Ghali Family Welcomes opera Guild into their home

They say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is certainly the case behind the beautiful new build in Shreveport’s Highland neighborhood, where Dr. Ghali and Mrs. Hope Ghali have created a gloriously child-loving pitcher of sweetness. They’ll share metaphorical glasses of it and other delightful things, when they play host the Shreveport Opera Guild’s 65th Anniversary Gala, “Star Sapphire Soiree,” on May 3 without a single sour note.

A few years ago, the growing Ghali family lived just down the street in a stately Colonial. When they found a slightly bigger one in the same neighborhood that they thought would accommodate their increased size and needs, they purchased it with the intention of having it redone to their style. However, once inside the job, their contractors sadly shook their heads and declared it not worth the trouble. Deep inside the house, too much was wrong. It was then that the couple took a drive to Dallas’ Highland Park, a neighborhood that was built about the same time as Shreveport’s South Highlands. There they saw houses they were attracted to and in styles that would complement the existing homes in the area. Taking photos of the one on which they agreed, they brought the visuals back to their architect, Chris Elberson, along with a list of desires for their newly clean slate and collaborated and concocted what Hope calls her “ideal dream house.” Elberson streamlined the plans to their hopes and desires and their lot, and came up with a custom design for the couple and their children. Builder Jonathan Hamilton interpreted that design into form, and the family moved in August 2011.

Angled on a corner, the home incorporates some of the classic details of the Highlands neighborhood but stands crisp and new. The rectangular Dallas prototype was “bent” to produce an almost “C”-shaped home with two wings.

Upon entering the home, visitors are greeted by a stunning double staircase, swirling down under a cupola decorated with delicate carvings, and holding a gigantic crystal chandelier over the marble floors. Although the large home will easily accommodate up to 350 people for the Opera Gala, it normally houses just six – the Ghali’s and their four children.

The home keeps the central core of it as the formal living, dining and kitchen, but down one wing it becomes a sort of “family central.” Combining one end of the kitchen, a casual dining area, and a massive family room, the needs and wants of the family are kept stylishly close.

The kitchen is well-designed with two large furniture-like islands topped with marble separated so that people can move and flow in between them as they mix and mingle. The islands hold child-level necessities so they may serve themselves, but the sophisticated Emperador marble in a light color on the dark islands and in a dark color on the countertops on the offwhite cabinetry, keep the scene decidedly upscale. Long after the children are grown, this kitchen will continue to look good and be functional.

One of the finest aspects of the room, and throughout the house itself is the light, which spills into every room via large windows. The shape of the house utilizes light from both sides of the home. One window, original to the home they bought but could not repair, is inserted into the pantry door with its leaded glass making the functional glamorous. In the adjoining casual dining area, the windows are left uncovered to make each meal seem like a picnic around the large round table with its comfortable scrolled Parson’s chairs picking up the subtle greens and golds throughout this large area.

The kitchen also contains one of the most magical features in this child-focused home. In an architectural void created by changing angles where the kitchen and family room meet is one of several secret hiding places throughout the home for the Ghali gang. Opening a cabinet door reveals the entry to a secluded reading nook filled with blankets and pillows under lights, with books scattered across the floor. The Ghali children occasionally disappear into this and other such spaces for a little privacy. During a previous party, when one of the children was not seen for awhile, she was found deeply and comfortably snoozing in the precious alcove, book nearby.

For the Opera Gala, “The Star Sapphire Soiree,” not only will the kitchen be used for food, but various stations in other rooms will present inventive international foods and entertainment based on operatic productions. For example, the upcoming production of “Turandot” will be feted by Italian delicacies. The Shreveport Opera Xpress singers will perform in areas throughout the home, while patrons dine on a heavy buffet catered by The Petroleum Club and toast their success with drinks from a full bar by Thrifty Liquor featuring a signature Sapphire Cocktail. A preparty for major supporters will begin the evening of fun and fundraising. The gala will take place from 7:30 to 10:30 May 3. For more information on attending, call Mikey Carlisle at 797-1171 or Judith Werner at 868-4091.

Separated from the kitchen by a large open arch, the dining area gradually becomes the family room or what the family calls “the hub.” Work stations comprised of four small desks, then joined with a library-like carrel, are personalized for each child to play or do homework. They are bright, and filled with educational toys and fun belongings. ABC’s and 123’s don the walls, and a similarly embellished chest of drawers from Hobby Lobby of all places holds more supplies and forms a half-wall to the upholstered area of the room. The seating around the numerous built-in flanking the fireplace is child-friendly but adult-friendly too with its classical lines. Dark hardwood floors, a coffered ceiling detailed with elaborate moldings, and silk Roman blinds in stripes add classical sophistication, but the polka-dot trim on them keeps the mood happy and bright. Down the hallway toward the garage, a mudroom of built-in personalized areas holds the coats, backpacks and other needs, all close to the downstairs laundry room. On its wall is the first of several murals by Delphus Keeman. It tugs at the heart with its simple clothesline baring in the breeze the favorite baby outfits of the four Ghali children.

One of the best features of the home, and certainly these casual areas, is that they will grow and change with the children, and as the childlike furnishings are swept away, they will be replaced with articles of the new function. The needs will be addressed as the family grows up. However, the beautiful bonesof the rooms – the epic fireplaces and deep, luscious moldings, the wood floors and high ceilings, the large windows, will remain as an everlasting palette for what is “painted” on it by the family.

