Rita LeBleu

rlebleu@americanpress.com

Home on the water

About seven years ago, Michael Boyer was scrolling around the online Calcasieu Parish Police Jury map, looking at properties on the water.

“I knew I wanted acreage and probably wouldn’t be able to afford to build in Lake Charles,” he said.

There were naysayers who told him he would never be able to afford a place on the water…anywhere.

“When people tell me I can’t do something, it makes me even more determined,” he said.

Five years ago, he drove up to the 3.5 acres of property he now calls home in Westlake, and found out who owned it.

“I knocked on his door and asked him if I could buy his property,” Boyer said.

The owner didn’t want to sell, but Boyer was smitten. He ended up keeping the grass mowed – for free – for a couple of years because he wanted to spend time there and he wanted the place so bad. The owner planned to make the property an RV park.

“It’s the only acreage on the street that’s within the city limits,” Boyer said.

It would probably be an RV park today, but Westlake residents, especially Boyer’s neighbors, showed up at a city council meeting and objected. They didn’t want to live next door to an RV park.

“The next morning I called the owner and told him I heard it didn’t go through,” Boyer said.

The two men came to terms.

Boyer says it is his and his oldest son’s love of this parcel of land on the water that makes this house a home. The land, and the sense of security that Boyer gets from knowing that he’s done everything he can to make this house safer than his last.

“When I lived in Sulphur I was robbed at gunpoint,” Boyer said.

Security is state of the art inside and out. Boyer keeps a gun secure but within easy reach, and the house has other security features.

The view of the trees in the yard and the river are relaxing and peaceful. The road is a dead end and keeps traffic to a minimum. The setting is quiet. There is a boat slip.

“We can launch a boat here and be around the corner at the Isle of Carpri in no time,” Boyer said.

The house is a 2,300-square-foot, two-story with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. Boyer designed the layout and contracted the construction. A licensed electrician, he also did the wiring. The master suite includes a large walk-in closet, a bath with soaking tub and walk-in shower with double rain showerheads. The hot water system is on-demand. Insulation is sprayed-in foam.

Boyer’s son was six when the house was being built. At one point, he operated the mini excavator. His son also insisted on a laundry chute from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs laundry/mudroom.

“He likes the movie Home Alone, Boyer said. “The boy had a laundry chute.”

Boyer kept his indexed notebook of ideas handy throughout the project. Tony Tamassi was contractor. The shell is a 30x50x28 blue metal building from Mallett Construction.

The house is a work in progress, as Boyer is waiting to get an estimate on the cost for adding an outside kitchen area.

His storage building is a freight container, which he’ll eventually paint to match the home.

(exterior)

The Michael Boyer and sons’ home

12

The combination cable and dark stained oak railing is one of the Pinterest ideas that Boyer used in the home. The industrial look is perfect for this traditional style home tucked inside a blue metal building.

0005 with 9991 as inset

The island is shaped like a baseball diamond – suggested by Boyer’s son. The ceiling was too high for a vent, so it pops up out of the “diamond.”

0001 with 92??? 3???

The mudroom/laundry room is functional and good looking. Note the perforated metal cabinet door inserts, another Pinterest idea. Boyer also used the metal inserts for the under-the-stairs kennel for Kenzie, the Boyer’s longhaired Chihuahua.

9996

In addition to plenty of natural light and overhead lighting, Boyer added these sconces about midway up the living room wall, a necessity when the ceiling is so high, he said.

9995

This photo shows the Boyer’s 14-foot Christmas tree.