Goodbye gray, hello color
Published 8:37 pm Sunday, October 15, 2017
David and Cammie Olney’s home
David and Cammie Olney are the third owners of the brick two-story at 1003 Seventh Street in Lake Charles.
H.B. and Natalie White built the house in the 1940s, according to David Olney.
“Natalie was a pistol from what I understand,” Cammie said. “She was raised in the Baptist Children’s Orphanage where the school is now.”
Her son, Dr. Tommy White lived in this house until he was eight years old. He told Cammie that he remembers the house as a home of rambunctious play. White had two brothers.
Pearl Muller, of the Muller Department Store family, was the second owner until her death in 1994 at the age of 108.
“The house was still filled with her things when we looked at it for the first time,” Cammie said. “One closet was filled with furs and evening gowns.”
Cammie described the house at that time as gilded and gray. Nevertheless, she could see the potential. She knew the house had good bones. Her father, Louis Whittington, a mason, confirmed that the brickwork was crafted during a time when men staked their reputation on their work.
“We have been in the house almost 23 years,” Cammie said, “and we’ve been planning the remodel almost that entire time. We kept thinking we would do it in phases, but we didn’t. Finally we just had to bite the bullet.”
The Olneys contracted the job. They give much credit for the success of the remodel to carpenter Jerry Roberts.
The Olneys removed the elevator installed by Muller. That freed up space downstairs for a large walk-in pantry. Upstairs, it freed up the flow between one of the bedrooms and one of the bathrooms.
The master bedroom, walk-in closet and bathroom were reconfigured. A walk-in shower was added to the master bath.
They extended the sitting area and made it a comfortable family room. They remodeled the kitchen and added a large back porch and laundry area.
The layout is perfect for entertaining. However, the best thing about the Olney house is the use of wall and accent color. The house is vivacious, yet the simple lines and welledited furnishings and décor keep it elegant.
However, it is not the beauty of this house that makes it home to the Olneys. Cammie said it’s the loves of her life, the family and the friends that make the house a home. She credited every subcontractor by name that contributed to the success of the remodel.
She also said that hard work played a role in making the house a home. The Olneys left work during the day to work late into the night many nights.
“You can do a lot that you think you can’t,” she said.
The David and Cammie Olney home in Lake Charles.