INDhome

ENTERTAINING SPACE

by Amanda Bedgood

Photo by Robin May

A family finds the perfect fit.

With their eyes on traditional Southern antebellum aesthetics, the couple was surprised when it was a FrenWhen the Proffitts began house searching last year they were looking for a home to settle into to raise three growing boys — and one that would be great for entertaining. ch chalet-inspired space that caught their eyes.

“Although deceptive from the street, when we first walked in the front door and saw the grand formal room, spiral staircase and learned that all of the flooring in the main house was limestone imported from France, this seemed like a more formal home than we imagined we would live in,” says Josh Proffitt, a high-level executive and general counsel at LHC Group. “However, the more time we spent inside the home planning how we would make it our own, we quickly knew this was where we wanted to create family memories for years to come.”

The Shelly Drive home — located in midtown Lafayette in a cul-de-sac on more than an acre of land — sold for $950,000, landing a spot on IND Monthly sister pub ABiz’s 2014 Top 10 Home Sales. It has an outdoor living area (think pool, hot tub, outdoor kitchen) and a natural wooded area as well as a yard for the boys. The floor plan is unique with larger areas that open into outdoor spaces — made for large get-togethers and parties.

“An additional major selling point — it’s very much an entertaining home. We do a lot of entertaining through work and through church. The size of each room combined with the flow from the openness of the floor plan into multiple outdoor entertainment areas was perfect,” Josh says.

The formal area rolls into a New Orleans-style courtyard, and when the weather is nice people can occupy different indoor and outdoor spaces while still feeling a sense of continuity. There are nearly 5,500 square feet of living space in the main house with nearly 1,100 square feet in a separate guesthouse.

The guesthouse was unfinished in some ways, and the Proffitts went quickly to work putting their stamp on it — complete with a state-of-the-art man cave devoted to their beloved Kentucky Wildcats (the alma mater of both Josh and Susan).

“We closed on Friday, and the construction crew was there on Monday,” he says of the workers who completed the renovations in the guesthouse. “We had a goal to have it functional before football season and had our first party for the Saints/Falcons NFL season kickoff game.”

The result is nearly 1,100 square feet of living space with a guest suite, additional loft bed, full kitchen, full bath and a home sports bar.