from worthless to wonderful

This house escaped the wrecking ball and found its place in the sun.

You see them all over the South-some covered in kudzu beside railroad tracks, others next to city skyscrapers. Wherever they are, homes down on their luck, or down on their looks, dot the South. Our first inclination is to tear them down, but Ernie and Rhonda Beauvais of Shreveport had a better idea.

Rescued From Ruin

"I always wanted to move an old house to the lake to be a camp for us," Ernie says. "I was looking for something to serve as the basic structure to which I could add a porch." he drove past this house one day and knew he had found the one. It was condemned and rotting, awaiting the wrecking ball, but Ernie thought it was worth saving. Friends, family, and even Rhonda thought he was crazy, but Ernie prevailed.

"The owner, who lived in New Orleans, bought the house for his son to live in while in medical school, then used it as a rental. After years of neglect, the city condemned it," Ernie says. he and the owner worked out a price, but the house sat for a year and a half while Ernie searched for a mover who could transport it in one piece. "I took so long," he says, "that the city kept calling the owner to tear it down, so he kept calling me and lowering his price."

"I took so long [to move it] that the city kept calling the owner to tear it down, so he kept calling me and lowering his price."

Ernie Beauvais, homeowner

Moving Out of Town

In October 1995, the house was removed from its old foundation, put up on large beams, and hauled to the lake. The slow ride to Lake Bistineau outside Shreveport was tricky-movers had to negotiate low power lines and narrow bridges. "They had to get out along the way and jack up the whole house in places, and then stop and lower it back down," Ernie says. The house finally arrived at the lake and came to rest on new piers.

Ernie, Rhonda, their children Addison and Elizabeth, and a local builder tore out everything they couldn't use: damaged wood, eaves and gables that didn't fit the new design, and several doors and windows. Inside, they took out walls to enlarge some spaces, reconfigured two closets into a bath, and even vaulted the ceiling.

When the indoor demolition was complete, the team began putting the house back together, adding new details while striving to maintain the original structure's Craftsman feel.

A Porch for Living

Ernie positioned the house so one long side fronted the lake and added a 12-foot-deep porch to that entire side. At one end is a comfortable sitting area complete with eclectic furniture, while an old pool table rests at the other end. The couple has collected items from junk shops, trash piles, antiques shops, and even alongside the road.

Ernie and Rhonda opened the doors to their new house in spring 1996. Eight years later, with every visit to 'Maison de Sauvetage' or House of Salvage, as it's dubbed, you're sure to see something new and unique.

TURNING TRASH INTO TREASURE

Most everything at the Beauvais camp is old in some way. Here are some tips to make your search for great finds simple.

* If you like something, pick it up. You might not have a place to display it right away, but you never know when you might have use for an item.

* Colors can be changed. It's amazing what a can of paint and 30 minutes of work can do to a dated piece of furniture.

* Think of clever uses for your discovery. A table can quickly become a plant stand, an old door can become a great table, or a rusty chandelier can be converted to hold candles outside.

* For a casual place at the lake or even in town, an eclectic mix of colors and styles can really make a house your home.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved