Text: Margaret Zainey Roux
Photos: Sara Essex Bradley
Some interior designers spend their entire careers cultivating their own signature style. Colleen Waguespack is not one of them. “One thing that distinguishes my practice from others is the way I personalize the design process,” says Waguespack, who is also the founder of Fig & Dove, a line of bespoke home décor and gifts. “While I admire those interior designers with a tight aesthetic, I prefer to look at each project as an opportunity to help my client elevate their own personal style. At the end of the day, it’s their home—where they live, entertain, and raise their families. My role is simply to guide them as they realize their own vision, but through a professionally curated lens.”
It was this unparalleled level of customization that prompted a young Baton Rouge family to call on Waguespack to help them make their new house feel like home. Because it was new construction and only three years old, it didn’t require any major changes. Architect C. M. Oliver and Telich Custom Homes worked closely with the previous homeowners to poignantly plan and build the 4,900-square-foot Acadian-inspired structure in the simple, elegant style reminiscent of the legendary Louisiana architect A. Hays Town.
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
Personally Yours by Colleen Waguespack
“My clients are a thoroughly modern family of four, but they have great respect for history and tradition,” says Waguespack. “They genuinely appreciate the authenticity of the architecture and the materials, like the reclaimed beams, cypress doors, and wide-plank dirty-top pine floors that were painstakingly sourced by the home’s previous owners. They marveled at the stories of their hunts through dusty New Orleans warehouses and the time and effort they spent researching the origin of each found treasure. For this reason, it was important to them to keep that connection to the past but to put their own stamp on the place and give it a fresher feel.”
Today, the interiors can best be described as comfortably contemporary. Pops of yellow in the art and accessories energize the neutral backdrop, comprised of grays and blues that fluctuate from warm to cool and vary in their degree of saturation. Family-friendly furnishings feature soft edges and timeless silhouettes but carry enough visual weight to remain cohesive with the rustic architecture. On the upholstered pieces, block print, mohair, and other richly textured fabrics lend depth to the otherwise clean-lined frames.
“With interiors, sometimes the boldest effect is to keep it simple,” says Waguespack. “That same intent inspired our holiday décor selections. We kept the foundation rooted in traditional boxwood greenery and white poinsettias and then added multiple layers of visual and tactile interest, such as wide velvet ribbon, brightly painted baubles, antique mirrored ornaments, and an oversized acrylic star tree topper. Together, these elements not only complement the year-round decor but evoke a sense of festive elegance for the Christmas season.”
