Garden Grove

Southern Living, Aug 1998 by Joyner, Louis

Inspired by the architecture

of old New Orleans, this Idea House provides an up-to-date reinterpretation of history.

Built across the river and downstream from historic New Orleans, Garden Grove reflects the rich architectural heritage of the South's most European city. The styles brought by the city's Spanish and French colonizers are mixed with Greek Revival architecture. All this is flavored with Caribbean touches. The result is a tasty architectural gumbo that is unique to the Crescent City.

For architect John Bohlke, the challenge was to use this 250-year-old recipe to create a new house that would provide both a functional plan and an inviting sense of place. And all this had to fit within a 60-foot-- square footprint. The solution is a familiar one in New Orleans-the raised cottage. Historically, houses were raised on piers to keep them above the damp ground and annoying insects.

John placed the main living area of Garden Grove some 11 feet above ground level-not for historical reasons but to take advantage of the spectacular view. This first floor contains the study, dining room, family room, kitchen, and master suite. The ground floor holds three bedrooms, a game room, and parking for three cars. A finished attic contains a media room and a guest bedroom.

But one design problem remained: how to get family and, especially, guests up to the first floor. A grand set of exterior steps, often used for plantation houses of the period, would have fallen outside the 60-foot-square buildable area. So John went to other historic precedents. "In town [New Orleans] you didn't have room to do a grand stair." Instead, John did as New Orleans architects and builders had done before him. He tucked an outside stair into the last bay of the porch. This provides convenient access to the first floor porch while leaving space for three garage bays carefully nestled between brick piers (see plan on page 146).

An arriving guest can park in the front motor court, walk up the stairs, along the broad front porch, and enter at the front door. Family members can pull into the garage and go up either a central stair or take the convenient elevator to the main level.

entry

The first floor has a wide center hall that runs from the front door back to the family room. As you enter the house, your eye is immediately drawn to the magnificent views of a small lake and a golf course. To the right of the entry is the dining room; to the left, the study. "The house is very axial," says the architect. "This is a very traditional, straightforward plan."

dining room

Located at the front of the house, the dining room features a 12-foot ceiling. The generously sized room easily accommodates a table for six. A pair of wire baskets filled with lemons, green apples, pears, and limes forms a centerpiece. An antique terrarium sits atop a Louis XV provincial buffet; a Louis Philippe gold-leaf mirror leans against the wall. Ten-foot-high cased openings lead to the foyer and the study beyond. Thick walls allow room for shelves displaying a collection of blue-and-white porcelain. The walls above the paneled wainscot are accented with 7-inch-wide stripes of alternating matte and semigloss paint. The shinier strips were subtly ragged.

study

"The living room per se is disappearing," says John. Instead he designed a study (shown in the photo above) that could also be used as a home office, front parlor, or even a bedroom. In this room, the trim is painted the same deep taupe as the walls, but with a glossier finish. A hall links the study to the master bedroom. "This whole side of the house becomes the master suite," says John.

family room

At the rear of the house French doors connect the family room to the back porch. A wide pass-through and a large cased opening visually open the kitchen and breakfast area to the family room. To downplay the door from the family room to the master bedroom, the architect wrapped it with built-in bookcases (shown at left) mirroring those on the other side of the fireplace.

Because the family room opens to the breakfast room and kitchen, the furnishings are relaxed. Many of the upholstered pieces are covered in natural linens and cottons. "There's a lot of white," says interior designer Helaine Moyse. "That gives the romantic look of the West Indies."

kitchen and breakfast room

For an interesting twist, we turned the breakfast room adjoining the kitchen into a comfortable sitting area (see photo on page 138 and 139). An antique French farm table set behind the sofa in the family room provides a spot for casual meals.

In the kitchen, the olive-stained cabinets extend a full 8 feet tall. The 36-inch-high countertop doubles as a breakfast bar. A short hall leads past the pantry and a small office to the dining room.

service core

To take maximum advantage of the light and views in the first-floor rooms, the architect clustered baths, closets, and other service functions in the central core of the house. Even the stairway is located to one side of the center hall to keep it from interrupting the view through the house.