Cajun Country Styling: Eunice, Louisiana

by Ferris Land Design, LLC

Editor, Stephen Kelly

A coveted amenity for the Enuice, La. homeowners was a pool house that could host parties for over 100 people. It features a full kitchen, wet bar, sofa, chairs, media system and a half bath. Bevelo gas lanterns set on iron posts accent the pool area and gardens.

Surrounded by miles of rice fields and crawfish farms, the sounds of splashing water fill the air. Imagine homeowner Robert Feucht lounging on his terrace, gazing out at the garden oasis. Faye, his wife, pours another glass of wine for them and they sit and watch the sunset on their Louisiana prairie . . .

A new resort in Cajun country? No, this is no resort, it’s their own tropical paradise.

The brick archway frames the pigeonnier, set back away from the house with an allee of live oak trees. The raised brick planters contain (from foreground back) foxtail ferns with yellow shrimp plant and blue plumbago, pink periwinkle, red pentas, blue agapanthus, little gem magnolia (left) sweet olive and umbrella plant (right), fig ivy (on wall), variegated flax lily around the sugar kettle, periwinkle in the formal water garden and Muskogee crape myrtles (behind arch).

“Who needs to leave when you have this,” Robert observes. Faye chuckles.

While the Feucht’s love to travel, they like coming home just as much. With a passion for life with good friends, good times and good food, home is where the heart is. They remember when their spacious backyard seemed so blank. What could it become? Both loved the outdoors and wanted to take full advantage of their outdoor living space. Robert had developed a private subdivision just a few years back on his family property. He managed to kept the best couple of acres for himself. Once the main house was completed, they turned their attention to the outdoor environment. Faye had to have a New Orleans style courtyard with brick and wrought iron. Robert needed more space to store equipment and utility stuff. For certain, they both wanted a pool and pool house. The couple brought their ideas and wishes to landscape architect Richard Hymel, ASLA of Ferris Land Design, LLC and commissioned him to develop a master plan to meet their immediate and future needs.

The new garage sports Doric columns, another design element paying homage to architect A. Hayes Town. The centerpiece in front of the patio to the garage is a cast iron sugar kettle from a nearby sugar mill that is transformed into a goldfish pond accented with pickerel rush and umbrella plants.

Traditional Louisiana Style

Since the homeowners are big fans of revered Louisiana architect A. Hayes Town and his classic, traditional Louisiana style of design, inspiration was drawn and a design aesthetic was laid out to create a wonderful new outdoor living space consisting of several outdoor rooms that would be comfortable and timeless. Within a short period, a concept began to take shape.

A raised spa with wier waterfalls is featured alongside a raised, dining terrace. The decking around the pool/spa is an attractive quartzite stone paving (Master Tile Co.) interspersed with slate. The light quartzite is cool to the feet. The blend of earth tones works well with the old brick and slate. A brick soldier course ties in the architectural brick elements of the pool cabana and outdoor fire pit. The pool offers submerged benches and a tanning ledge.

“One round of critiques and we were preparing construction plans,” Robert recalls. As the owner was the contractor, it was a smooth transition from design development to design implementation. Robert runs a family business that does large civil construction projects and also pool building.

The inspiration and design aesthetic for the home was inspired by Louisiana architect A. Hayes Town (1903-2005) and his classic, traditional Louisiana style. Many consider Town the premier southern architect. The landscapes architect designed several outdoor living spaces—a formal water garden and a pool terrace garden with a pool house. An outdoor fireplace, a new garage, barn and, of course, a pigeonnier were other additions.

“We were able to try some new things and develop some pretty creative construction details,” says the landscape architect. The proposed improvements included a walled courtyard garden, a formal water garden, a pool terrace garden with a pool house, a new garage, pigeonnier and barn. Murry Daniels of Acadiana Designs, a local building designer, prepared architectural construction plans for the buildings. Richard has used the firm before and admires their great eye for detail. Reclaimed old St. Louis brick, quartzite stone paving from Master Tile Co. and custom wrought iron from a local ironsmith were used abundantly to bring structure to these spaces.

