Houzz Tour: Eclectic Louisiana Cottage Has Stories to Tell

Photos by Jen Burner Photography

House at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer and master gardener Kimber Ratcliff; her husband, Jimmy; their two teen daughters; and their dog, Jake
Location: Thibodaux, Louisiana
Size: 2,200 square feet (204 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designers: Kimber Ratcliff and sister Sommer Tate, founders of Folkway Design & Wares

This property in Thibodaux, Louisiana, has a long history, with its original owners lovingly adding layers to it from the 1940s until just recently. “The home is known in the neighborhood as the Ayo House. Mr. Ayo was the rural postmaster and a volunteer fireman, and Mrs. Ayo taught dance classes out of the home,” says current owner Kimber Ratcliff, who lives in the cottage with husband Jimmy, their two teen daughters and their dog, Jake. Since moving in, they have heard many wonderful stories about the Ayos and the home. “Many women now in their silver years stop by and share memories of walking to the house to take dance lessons,” she says.

And a local dentist stopped by during the renovation to tell the story of how the massive live oak in the yard came to be there. “He explained that he grew up across the street and remembered one evening his dad and Mr. Ayo went to an old plantation and dug up two small oak trees that Mr. Ayo had spotted on his postal route,” she says. “They came home and planted one in each of their front yards. It’s stories like these that inspired the design.”

Design Strategy

Kimber and sister Sommer Tate, partners in design firm Folkway Design & Wares, tackled the design together. The Ratcliffs wanted to open up and brighten the house to suit their family’s lifestyle and to highlight fun architectural details that were hard to see. But preserving its character and aspects that told its history was an important part of their plans. On the exterior, they removed aluminum siding to reveal original wood siding and added functional shutters. They also repaired and painted the greenhouse, seen in this photo. On the inside, they did plumbing and electrical work, replaced light fixtures, removed a wall between the dining room and the living room, made cosmetic updates to a bathroom, and completed a full renovation of the kitchen. They also painted, furnished and decorated throughout.

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Local Character

According to stories told to the Ratcliffs, Mr. Ayo discovered many of the materials he used on the house on his postal route. “He would spot windows, doors and old cypress boards, and go back in the evening to retrieve them,” Kimber says. “We wanted everything in this house to have a story that wove the past into the present. It needed to be timeless, full of art, a bit eclectic but most of all comfortable.”

Louisiana’s cultural traditions also played a role in the design. The home is close to Nicholls State University, schools, churches and a park. Perhaps the most important thing about its location is that it’s on the Mardi Gras parade route in Thibodaux, about an hour’s drive west of New Orleans. “This home had to be comfortable and durable enough to host impromptu study sessions, gumbo and s’mores after football games, and cocktail or coffee hour, depending on the time of day,” Kimber says. “The goal of the design was to combine the simplicity and quality that were standards in the past with today’s modern lifestyle.”

This former work shed and outdoor area let the good times roll. The Ratcliffs repurposed the shed into a teen hangout complete with a pingpong table. Kimber, a master gardener who helped found and runs the community garden, incorporated fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers for cutting into the landscaping at home. The edibles include pineapple plants in the front yard and a banana tree in the side yard.

Dance Studio Becomes a Den

This den had been Mrs. Ayo’s dance studio. “We decided to preserve the terrazzo floors after the family showed us a film of a masquerade party hosted in the ’50s where the adults were having way too much fun,” Kimber says.

The TV, on a vintage drop-leaf table, is tucked to the side of a chimney that holds firewood. Kimber and her sister took a simplified approach to decorating the house with a neutral backdrop and a mix of traditional, midcentury and antique furniture, and eclectic artwork. Light fixtures add eye-catching silhouettes throughout the house.

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The Ratcliffs wanted to preserve and show off many elements of the den’s architecture, including the brick walls and window frames, the large windows, the warm cypress wood on the walls, an antique cast-iron wood stove and a tray ceiling with wood beams. They painted the bricks and drywall in Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee to brighten the room and provide contrast that allows the cypress to stand out.

Here’s a closer look the reclaimed cypress, which adds wonderful texture and character to the room. It’s even more special because they know the history of the resourceful Mr. Ayo spying it on his postal route.

They removed a wall between the living room and the dining room to open things up and allow the two spaces to share the natural light.

Compact Kitchen Feels More Spacious

The kitchen required the most extensive renovations, including new appliances, countertops, cabinetry, backsplash tile and flooring.

“The kitchen felt small, and there was no place that made sense for a traditional refrigerator. The solution was not using upper cabinets, exposing a pantry to make room for open shelving and hiding two sets of KitchenAid refrigerator drawers in the cabinet design,” Kimber says.

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Forgoing the Traditional Fridge

A breakfast table used to be here, but the couple replaced it with cabinetry. This added 8 feet of countertop space as well as a microwave niche, three refrigerator drawers and a freezer drawer below. “These drawers provide as much cubic area as a traditional refrigerator without feeling like there was a giant elephant in the room,” Kimber says. This was one of the couple’s few splurges in the remodel and was well worth it.

This end of the kitchen also has more of Mr. Ayo’s prized cypress boards.

Using materials like butcher block countertops, a penny-round tile backsplash and vintage-style striped glass light fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric maintained the cottage’s vintage charm. And while they had to add new flooring in the kitchen, the painted boards fit right in with the original oak flooring in the home.

Maple butcher block oiled with mineral oil: Lumber Liquidators

Bright and Airy Living Room

The living room did not require much work. Sherwin-Williams’ Ice Cube paint freshened it up, while vintage furniture and artwork added character.

The room also contains the family’s piano. To the right, there’s a peek at a hallway office area.

Layered Bedroom for the Girls

The couple’s teenage daughters share this room. A vintage chest topped with midcentury modern-style reading lamps and artwork creates a focal point. A variety of picture frames and bedding textiles, a flat-weave rug and natural wooden shades are a pleasing mix of textures.

Wall paint: Ice Cube, Sherwin-Williams

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