A formal dining room and living room flank the dramatic entryway. In each, two stunning oil portraits by Vicky Popwell of the children brightly gleam from the walls, combining with the subtle greens and golds treated individually in each room. The frames are of Rococo design, very elaborate, gilded and formal. For dining, the Ghalis gather around a mahogany table that belonged to Ghali before he was married. The chandelier, which lights the room, was a gift from his parents and was used at his and Hope’s wedding at Shreveport Country Club years ago and now lights formal meals. The living room seems almost English with its quiet elegance. Although there are many carved pieces and soft floral fabrics, the room is not overpowering due to the clean lines of the simple bronze lighting fixtures with just a simple “necklace” of crystals draping them.

Upstairs, a landing room works as a before-bedtime media room where the family can cuddle with their parents, and the children can relax and calm down before going to their fun, personalized bedrooms. Gregor sleeps in a boxcar bunk bed designed and created by his grandfather, Terry “Pops” Siegele. His handiwork has impacted all the children’s rooms in some way, though more murals by Kleeman certainly add to them as well. Gregor has all sorts of train memorabilia in his suite, and in a flash it can grow with him when he tires of it. The bedroom designs extend to each adjoining bathroom, and Gregor’s restroom’s walls are filled with signs and gears that promote those railroad remembrances.

The couple’s three darling daughters have a very smart mother, who made certain all their walk-in closets were of the same size, and that they each had their own bath because they will be stair-stepping through high school together, and she sought to appease any fighting in advance. Garrisyn, the youngest, has a room filled with nursery rhymes. The family agrees that the rhyme on her wall portrays her personality: “There was a little girl that had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid.” No one could really believe that of the cute little blonde surrounded by her pink palace filled with characters from childhood poems. Gabrielle has an animal-filled nature-themed room with a cottage bunk bed that looks as those she lives in the woods that surround it. And Gracie as she grows from childhood will be followed by her palatial Parisian inspired room with its spiral staircaseaccessed ironwork nook over her patent leather padded headboard. She can climb above it all to read, play, or daydream. Although themed now, each room will easily convert for their more grown up versions. The hallway separating the children’s rooms is painted as a field of sunflowers, but on closer inspection reveals the flowers are actually growth charts very ingeniously. Subtle markings for inches and feet and made here and there, and the growth of the children is definitely given a pride of place in their part of the home.

The master bedroom suite upstairs is the one used by Ghali and Hope and is a soothing paradise of blues and browns, and each has their own bathroom, connected only by a pass-through shower. Coordinating but not matching linen wallpapers make the feminine/masculine divide, as does the purposeful design. Hers leads into a wonderful closet, filled with neat boxes labeled with each child’s name, as well as other necessities. His connects to a home gym filled with all sorts of healthy workout options and a mirrored wall, but further, pictures of the children to remind him why he needs to stay healthy.

The home had more family photographs than most, but the owners have found interesting ways to display them like in the upstairs hallway where a piece of thick molding holds frames neatly instead of hammering nails into the walls. Coordinating frames keep the shelves from appearing cluttered, make for a very cohesive design.

While it is clear that the Ghalis love their children, they also give back to the arts in the community, and the Opera Gala will certainly showcase the flow and versatility of the home, as things get pushed here and there to accommodate an entirely different crowd of people both inside and outside under a tent in the backyard.

Shreveport Opera is an organization worthy of their support and much local praise as they enter into their 65th consecutive season. It is one of the oldest opera companies in the United States, and across its six decades has played host to some of the world’s greatest performers including Beverly Sills Leontyne Price, Franco Corelli and Sherrill Milnes. Other internationally-acclaimed stars, most notably Renee Fleming and Greer Grimsley, have traipsed across its stage.

In addition to providing programming for the adults in our community, Shreveport Opera also introduces the artform to the younger members of northwest Louisiana, thereby creating a continuous audience for itself. Shreveport Opera Xpress has been educating and entertaining children by its performances in schools, libraries, community centers and hospitals since 2001.

It is the only program of its kind in the state. SOX reaches around 50,000 children, youth and adults annually, creating a unique cultural experience for those who might not otherwise be introduced to such things, as well as teaching valuable lessons through their social messages. It is no wonder that such a child-centered family would support such a holistic and encompassing arts organization.

When Ghali and Hope couldn’t make their purchased house into what they wanted and needed, they took the opportunity of having a great lot in a wonderfully central Shreveport neighborhood and squeezed the lemons of a potential loss into a festive, familyand community-friendly big pitcher of delicious lemonade that will house and amuse their family for years, grow with them and make many people, including the patrons of the Opera smile.

–Noma Sandlin

Want to go?

The Ghalis are strong supporters of the arts and were happy to host the monumental anniversary for the opera.

Kicking off its 65th season, the Shreveport Opera is one of the oldest opera companies in the country and has featured some of the world’s greatest performers, including Leontyne Price and Renee Fleming.

The gala will feature live music including The Shreveport Opera Express singers, full bar from Thrifty Liquor with a signature Sapphire Cocktail and catering by the Petroleum Club to include a heavy buffet with inventive international food with ties to the grand operas.

There will even be a special pre-party for major patrons.

The gala is a celebration of the major anniversary milestone and a fundraiser to continue the strong tradition. To receive an invitation, contact Susannah Poljak at 861-1004 or Mikey Carlisle at 797-1171.