsplash runs the full length of the cabinets and up to the top of the range hood that sits above the six-burner Thermador gas range. A coordinating suite of stainless Thermador appliances rounds out the kitchen, with a Danby Silhouette Professional wine fridge offering space for 24 bottles and, of course, an impeccably designed pantry.
My husband and I love to have family and friends at our home,” says Gina. “We began the design and building process in July 2020 with Sigfredo Construction, LLC, and Sigfredo and Mayelen Martinez met with us on a continual basis and really heard our needs and desires for the design and functionality of our home. Sigfredo really listens to his clients and ensures that he checks everything on your list—down to the last detail—and anticipates things you may not have thought of and goes above and beyond to far exceed your expectations. When designing our floor plan, one of the must haves on my list was a walk-in pantry with an abundance of storage shelving. Knowing that we are big coffee lovers, Sigfredo’s design included a seven-by-eleven walk-in pantry with custom-built shelving to accommodate all of my party ware, dishes, platters, etc. He also included an 11-foot countertop for a coffee bar for our coffee pots and espresso machine and any other appliances we wanted to include, complete with electrical sockets. It’s one of my favorite features in our home.”
The master suite is another space where design stands out in high relief, with a double-step ceiling featuring a large vintage chandelier for lighting as well as recessed lighting. Three large paneless windows overlook the backyard and greenspace behind the home, offering generous natural light into the space and an incredible view, and a door leads to the outdoor patio, pool and living area from the master suite. Naturally, massive his and her closets offer separate storage for Charlie and Gina—hers with a barn door and custom-built shelving and cabinetry as well as a gorgeous crystal and gold chandelier.
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In the master bath, the flooring is white texture overlay stained concrete with grey mixed in and polished to a high shine to look like marble. The marble look continues in the zero-entry shower, which features a mosaic marble pattern tile and ten feet of porcelain tile. The six-foot freestanding soaking tub is surrounded by an eight-foot wall of porcelain tile, as well, with a tulip-shaped chandelier suspended above it.
“Every single day, Charlie and I both look at each other and say how blessed we are and that we cannot believe our dreams finally came true,” says Gina. “We get to spend the rest of our days here. When we come home, I think, wow...this lovely home is ours. Every room has such unique finishes and personal touches and character, and we fall in love all over again. We are genuinely thankful and grateful to God for blessing us with this home and all of the people He placed in our path to make it possible.”
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