A HOUSE BUILT FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FUN

For Catherine and Michael Labban, their home just south of Shreveport city limits is as close to the Mediterranean and Florida coasts as anyone can get without actually being there, and that’s just the way they like it.

Catherine Labban with her daughters Audrey and Ashley.

A lovely art deco piece in the dining room is a cleverly disguised bar (left).

The rst thing one notices driving onto the property – named “Froggy Bottom,” which the owners said has something to do with the proliferation of backyard frogs that occasionally make themselves heard – is that it looks like a beach vacation home with a pond, waterfall and lush coastal foliage in the front, a white stucco exterior and steel Spanish tile on the roof.

“I love the water,” said Michael, who spent his college years living near the ocean in Florida. “So when I built this property, I wanted everything centered around the pool. It was all about water.”

Michael is the second generation in a local liquor retail business and family operation that has been in the area since 1961. After getting through college on a music scholarship, Michael moved back home to help his family run the business.

“Moving back here wasn’t necessarily what I planned on,” he recalls. “But when my brother graduated college and said he was moving home to work in the business, I dusted the sand off my feet and said I’d come help out. Eventually, he went back to college for an MBA, and I stayed.”

Michael and Catherine, who were recently married, along with her two daughters, Audrey and Ashley, Michael’s large extended family and plenty of nieces and nephews, there can be some expansive get-togethers at Froggy Bottom.

Camille Millen, of Camille Millen Designs, Inc., recently did a total transformation in the living room and entry (above, left and right).

That works out just ne for Catherine and Michael since they have the living, kitchen and outdoor space to handle it. At just a little more than two-and-one-third acres, Froggy Bottom gives the Labbans plenty of room for everything Michael wanted when he built the house, as well as something Michael treasures: open areas.

“I wanted big spaces outdoors but indoors too and in the bedroom and bathroom and closets,” he said. “That was important to me, but also everything was built so if and when I want to sell the property, it won’t be a problem. From the ground up, it was made with the idea that I would love to have a house like this and so would someone else.”

The coastal, Mediterranean theme is apparent in color and structure throughout the house and especially in the bedroom, where a wall-mounted waterfall, located in the sitting area and looking out to the pool, provides the sounds and look of running water.

“The view from the bedroom to the pool is so pretty,” Catherine said. “The waterfall is very peaceful to hear, and it all makes you feel like you’re at the beach.”

Indeed, looking out from the bedroom through the oor-to-ceiling arched windows to the backyard is just as impressive as the view from the front of house with even more lush greenery and a crystal-blue pool highlighted by another beautiful outdoor rock waterfall.

To keep things organized, Michael installed dual his-and-hers master closets. They’re practically a home to themselves with many touches that really make it a joy to use, courtesy of Gerd Feierlein for the remodeling and additions and Melanie Johnson, of Closets by Melanie, for the design.

These walk-in areas include highlights such as special shelves for shoes, a huge central countertop, self-closing drawers,

pull-down clothes racks and outlets so you can charge up your phones and devices while packing for trips.

In the bedroom, Michael installed nearly invisible magnetic doors that lead to the closets, too. “I wanted them accessible from the bathroom and bedroom, but I wanted a smooth look to keep the bedroom as open as possible,” Michael said.

The bathroom includes handy touches such as extra-large, dual, adult-sized granite countertops so you don’t have to bend over, multiple heat lamps, a custom-built triple folding mirror on the wall, and a massive shower with shelves, seating, dual shower heads with separate water temperature knobs that remember exactly the same temperature every time. Barry Boyle of Barry’s Tile deserves a lot of credit for his great work on the tile and backsplashes.

The kitchen and family room are comfortable, spacious and inviting. Arched doors lead directly to the outdoor living areas and pool (above and right).

The entire house was built with the outdoors in mind. A full kitchen, lots of seating for eating and relaxing, TVs in several locations and the pool just steps away make this the ultimate entertainment space (above and right).

Behind the large television in the bedroom is an audio visual room that gives Josh Myers, an installer with Wright’s Sound Gallery, plenty of room to work on wiring up the electronics in the house so family and guests can watch different programs or listen to different music stations on each

of the dozen or so televisions that are wallmounted throughout the property.

“If I dream it up, Josh makes it happen,” Michael said.

