Kitchen & Bath Cottage

Antique finishes, mirrored glass and stunning tile work define the kitchen and bath areas in the Lake Forbing Drive home.

Kitchen & Bath Cottage of Shreveport designed and installed the elegant touches that make the home unique.

“We get involved fairly early … throwing ideas around and starting the design. And then we are there until the end,” Kitchen & Bath Cottage designer Kori Shurley said.

The kitchen showcases Brookhaven custom cabinetry, painted with a vintage finish. Custom panels fashioned from antiqued mirror enhance the room’s two side-by-side refrigerators. The stone hood over the range from Francois & Co is eye-pleasing and functional.

A combination of a marble water jet pattern and a custom marble blend mosaic make up the kitchen’s backsplash. The countertops showcase honed Danby Marble and honed Absolute Black Granite.

All of the appliances selected for the home are Sub Zero and Wolf, including the outdoor kitchen’s fish fryer, grill, sink and mini refrigerator and the media room’s under-counter wine fridge.

The master bath has Brookhaven custom cabinetry, as well as marble floors and countertops. Intricate marble jet pattern inlays adorn the floor and the shower.

Kitchen & Bath Cottage also completed the tile work in the home’s remaining four bathrooms. “There is a lot of really fun, unique tile work in all the bathrooms,” Shurley said.

Marvin windows, from the Kitchen & Bath Cottage, illuminate the room and allow stunning views of nature into the home.

Go to www.kbcottage.com.

Hoogland’s

The homeowner envisioned a true garden courtyard upon entry to their home on Lake Forbing Drive.

That vision was brought to fruition through the work of Hoogland’s Landscape of Bossier City. The company worked on the project from concept to installation and grew the picture in the homeowner’s mind into a green retreat.

A brick walkway leads from the driveway to the courtyard where greenery blankets a wall that serves as the entry into the courtyard. Once inside, a seven-foot sugar kettle is centered on the kitchen window and outlined in cut bluestone step pads.

A tight boxwood hedge, accented with the chartreuse leaves of the lemon hosta, defines the space to create the ambience of an English garden, said owner and designer Mike Hoogland. There are also two layers of horsetail to create leafy and lush greenery.

Flanking both sides of the home’s front door are boxwoods. Boxwoods were also planted in the backyard to create symmetry.

Upon entry through the front door of the home, the eye is drawn to the focal point of the room – the pool in the backyard. The pool is visually placed at the center of the great room.

Out back, there are two large terrace patios connected with cut bluestone step pads and old used brick. The pool and back yard are abloom with flower beds that contain eight-foot tall conifers and seasonal flowers that concentrate color in the space’s corners.

Go to www.hooglands.com/.

True Blue Pools

The natural stone decking around the swimming pool at the Lake Forbing Drive home defines its personality and style.

True Blue Pools designed and installed the sophisticated setting for the in-ground chlorinated pool.

Custom ordered coping, created from popular Pennsylvania bluestone, makes the 20 by 40 foot pool pop at the remodeled home. “It really makes it stand out. The coping itself was specifically ordered for that pool,” said Tim Christian, owner/operator of True Blue Pools in Benton.

The Pennsylvania bluestone coping was used to cap the pool shell wall and features an edge that is bull nosed, or rounded, for safety. Bluestone is hardwearing, water resistant and nonslip, so it is easier for swimmers to grip.

The easy-to-maintain pool also features tropical blue marquis plaster that compliments the aptly named bluestone, as well as a 6-by-6 foot zero edge hot tub.

The pool deck was also completed with Pennsylvania bluestone in a Versailles pattern, which uses different sized tiles to create a random arrangement.

Double bullnose bluestone coping was used to construct a walkway, so the landscaping could continue to the back edge of the pool.

True Blue Pools also completed all of the bluestone work on the patios.

Red River Lights

“All landscape lighting comes down to three aspects – security, safety and beauty – to enhance the landscape and architecture of the home,” said Brandon Brice, Red River Lights owner and designer.

Red River Lights designed and installed a custom lightscape for the remodel of the Lake Forbing Drive home to provide unique illumination and extend the usable hours of the landscape past sunset.

Brice, who is nationally certified by the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals as a low voltage lighting technician, said the front is the most important aspect of a home. Lights were strategically placed across the anterior of the home to enhance the aesthetics of the nighttime landscaping. The lighting also makes the home appear larger and closer to the street.

Warm toned uplighting illuminates most of the ornamental trees and shrubs.

Downlighting from a large oak tree creates a moonlight effect to brighten the middle of the front lawn.

An astronomical timer in the front yard calculates when sunset will occur and turns the lights on automatically. It also adapts for Daylight Savings Time and does not require further adjustments.

The moonlight effect was continued into the backyard and path lighting was installed around the pool. Multiple zones were created so the homeowner can decide which areas to light with a remote control. All of the low voltage LED lights are set on timers.

Corner Collection

A complimentary mixture of materials and products make the Lake Forbing Drive home’s outdoor area a modern, yet beckoning oasis.

Corner Collection of Shreveport provided all of the outdoor furniture in an array of materials including iron, wood, wicker, aluminum and upholstery, all designed to withstand the Louisiana climate.

“That’s been very popular these days to mix and match materials of the furniture … so it’s not all exactly the same. We did that throughout,” Corner Collection owner Reggie Grieder, said.

Cushiony and comfortable furniture invite homeowners and guests to sit and enjoy the outdoors. Environmentally-friendly Ebel, along with fine woven Lloyd Flanders furniture, in gray tones, was placed in the outdoor kitchen’s fireplace area. Pest resistant South American Ipe’ Wood fine dining pieces, along with wrought iron, add durability and functionality to the space.

Ipe’ wood is one of the few woods that is good for outdoor use in Louisiana. Teak and Roble also work well. “Any other type [of wood] will dry rot and split in this climate,” Greider said.

Chaise lounges and a couple of contemporary chairs in a gunmetal gray were chosen for the pool area, while a Brown Jordan sectional sits near the master bedroom patio.

Several pots and planters dot the walkway near the entry to the home, as well as the garage and swimming pool areas. The pots are glazed, so they will not freeze or crack.

–Melissa Airhart