Courtyard Garden

The walled courtyard garden’s main feature is a traditional, raised brick fountain with a cast iron urn from King Metals. A cast stone cherub is fitted at the top. At night, they remove it and light up the fire fountain. Fitted with a natural gas bubbler mechanism set right below the water level, the nighttime effect is quite dramatic. The landscape architect said that effect, while it might look easy to design, took quite a bit of tinkering with.

Adapted palms like queen (near the house) cabbage (flanking the pool) and sago add lushness to pool garden, as do plumbago, Dianella and agapanthus (the purple flowers along the front of the pool house). The turf is
St. Augustine.

The casual furniture and potted plants were selected by Faye from her interiors shop, many of them new products to the market. Her eye for decorating gives the space a comfortable, relaxed feel. Camellias, sweet olive, and azaleas provide year round interest. On axis from this garden, through a bricked archway, is the formal water garden. A low boxwood hedge frames a grouping of Muskogee crape myrtles, enclosed by a low brick wall. The centerpiece is an antique sugar kettle from a nearby sugar mill. Pickerel rush and umbrella plants accent the goldfish pond. This garden is adjacent to the new garage and is opposite the new pool house. The pigeonnier is set back away from the house, on axis with both gardens and framed by a dramatic allee of live oak trees of majestic beauty.

The formal garden, like much of the home’s hardscape, makes abundant use of reclaimed St. Louis brick, giving the property an historic look. Low boxwood hedges frame a grouping of Muskogee crape myrtles. Straight ahead is the pool cabana.

Pool Terrace Garden

The pool terrace garden flows outside of the structured courtyard gardens and has a looser composition. Adapted palms like cabbage, queen and sago add lushness to this garden, as do plumbago, agapanthus and Dianella. Bevelo gas lanterns set on iron posts accent the gardens at night and help to complete the traditional setting. Quartzite stone paving accents the pool decking. Underwater benches and a tanning ledge offer lounging places. Quartzite is a great material for paving around a pool. The lighter colors are cool to the feet and the blend of earth tones work well with old brick and slate. Quartzite is durable and requires little maintenance. A raised spa with weir waterfalls is featured alongside a raised, dining terrace. This terrace is accented with an outdoor fireplace, but the pool house is the life of this party. It features a full kitchen, wet bar, sofa, chairs, media system, and a half bath. They can host parties for over 100 people comfortably.

The barn is the final piece of the master plan. It will be constructed in a later phase. With the complete faith of the owners, this project, from the buildings, pool, and paving to the lighting and plantings, was designed by the landscape architect and is a great example of how the natural and built environments can blend together beautifully. The owners admit that spend more time outside than they do inside now. Their gardens are used for wedding portraits and numerous garden tours.

Richard Hymel, ASLA is principal landscape architect with Ferris Land Design, LLC in Baton Rouge, La. The firm specializes in detailed site design for residential, multi-family, and commercial projects with a focus on custom watershapes.

About

The home is in Eunice, La. (pop. 11,499), an area of only 4.7 sq. miles in the southwest part of the state. Eunice manages to be part of three parishes, Arcadia, Evangeline and St. Landry. Back in the day, Eunice, like many small communities, owed its continued existence to the Southern Pacific Railroad extending a line here. Ironically, the line also nearly brought catastrophe to Eunice when in May 2000 a freight train derailed, spilling hazardous chemicals. Explosions rocked the area and 15 tank cars burned. About 3,500 residents were evacuated. The local folks did benefit financially. In May 2004, some 10,000 residents settled a class action lawsuit for $65 million with Union Pacific. The suit asserted Union Pacific had not repaired defective tracks. On an upbeat note, Eunice is home to the Cajun Music Hall of Fame.