Dream cottage on Elm Street
Published 6:00 pm Sunday, June 17, 2018
The Jay and Jamie Crain home
<p class="p1">When Jamie Crain first saw the Elm Street house she and her husband, Jay, call home, she described it as a “big blue elephant.”</p><p class="p1">“The railing didn’t match, the brick steps were falling down and there was a huge dilapidated utility room in the back,” she said. “It was painted a not-quite-right shade of blue.” </p><p class="p1">The house with the wide center hall was built in the early 1900s. The sunroom, which Jamie uses for her specialty painting and other artwork, was closed in at some point during the depression, a time when many homeowners needed income and boarders needed affordable rooms. </p><p class="p1">According to a building permit article published in the <em>American Press</em>, it was one of the most expensive homes built during the period, $3,000. The average of the other houses issued permits around the same time were in the $500 and below range. The owner was Louis Wagner, a long-time insurance agent in Lake Charles. </p><p class="p1">Jamie had always wanted to experience living in town and redoing an older home. She fell in love with the arches and the wood floors.</p><p class="p1">“My husband was not as in love,” she said with a grin. </p><p class="p1">But he was game, willing to use the experience he’d gained working with Jamie’s father, a carpenter, on past projects. </p><p class="p1">“My husband can do anything and he’s very particular,” Jamie said. “He does good work. Everything has to be just so.” </p><p class="p1">The house had been vacant for five years when the Crain’s purchased it in 2000. Jay’s parents were skeptical. </p><p class="p1">“My son told us he wasn’t going to live here,” Jamie said. </p><p class="p1">The Crains had built two new homes together before deciding to tackle the Elm Street renovation. Those houses – one was a large two-story in Moss Bluff – only required 6 months of work from start to finish, and that includes the time it took to clear the land for building. The Elm street renovation took 10 months. </p><p class="p1">“We stayed with my parents,” Jamie said. “It was difficult, but in hindsight, it was a great time to reacquaint myself with them. The work was exhausting. We’d work until late in the evening on the house, but when we would come home, my mother would have dinner for us. My father and father-in-law helped with the renovation.”</p><p class="p1">The kitchen area was opened up, the utility room removed and stained glass was added. The Crains totally renovated the large upstairs attic, using the space for a workout room, play area, storage and full bath. The third downstairs bedroom was recast as a master closet and bath. </p><p class="p1">During work on the house, Jay discovered the remains of two original fireplaces. The mortar was removed from these and the back- and front-porch steps. A bricklayer rebuilt the steps and Jay used the remaining salvaged bricks for a partial porch privacy wall. When he tore down the dilapidated shed to build a 15-foot-by-30-foot workshop for Jamie, he found what is probably evidence of an old blacksmith shop on the property. </p><p class="p1">The solid craftsmanship and superior quality of the wood proved an advantage after Hurricane Rita. The house had minimal damage.</p><p class="p1">Jamie has loved the neighborhood and neighbors as much as the house. She took advantage of living near three parks, Drew, Locke and the Civic Center. The front porch is one of the home’s best features. When the weather allows, friends, family and neighbors prefer it to visiting indoors. </p><p class="p1">“Olivia, my granddaughter painted, played with her dolls and ate watermelon on this porch,” Jamie said. “When she was about eight, she hosted Ladies of Elm Street porch parties.</p><p class="p1">Olivia hand wrote invitations to neighbors, inviting them for coffee and breakfast. </p><p class="p1">The interior wall color is typical of today’s modern cottage style. However, light yellow-gold, bluish green and pink have always been Jamie’s favorites. When friends were embracing the deep and vibrant hues of the Tuscany style, she did not follow suit. </p><p class="p1">“Those colors just weren’t me,” she said. “Now the colors I’ve always loved are in again and some of those same friends are using them.”</p><p class="p1">She describes her overall style as playful and sentimental. Several pieces in the house are heirloom, including a linen chest from the home of Jay’s great grandparents. On the inside of a door, beginning in 1914, the year is recorded along with penciled marks of the height of two generations. This and other furniture has moved from house to house and will continue to move with the family, even when they decide to downsize.</p><p class="p1">However, Jay said, “It’s not what goes into the house, but what goes on in the house that makes it a home.” </p><p class="p1">“It’s the highs and the lows,” Jamie said, “the births and the deaths endured together with the constant help of the Lord. Above all, I always want Him at the center of our lives and our home. He has made the difference.”</p><p class="p1">Jamie said a lived-in, comfortable, welcoming look and a playful cottage feel make the house homey from an aesthetic standpoint. </p><p class="p1">“It makes me happy, and of course, a house just isn’t home without a cat or two.” </p>