Gary and Tina Calligas are from Greek families. They like to travel, especially to Greece. On the shores of Shreveport’s Cross Lake they’ve found a home that mirrors many elements of Greek life. “It’s not as blue as the Aegean,” said Gary, “but we can pretend.” Entering their town home, the view commands attention. “We bought the view,” said Tina, “the house just came with it.”
Throughout the different levels of the home wonderful collections abound. Everywhere one looks there are objets d’art, each with a unique story.
Through large, unobstructed windows and glass doors, the couple sees the Shreveport Yacht Club on one side of the horizon, and the Interstate 220 Bridge on the other. Standing at the front door, with its multi-textured art deco design of leaded glass, the house is so elevated on a steep lot the terraces to the lake aren’t yet visible. As you walk closer, however, you can see the vast improvements made by the Calligases. From once wild native plants, they, with the help of Blue Haven Pools and Lex Plant Farm, have created a terraced landscape of a hot tub and small pool with an in nity edge and waterfall, that ows to the next level overlooking the lake. Basking plaster lizards keep ducks in the lake and out of the pool, while semitropical and tropical plants once more fool the eye into leaving America for the Mediterranean. Descending other layers, one eventually reaches the boat house and Cross Lake itself.
It’s not only a watery view that gives a Greek feel to the home, but the shape of the architecture within. Built in the 1980s, those rounded corners, multiple levels and clean white details remind one of whitewashed domed manses tumbling down the sides of Greek Islands. On street level, Gary’s of ce, a powder room and the kitchen reside. The granite chosen by Tina for the kitchen at Berry’s Quality Tile is made for this particular home, evoking that Aegean Sea blue in mica- lled ecks amidst the other darks and lights of the stone look almost like waves. A massive island of it is carried on the backs of glass blocks and provides seating for three. A commissioned leaded glass window does not match the front door, but compliments it in iridescent shapes, made by an artist they met at the Red River Revel.
Stepping down a short staircase from the entry sits the living room and dining room with oor to ceiling windows that amplify the views. The rooms have pale, bleached wood oors laid on the diagonal. A modern replace is framed in marble, with a matching hearth, above which hangs a stunning painting by Albar of a classical Greek scene of a dreamer watched over by the Muses, while ancient columned buildings sit in the distance, all rendered in a slightly abstracted style. Surrounding it is a full wall of white shelves and cabinetry holding sentimental collections of souvenirs of the Calligases’ travels, gifts and ephemera. Tina collects colorful glass objets d’art, and the gleam of the fanciful pieces add those colors that our local lake lacks in comparison with the waters off the Greek Isles. Sparkles of cobalt blue, dots of red, and multicolor striations here and there wake the white, taupe and beige toneon-tones that comprise the furnishings.
In those, interest is done with textures, adding a richness to a basic palette. It all sits on a modern rug, lled with blocks of color and trimmed in a thick black outline. Stone appears in table bases, and columns anking the doors to the outside. Each is topped with a large urn holding greenery, framing the view in classical adornment. These remind on-lookers of buildings of Greek antiquity; there’s a bit of Acropolis here and there.
The dining room once again picks up the blue of the sea, this time on a rug, and in the upholstery of the chairs surrounding a beveled-edge, smoked glass table, supported on stone and metal urns. At this end of the welcoming table, twin silver gilt display cabinets hold still more wellloved items, and connecting them, leaning across the tops of both is a Peter Maxx lithograph, adding a splash of bright color. It’s a very inviting room that almost seems outdoors due to the bare veil separating it from the views.
Up nearly-nautical stairs with fat tubular rails, the upper story extends toward the street over the garage, and houses three bedrooms, a study, and four baths. It is here that you feel the more than 4,000 square feet of the plan.
On
the landing between the rooms, each of which has its own bath, is
another nod to their ancestry – a Greek Orthodox “Iconostasis” – a
collection of icons, some of which are 300-years-old, forming a small
family shrine.
The master bedroom is so high above the steep lot that it is almost like being on a cruise ship. The window treatments are merely sculptural valances to allow the view to take center stage. They are mostly invisible except for a folded presentation of a print material around a black and white button – a simple accompaniment to the bedding designed for Tina by Ethan Allen. The bed oats on a platform that also shares adjoining night tables, all in a treatment that mimics zebra wood.
The matching chest of drawers is elegant as well, with its brushed nickel handles meeting at the center of the unit instead of centering on each drawer. The other single furniture grouping is comprised of a Sharper Image massage chair, next to a small table of bent metal wire topped with glass – just perfect to hold a glass of wine as one relaxes for body work while enjoying the stunning view.
Tina and Gary had previously made their home in Southern Trace, when a whim brought them to look at properties on the lake. They only became serious about actually acquiring one when they encountered the view they now enjoy. With simple alterations and memories of their beloved Greek Islands in mind, they’ve created the perfect marriage of existing architecture and personal style.
The tailored bedding sports pillows with a subtle abstract print.
The same print was used for the insets in the box-pleated window treatments. (above and far left)
Cascading flowers flow over one of the many terraces that lead to the lake. For many years, Tina and Gary have relied on Lex Plant Farm to install and meticulously maintain the landscaping (above left and above).