BEST in Mississippi WINNER Travis A Treasure <strong>Builder</strong>’s <strong>Home</strong> Garners 2011 Best in Mississippi Grand Award 6 <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2012</strong> Mississippi <strong>Builder</strong>
The greatest challenge of building a French chateau style residence with more than 9,000 square feet of interior space had nothing to do with site problems, construction blemishes, or finishing touches. The biggest hurdle involved working with his client: his lovely wife, Marguerite. “Marguerite has excellent design ideas, but it was sometimes difficult for me to put those ideas into common building standards,” said home builder John Travis. “The end result, however, was a truly exceptional product of architecture, design and style that was unique to our market.” Judges for the 2011 Best in Mississippi Awards Program were also wowed. They bestowed the Grand Award to the Travis Residence in Madison’s Deerhaven community, along with two high-profile individual awards— Single Family Kitchen New Construction and Single Family Bath New Construction. Travis Constructors LLC in Ridgeland constructed the builder’s personal home. “I had many second thoughts about whether to build a house in this economy, but I’m glad we went forward with it,” said Travis, the son of Jack Travis, who served as a district attorney in Hinds County, and also a Hinds County judge. The Travis Residence was fashioned on six acres of gently rolling land highlighted by a 50-acre lake and existing boathouse. The elegant yet very livable home features four bedrooms, five baths, two half-baths, and seven fireplaces; all is accessible by 12-foot double front doors hand-carved with iron and glass, and topped by aged iron panels. Past the master porch spanning 35 feet in length is the hearth of the home: the great room, with a 30-foot vaulted ceiling, two limestone fireplaces, arched beams, and antique heart pine beams with a wood-planked ceiling. Flooring throughout the residence is nearly entirely travertine and antique heart pine; the interior wall finish is antique ivory plaster with impressive antique cypress interior doors. Even the garage received significant attention in the design process with five bays comprised of custom cypress doors and a workshop hand-turned for the finest craftsman. Travis custom designed a grand European kitchen incorporating famed Habersham woodwork from Toccoa, Georgia. “We Mississippi <strong>Builder</strong> went to the Habersham showroom in High Point, North Carolina, with Angela Doolittle, who handled some of the interior design work, to handpick what we wanted,” said Travis. “We already had several pieces of Habersham furniture and it all ended up blending beautifully.” Other ingredients for the gourmet food preparation area included an imported stainless steel range from France featuring a warming cupboard, hand painted tile for the stove backsplash, two concealed 36-inch Sub Zero refrigerators, solid surface granite countertops, antique cypress wood for serving spots, and two solid copper sinks. The 14-foot ceiling is offset by travertine tile flooring laid in a Versailles pattern. Stucco walls with stacked stone inlays add texture, while also allowing for easy access to the formal dining room and the lakefront breakfast suite. Special lighting illuminates the magic. Also impressive: separate his-and-hers bathroom master suites greater than 500 square feet combined. Interior work involved crafting a lake view bath fit for a princess featuring an onyx vanity, travertine floors, a solid copper free-standing tub, stand-up travertine shower—and a sitting area encircling a cozy fireplace. A pair of imported chandeliers over antique heart pine floors set the stage for her closet, with clothing racks concealed behind mirrored doors. Her closet features a work station complete with filing drawers, a minikitchen to satisfy the need for a snack or something to sip, and a center island. The New Orleans style bath fit for a prince has a sunken bathtub comprised of 1-inch glass tiles and a fully tiled shower with dual showerheads that also serves as a steam room. His bath has travertine flooring, granite countertops and dark walnut faux-finished cabinets. His closet also features a flat panel TV. The master suite has an adjacent sitting room that leads through double doors to a magnificent stone porch with its own stone fireplace overlooking the lake. “The stone porch is an excellent place to relax in the afternoon and watch the sun set over the lake while sipping a cold beverage,” said Travis. Landscape architect Trey Lovertich of TriScape and interior designer Angela Doolittle of Material Possessions assisted Travis with the project. <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2012</strong> 7
Change language