Laurie and Chip Martin had been looking for a piece of waterfront property for a year and a half. When their real estate agent told them about a place on Bayou Guy, which is off the Calcasieu River in south Lake Charles, Chip recognized the area as a once popular duck hunting paradise, but not necessarily as a place to call home.

However, when they saw the property, they were enthralled. “It looked like a secret park. All the trees (well established live oaks) were already planted by the family who owned it,” Laurie said.

Once the Martins had the perfect place to build, they took five years to plan the perfect house. “Because of the amount of time we had for planning, everything is so well thought out there are very few things that we would have done differently,” Laurie said. She also admitted that she and her husband have certain personality traits that helped hone every detail of the house down to where the keys would be placed after the Martins walked in the door.

James Fontenot Construction, which generally builds commercial rather than residential structures, is the builder. The house has 5,300 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, four full baths and two half baths.

The three-storied estate makes an impressive picture with the bayou behind it, quite a picture after the ho-hum scenery of the country road leading to this secret hideaway of estates. Across the water is a wooded area and the Martins are often treated to “Kodak moments” that include the birds that frequent the Southwest Louisiana Gulf Coast. Since the house has loads of windows, the natural surroundings are viewable from the comfort of the home. However, there are plenty of outside living spaces from which to enjoy the view: a porch, multi layers of decks and even a functional widow’s walk.

The home’s entry way is open to the third-story ceiling. During the building of the gently curving staircase, bit by bit, the stair rail was clamped to achieve the graceful rounded design. Sparkling above it all is an enormous crystal chandelier that can be lowered for cleaning. Separating the grand foyer from the rest of the house is a barrel-paneled ceiling that separates the foyer from the family room. (It was created by moistening the sheetrock until it was pliable enough to help form the arch.)

The woodwork and trim in this house adds a depth of quality to every room. The crown molding is almost a foot wide. The finger groove casing around the windows — thick. There is dentil crown combined with egg and dart in the formal dining area. There’s panel moulding and wainscoting.

“I wanted this house to be beautiful, but very comfortable,” Laurie said. As imposing as the Martin house may seem because of its size, setting and detailed craftsmanship, Laurie has succeeded in making it welcoming with her choice of colors and furnishings. Nothing is fussy.

It is a house built for entertaining family and friends and the most popular hangout is the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, she and her husband, who both cook, worked out every detail of the kitchen in advance: Where she’d place food items on the Titanium granite counter surface when she pulled them from the SubZero fridge and where she would tuck a vacuum out of sight so she wouldn’t have to run downstairs when she needed one. One of the many great takeaways from the Martin house is the trashcan opening, cut out from the granite, which means everything can be wiped easily into the trashcan.

Her backsplash was installed on the vertical instead of the horizontal. Bar stools are covered in axis hides. (Chip and Laurie both fish and hunt, though duck hunting holds little appeal for her.)

In the corner of the kitchen, where there’s plenty of room for all, and for all to see, is proof of Laurie’s good eye for design (and that it can be affordable). It is a chair from the Habitat for Humanity Recycle Store, which her husband tried to veto.

Even with all her planning, Laurie did make one change in the kitchen after the carpenter, Joel Guidry, began. “Because the stain is dark, I decided to lighten the look by adding frosted seeded glass to some of the cabinet doors.” She also added back lighting. Under cabinet lighting is achieved with LED tape light which is becoming very popular and one of the greatest — not often seen — additions to the Martin house are the pop-up electrical receptacles. To make morning coffee even faster, a water line was plumbed directly to her coffee pot.

The kitchen walls are a vibrant color close to Tiffany blue. “I didn’t want to play it safe with color,” Laurie said, mentioning the tans and taupes that have grown so common. She also used a bright blue in an alcove that really popped among the surrounding grays. A blackberry wine wall color in one of the powder rooms is positively stunning with the Tiffany style stained glass pendant light. Also of note in this room: Laurie used an antique washstand purchased from a local antique store and repurposed it to be used as a hammered copper washbasin cabinet. Generally this renders the drawer space useless, but Guidry used a design that keeps the drawers as working.

The dining room is more formal with wainscoting, deep wine color on the upper half of the wall and ornate crown molding. In each corner are columns that Laurie said her husband found years ago and held onto through the years. These are topped with Grecian figurines.

In Chip’s cypress paneled office is an extensive collection of WWII memorabilia and wildlife trophies that include a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, an elk and the claw from a 13’ alligator.

The master bedroom closet is another testament to Chip’s and Laurie’s careful advance planning. “I didn’t want any wasted space,” she said. They use a library ladder to easily access items that would normally be out of reach. The master bedroom features overhead lighting for nighttime reading that can be controlled from each side and the linen Roman shades from Phyllis White and Budget Blinds add to the simple elegance. But the most eye-catching piece in the master bedroom is an unusual occasional table that Laurie has held onto through the years. It is an heirloom from her grandmother Spano. The top is supported by a base of three swans. “She’d be very pleased to know I’m using it. She was somewhat of an eccentric,” Laurie shared.

The master bath is large and spectacular with its soapstone his and her countertops. His is slightly higher. Light fixtures are modern for this area. But the pièce de résistance in this styled down to the detail home is the subtle yet glamorous bathtub nook with chandelier, slipper chair and a sleek, sophisticated oversized tub. “Chip calls it the sarcophagus,” Laurie said, laughing. The effect is so extraordinary that the manufacturer of the bathtub contacted Laurie to find out if the company could take photos to promote their products. “When I picked it out, it was a little pricey,” Laurie said. But by the time we were ready to put it in, the store had put it on display and I was able to get it for less.”

The Martins house is out of reach for most. But in it are elements that will probably soon become common in many fine homes — like the pop up electrical outlets and a coffee pot with its own water source. It was also surprising to discover furnishings in a house of this caliber that can be found in many of our homes, like the comfortable couch, an extraordinary table from a favorite aunt or the bargain find that will never be enough of a bargain to gain a spouse’s appreciation.

When asked what makes a house a home, Chip and Laurie Martin pointed to the way their personalities shaped their choices in setting, in design and in furnishings. “Because it has our personality everywhere, this house immediately felt like home,” Laurie said. And like people who live in houses of all sizes on the water, on busy streets and on country roads across Southwest Louisiana, the Martins consider their house a home because it is their retreat from “the craziness of the busy outside world.”The Martin House on Bayou Guy is just as impressive from the water as it is from the front. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)