Jan and Krista selected materials typical of a Louisiana cottage for the exterior, such as the brick steps and the board-and-batten shutters, which they can close to protect the stained French doors and transom windows from harsh weather. The restrained exterior color scheme, with neutral wood plank siding and stormy green shutters and handrails, is also appropriate for the style.
Home
An Acadian Cottage
Architectural details typical of an Acadian-style Louisiana home influence a Heber Springs getaway on the Little Red River
BY
Laura Keech Allen
PHOTOGRAPHY
Nancy Nolan


Featured in this month’s Living on the Water issue (“Louisiana Inspiration”), Jan and Dave Allmendinger’s Heber Springs home boasts an exterior as stunning as its interior. The look was inspired by the Acadian cottages of Louisiana, which they learned to appreciate while their daughter, interior designer Krista Lewis, lived in the state.


Large, raised porches, or galleries, surround the home, allowing for wonderful air circulation. Not only are they essential because the home is in a floodplain, they also offer a cool spot from which to enjoy views of Sugarloaf Mountain, the Little Red River and the wildlife that frequent the area. Rough-hewn wooden beams support the hipped roof, in which all four sides slope toward a single peak.