Déjà View: The Dwyer home in Old Lewisburg

by Susan Owens
photography by Thomas B. Growden

Surrounded by porches and galleries, the home of Frederick and Susanne Dwyer is evocative of times past. Its tranquil setting belies the busy lives of these two attorneys and their teenaged twin daughters.

Like many architectural treasures along the lakefront, this rambling cottage was originally a summer home for a prominent New Orleans family. It is clearly a treasure by the sea, resting lightly on the land as it flows across the six-acre estate where earth and sky meet the waters of Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville’s Old Lewisburg. Only one-room deep across the main living areas and master suite, the house allows the windows and doors to flood the rooms with natural light, stunning lake views and sea breezes.

You may wonder how the Dwyers came to stake their claim on this prime piece of waterfront real estate. Between the time the house was built in the 1920s and it was finally theirs in 2001, the house saw many owners and residents. And this was not Susanne Dwyer’s first encounter with it.

She had seen the house before. She knew it. She remembered it. As a teenager growing up on the northshore, she had walked through this very same house with her parents when it was on the market nearly twenty-five years ago. “We all fell in love with the house then, even though it was in pretty sad shape,” she recalls. While they were enchanted by the potential in the house, her parents, the Cambres, were ready to travel and did not want to be tied down to such a big project. “So, the idea fell by the wayside,” Susanne says.

Over the years, after many changes of ownership, little by little the house fell into disrepair. Each resident altered, modernized, patched, prodded and generally bothered its lovely and distinctive architecture. That is, until George and Barbara Barnes bought the derelict house and lovingly restored it. Barbara’s innate sense of style ran deep. “And I thank her daily for her commitment to quality. This was beyond renovation. It was a restoration, a real labor of love,” Susanne notes.

“Fast forward twenty-five years later. Frederick and I were looking for a home in the area.” Trying to find a house that they and their two daughters would all love, the Dwyers considered lots of alternatives—building, buying, renovating.

Late one evening, while Susanne was sifting through the real estate offerings on the Internet, the house that had haunted her dreams and memories popped up on the screen. For Sale. There it was.

She couldn’t believe it. And it was already impeccably renovated. They soon made an appointment to see the house, and after a year of negotiations, still pursuing all other housing possibilities, the house was theirs.

So how did she make the house their home? Easily and naturally.

Inside, the details that make up a significant restoration were mostly done. No plaster dust to deal with. Polished and shiny, dark and light pine floors spanned the main living areas. Brick and marble floors accented the bathroom and guest room. So, Susanne just added a few rugs—artful rugs, colorful, antique, patterned, silk and jute ones, nice soft rugs.

Their furniture blended well with the style and feel of the house, and so did their art, all an easy fit. When the house swallowed up and showcased their original furnishings and all of their art, they filled in here and there with new pieces.

Along their way, Frederick and Susanne have assembled a personal gallery of art. Their artistic sensibilities run the gamut from contemporary and painterly to very representational in style. Some of the pieces they discovered on their travels and at local galleries and auctions. Others were gifts, and a few were commissioned for particular spots in each room.

Prints, serigraphs and original oil paintings, the works of local, regional and international artists—all hang alongside each other quite harmoniously.

While they did not really set out to acquire a notable art collection, what happened over time is that the Dwyers’ art found a place with them and has added another dimension to their home and lives. Now, the way that everything blends together makes the house even more inviting.

Loving where they live, Susanne describes their home as “holiday party headquarters.” And it is easy to see why. That kitchen. Wow. Granite countertops, hand-painted tile, cypress cabinets, breathtaking views and more than enough appliances—all designed for cooks and roomy enough for caterers. Susanne, who would rather be outside than cook, said that the kitchen works equally well for big entertaining, everyday quick breakfasts and meals on the run.

Just recently, Frederick and Susanne made a few discreet changes to the architecture that enhanced the way they live and enjoy the house. By enclosing a porch off the master suite, they created a clubby little sitting room and space for a deep soaking tub set in creamy, swirly marble. A glass-walled breezeway already connected the master suite to the rest of the house. And what a dreamy master suite it is now—with spacious walk-in closets and a serene bedroom complete with fireplace, antiques and custom-made, one-of-a-kind furnishings. An idyllic retreat.

Outside, the yard tapers down to the lake. A sleek swimming pool is tucked simply and almost unobtrusively into the landscape, a comfortable spot for the Dwyers to catch a few rays, swim laps and steep in the natural beauty that surrounds their place in the sun. And at the end of the day and the end of the week, with all of the busy-ness of life behind them, when they finally do arrive home, Frederick still has grass to mow.
This house truly does have it all.