<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Lacassine native Jason Roussell said he could pretty much live in any type or size structure. He built his home in Iowa in 2015 mainly for his five children.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“My kids put up with a lot,” Jason Roussell said. “For one thing, I work long hours sometimes, and they get frustrated by that.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Local developer James Harper describes Roussell as imaginative, persistent, a workaholic and a perfectionist. Harper sold him the 18 acres where Roussell built his 5.900-square-foot home. That acreage was part of a 160-acre tract where Harper kept his Harper Rodeo Company bulls. Harper Ranch, a new Iowa subdivision is on the remainder of the property. Roussell has built some of the houses in Harper Ranch.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I wasn’t planning to sell that corner, but I think Jason asked me about it just about every time I saw him after we met for the first time,” Harper said, chuckling.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Roussell has been a contractor for the past 18 years. His own home took about seven months and is filled with so many creative gems and repurposed materials, someone accused him of “spending way too much time on Pinterest.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“None of my ideas for my house came from Pinterest,” he said. “I’ve never been on Pinterest. I don’t like to be on a computer at all.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Roussell doesn’t’ have anything against Pinterest. Nor does he mind incorporating Pinterest ideas into homes he’s built at the request of homeowners. It’s just that he doesn’t need Pinterest, and he wanted his house to truly be one-of-a-kind.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I’ve had about 15 years to think about how I’d build a house if I ever built one,” he said. “Sometimes I just wake up with an idea and figure out how to make it work. Most people don’t want their houses to look like the one down the street. They want it to be different.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Roussell’s imagination may make him popular among those who want a house that’s unique. Crew members don’t always share that enthusiasm.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“My everyday guys get aggravated,” he said. “I’m thankful they stick with me.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The Roussell home has a coffered, cathedral, dome and barrel ceiling.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Doing the ceilings the way I did took twice as much time, twice as much money and three time as much thought,” Roussell admitted.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The family room is built lodge-style. A massive fireplace, the room’s focal point — rises from a genuine brick floor.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“We cut the front and back off old bricks to make the floor because today’s pavers are synthetic,” Roussell said. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s not the best feeling floor underfoot. We wear our flip flops.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The massive fireplace front, mantle and wall, range backsplash and kitchen island base are concrete that has been troweled, stamped, painted and finished to look like cypress timbers and stone.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Kitchen countertops are concrete.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Why brick and concrete?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“My kids and I are all fairly rough on things,” Roussell said. “Materials had to be durable and look good. I’ve got an eight-year-old who could tear up a Sherman tank.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Deer trophies are compliments of Roussell’s sons.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Roussell credits Bryan Boudreaux with the idea for adding the barn sliders to create the pantry screened door and the repurposed wood family room door.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Creative light fixtures were fashioned and wired using repurposed items, including an old saw blade that Roussell picked up during a flea market jaunt. Jason Fontenot was his electrical go-to guy.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Even when light fixtures aren’t one-of-kind, they make a statement.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The entryway features repurposed tin and lumber, a wrought-iron door from entry way to living room, faux-treated walls by Jason’s brother’s painting company, reclaimed wood and doors and a floor with brick laid around cross timbers.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Oak barrels are used on each side of the fireplace and as a washbasin base in the half-bath.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He used a horse trough and old water well pump in the master bath. The walk-in shower is massive and features multiple shower heads and built-in seat. It’s also finished to look like stone.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I got the barrels from a friend I made in West Monroe,” Roussell said. “They’re from Landry’s Vinyards and they were used for wine production.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Reclaimed wood used on the cathedral ceiling over the kitchen is from an Opelousas vendor who has been buying and selling reclaimed wood for about 40 years, according to Roussell.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">While Roussell built his house mainly for his children, he credits his customers for helping make his house a home.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Without them I couldn’t have done this, and for that I’m grateful.”</span><p>Jason Roussell built this 5</p>