As nice as it is now, Froggy Bottom wasn’t Michael’s original choice for a property when he moved back to town.

“I originally bought two lots in south Shreveport,” he said. “We’d staked out the house to start construction, and then the city announced the 3132 extension was going to be built about 700 yards from my new backyard.”

Michael knew that wasn’t going to work, so he headed out on his motorcycle to seek out a new location.

“I happened to drive past this property, and there was nothing here but the land and trees,” Michael said. “It turned out the cost was less than the two pieces of property I’d already bought, so I immediately listed them and they sold for more than what they cost me. I was upset at rst when my original properties didn’t work out, but it turned out I had found something even better that was just outside the city limits. That was just luck. It was meant to be.”

Indeed, it seems like Froggy Bottom is about as close to a coastal resort as a person can get in this area, and Michael and Catherine take full advantage of it often by using their recently remodeled kitchen in conjunction with the spectacular outdoor pool area.

“I like traditional holiday meals, and we have our family members plus adopted family and friends, so it’s nothing for us to have 18 people over at a time, indoors and out,” Catherine said.

Luckily, the kitchen is set up for big gatherings thanks to new cabinets and amenities such as a pot ller over the stove, dual warming drawers, an extralarge refrigerator, a spice drawer and two microwaves.

All of that opens up to a spacious casual area accented by a pool table, a huge wallmounted atscreen television, a wall of four arched windows looking out to the pool, and mounted art by landscape photographer Peter Lik.

The master closet is a masterpiece of well thought-out design by Melanie Johnson of Closets by Melanie (above).

With a view to the pool and a gentle panel of water flowing down glass in the sitting area, tranquility reigns in the master bedroom (above).

The soundproofed music room and a fully equipped workout room (above and below).

Camille Millen of Camille Millen Designs, Inc. began working with Michael several years ago on different additions and remodeling projects. Most recently she and designer Joan White teamed up to give the living room a total transformation. New soft chenille sofas in neutral tones are enhanced by a colorful stylish area rug that makes the room feel much more spacious. Camille describes the look here and throughout the home as “transitional”, a wonderful blend of casual, traditional and contemporary.

There’s also a beautiful guest room, the two girls rooms and an third bathroom leading to the pool, where guests can enjoy a swim and enjoy the bene ts of a vaulted roof covering a huge grill, a lighted bar, an outdoor kitchen, two replaces – one gas, one wood burning – four wall-mounted televisions, a re pit, a second covered patio area and a near-total lack of bugs thanks to innocuous sprayers installed by Bugstompers.

“This is really where we have a good time, “Michael said. “We have televisions everywhere on different sources with surround sound. It’s great. We were out here recently watching the U.S. Open on a Sunday afternoon with friends while the girls were watching movies and hanging out in the pool. When it’s cold, we open a few bottles of wine with friends, start up the res and watch college football games at night. You can’t beat it.”

Just at the back of the property is an incredible workout building where the Labbans go to exercise, practice martial

arts and do gymnastics. This huge space is wrapped wall-to-wall by mirrors and offers an endless supply of weights and workout machines as well as cushioning in the middle of the room where Catherine’s girls can tumble.“The nice thing is that once we’re done working out in here, we can just jump in the pool,” Michael said.

Two of the coolest aspects of Froggy Bottom are de nitely the media and music rooms.

The media room is a converted two-door garage and more of a den with its dark colors and woody atmosphere, centered around a massive movie screen on one wall facing a cushy bank of custom-made couches, hidden surround-sound speakers, an automatic massage chair and the largest beanbag chair ever.

“I love watching movies but not going to theaters, so this is it,” Michael said. “We get a lot a use out of this. You melt into the couch, the lights are out, it’s dark, you’ve got the surround sound … my buddy calls it the coma room.”

Since the garage was replaced with the media room, Michael added an additional set of two-car garages and pushed the walls out to give plenty of space to walk around and tucked between them is his music room, a soundproofed getaway where two drum sets, three xylophones, keyboards, timpanis, bongos and more give Michael and his friends a place to jam the night away.

Froggy Bottom might not be coastal Florida or the Mediterranean exactly, but it’s close enough for Catherine and Michael. As a newly married couple with lots of friends and family, they are de nitely making the most of it.