<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">When Kristy Armand’s youngest child left the nest, she decided to downsize and move closer to the two Lake Charles businesses she co-owns and the many events she attends as part of that business.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I love Sulphur,” Armand said. “I grew up there. It’s a great place to raise kids. But sometimes I was driving home to Sulphur just to sleep.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">With the help of a Century 21 Bessette Realtor, Armand was able to find a buyer for her 3,450-square foot Sulphur home and purchase a new patio home constructed by John Sturlese.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Patio, garden and townhomes are terms for residential real estate that come up to or very near the edge of the property line.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Armand’s Sulphur home had three attics. Before her move this past February, she spent weekends cleaning out those attics, paring down items in closets and selling what she would not be taking to her new place.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Her new place is near I-210 and is actually bigger, at 2,200 square feet, than she was looking for.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Customizing the floor plan and the house’s features were an option. But in addition to the extra cost, customizing the house would require more of her time.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I remember all the calls from the contractor when we built our first home,” Armand said. “That was a headache and I wanted to avoid all that. I didn’t want to worry about the details. Plus, we’re building a new office right now.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Sturlese made it simple: Pick one of three floor stains for the wood floors. Pick one of the three granite samples. Pick two wall paint colors.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She said Sturlese’s reputation for well-built homes put her mind to ease. However, she didn’t know exactly what that entailed until she made a few visits to the house before it was finished and was pleasantly surprised.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I knew there was a pantry of course,” Armand said, opening the double doors to the large walk-in pantry, “but I didn’t know it would be this large.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She appreciated the scrolled corbels, the pull out baking pan storage and spice storage on each side of her range. She didn’t realize some of her kitchen cabinets would be glass fronted. The entry way had a granite-surfaced built-in buffet — more storage. She didn’t realize the Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom would be so large.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Although she only has one attic now rather than three, it is a floored space with built-in stairs. She’ll use it for storage, but it could also be finished for added space. The two-car garage also has plenty of room.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I could easily park a lawn mower in there if I chose to do so, which I do not,” she said, chuckling. “After taking care of an acre of land, I was looking for a place that I could hire someone to take care of without paying an arm and leg.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">For the first time Armand didn’t have to worry about buying furnishings and décor based on how the color, fabric or construction would fare in a home with growing kids.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She said bye-bye to beige and enlisted the help of a friend, Dene’ Culton, to help make some of her decorating decisions.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I have a good eye, but she pushed be out of my comfort zone,” Armand said. “I’m not the kind of person who would have picked out a blingy pillow, but now that I see it all together, I love it.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Furniture came from local stores and she also had pieces refinished that her father, J.C. Como, had built for her through the years. He is retired from a local plant. His father was a carpenter.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Price was important to her.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“You don’t have to go nuts spending,” she said. “I can’t. I have kids in school.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Her one splurge was a beautiful chandelier over her dining room table.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I had gave up my outside fan to get it,” she said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The dining room area is the first area seen upon entering the Armand home. She said she wouldn’t miss the fan, considering temperatures here mean only a couple of months out of the year when she might want to sit outside and use it.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“At first this didn’t feel like home,” Armand said. “Now it does. I can’t wait to get home after work, even if I bring work home.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She thinks her new house began to feel more like home after she filled it with photos of her children and a few other key items.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Armand feels lucky she’s now situated near movies, the mall, restaurants and other activities that Lake Charles has to offer. She said she is thankful to be able to start fresh as she makes this transition from working mother of three to empty nester.</span><p>Rather than matching everything</p>