Artful Abode – Chateau Chic February 2024

“The whimsical and eclectic home of Nichól Brinkman and Joseph Holsapple, along with their children Walter and Alice, and dog Fred, seems like the perfect story, come to life for this family. With its antique charm and stature, combined with colorful walls and precious works of art, this chateau embodies chic as never before. The nearly 100-year-old cypress home has tall ceilings and transom windows. It features very grand historical elements, like large crown molding, built-in columns, and oak floors, along with the original chimney, centered in the house that actually feeds three separate fireplaces in the living room, dining room and kitchen.

Built in 1929, this Thibodaux home had to be completely gutted after Hurricane Ida. Nichól took the misfortune as an opportunity to completely change the layout, turning it into three bedrooms and two bathrooms with an extra studio space for Nichól and an additional outdoor studio for Joseph.

“I designed it all myself, sketching out plan after plan and googling things like, ‘what is the ideal hallway width’, ” shared Nichól. “I moved the kitchen into what was my children’s bedroom and turned our former kitchen into what we now call the ‘kids wing’ which has a large hallway with a bookshelf and exposed chimney, and two bedrooms connected by a secret passageway. During the renovation, we exposed two original fireplaces that were hidden by walls and closets. We had fun painting the whole house in our dream color palette. I love color, and my husband does too. He teaches color design at Nicholls and we spent a great deal of time choosing the perfect palette.”

“The secret passageway between our kids’ rooms will always hold a special place in my heart,” shared Nichól about her favorite spaces in their home. “When the hidden pocket doors are shut, they look like framed chalkboards, then you slide them open and there’s a teeny-tiny hangout room with a bookshelf. When both doors are open they can see right into each other’s room. It makes for a great reading nook.”

“I love our orange mudroom. The paint color is called pomegranate and around 2:00 the sun hits just right and it looks like it’s glowing in there. I’ve always wanted to live in a home with arched doors. They remind me of the whimsical homes in the Sire of The Hobbit. We have two arched doors now, leading into our kitchen.”

While no four walls could be more fitting of a home to this family as these, they will soon be moving to Texas. They hope their magic home will find another family to love it as dearly as they did. “Sadly we are leaving Thibodaux and selling our sweet house this spring,” explained Nichól. “My husband got a new job teaching art at Baylor University. I know we’ll never have another home like this one that perfectly fits our family and our art careers. I was going to paint over everything to make it neutral so it would have more mass appeal, but I decided against it in the hopes that the colors connect with someone. We are so grateful for our time in this house and for the people we met in Thibodaux.”