Beauty and cunning design dazzle the eyes in a transitional home nestled on the edge of the woods.

Located on Abbie Glenn in the Lakeside at Long Lake subdivision in Shreveport, the home was just what the homeowners wanted – contemporary and different. They knew it was perfect for them the first time they saw it.

Berry Builders constructed the home in 2015 as a speculative home. Builder Steve Berry said he wanted to go in a different direction with the overall feel of the home. “Refined, elegant style, and not so contemporary that it scared people off,” he said.

At its core, the home is white and neutral, and serves as a canvas for its unique design elements, as well as the works of art and accessories installed by Nader’s Gallery of Shreveport.

The homeowners – who call Edward Nader the “master of design” – happened upon the gallery by chance, after they took some canvases in for stretching. They fell in love with the store.

“[They] had come from a very traditional house that was very heavy and dark,” Nader, designer and coowner of Nader’s Gallery, said. “They wanted to do a 180.”

Nader’s provided the majority of the artwork and several unique decorative pieces in the home.

The home’s entryway is marked by arched wooden doors custom built by United Millwork of Baton Rouge. An open stairway with a wrought iron handrail leads upstairs from the foyer. A glass-globed chandelier hangs down the center of the stairwell, while matching sconces grace the walls.

The family room is visible from the foyer. The most noticeable feature in the room is the large limestone fireplace and mantel that was purchased in Dallas and installed by Berry Builders. Berry said the stone weighs approximately 2,000 pounds.

White floating shelves flank the fireplace atop walnut-stained custom cabinets crafted by Keller Cabinets of Shreveport.

The dining room is adjacent to the family room. An elegant arch encased in wood and trim marks the transition between the two spaces.

Berry said the chandelier above the dining table lends an elegant touch without being over the top. “Everybody who looked at the house said, ‘That chandelier, that light is perfect.’” Four brilliantly hued panels from Nader’s Gallery, titled “On My Way,” command attention on a dining room wall. The opposing wall is home to six mirrors with a bullseye in the center and white trim. Several Roger Thomas Grecian amphorae are placed atop the credenza beneath the mirrors. “They’re very elegant and classic in style, but updated because they’re elongated and a matte white,” Nader said.

The homeowners enjoy the way the kitchen opens into the living room. Another arch marks the space between the family room and kitchen.

Striking male and female sculptures, posted on each side of the arch, add height and drama. A 9-1/2 foot island, with seating for four, is topped with Colonial White granite. The double kitchen sink is square with a cylindrical industrial faucet. While the island is gray, the rest of the kitchen cabinetry is white.

A butler pantry with open glass shelving features an icemaker and twotemperature wine cooler. Open glass shelving showcases hand-blown pieces created by glass artist Joe Cariati. On the other side of the room, a long rectangular prep sink, with open glass shelving on each side, sits beneath a window that peers into the backyard. “It was originally designed – if you were having a party – to be sort of a second bar area or a buffet,” said Berry.

The remaining countertops are Absolute Black granite and the backsplash is white Carrara honed marble. The 60-inch refrigerator/ freezer is a Frigidaire, while the rest of the kitchen appliances are KitchenAid.

Giant white and black oversized fruit adorn the countertops – cherries with a long, dramatic silver stem and pears. Quirky accessories from Mukul Goyal, exclusive in the United States to Nader’s Gallery, feature basic human forms and can be found in the kitchen area, as well as throughout the home.

Off to one side of the kitchen is a small media room with a full bath. The television cabinet in the room can be used to hide office or entertainment equipment. A quartet of framed blue and orange art reside on one wall, while a large silver dog rests in a corner.

A half-bath on the other side of the kitchen has a floating cabinet with a top-mounted sink. Long, graceful wall vases from Nader’s hang in the hall.

The master suite has a simple coffered ceiling. The vanity in the master bath is white with contemporary lines and a Colonial White granite countertop. It contains two sinks and three mirrors mounted on the wall above. Sconces are placed between the mirrors. A spacious five by five-foot shower, with frameless double glass doors, multiple showerheads, and tile from Eleganza Tile in Dallas, beckons from one side of the room. The rectangular tile on the bathroom floor is Anthracite, also from Eleganza Tile.

A second downstairs suite also has it’s own bathroom. Three sculptures of repelling men appear to shimmy down the wall outside the bedroom.

A series of 10-by-12-foot doors in the family room, also built by United Millworks, overlook the back patio and yard. The patio has a dark stained wood ceiling with timbers and recessed lighting. A custom-built natural gas fire pit sits just beyond the covered terrace area. The outdoor kitchen has a refrigerator, sink and natural gas grill.

All of the wood floors in the home are Regal Hardwoods hickory flooring from United Tile in Shreveport. The color of all the rooms is the same – a custom blend gray from Caddo Paint.

A second family room upstairs has a direct vent fireplace with a mantel and built-in bookshelves that are the same gray as the kitchen island. The fireplace surround is Absolute Black mosaic tile. The recessed ceiling has concealed lighting.

Two simple radius back chairs, from Design 9, are placed in front of the fireplace. An unusual piece in the room is the organic white pebble table, from Nader’s Gallery, that looks like a large rock.

Many of the space’s accessories are smaller Roger Thomas pieces. (Thomas is an interior designer known for his work on the Wynn Las Vegas.)

An art piece by Mexican artist Yuri Zatarain rests on a reclaimed wood pedestal.

“Every piece [the homeowners] have pulled and collected, you’re not going to see anywhere else. They’re exclusive to Nader’s for the region,” Nader said.

Two more bedrooms are located upstairs, along with a full bath. Nooks at the entrance to each of those rooms have colorful groupings of glass on the shelves.

“It’s a very comfortable space,” Berry said.