Ethel LeBoeuf
August 11, 2017
If’s Amazing!
August 11, 2017
Tammy Malbrough has transformed What was a passing interest into a full-fledged business.
However, it has not only been Malbrough’s passions that have transformed. Homes in the Bayou Region have been changed along the way, as well.
Malbrough operates Nouveau La Vie Designs, a full-service interior design business in downtown Houma. The store offers exclusive paint, design ideas, furniture paint jobs and classes.
Malbrough opened Nouveau La Vie in January 2014. She said she discovered chalk paint, a special kind of paint popular in Europe for decades that is user-friendly and low maintenance. Chalk paint is not composed of chalk but is named so for its velvety matte finish. It is unique in that it is a paint that requires no sanding or priming on any surface. And once the painting is finished, the coat will dry in 20 minutes, according to Malbrough. After sealing the paint With clear wax, the job is done. Nouveau La Vie is the only seller of English painter Annie Sloan’s branded Chalk Paint in Terrebonne Parish.
“It started as a little hobby. We didn’t have any kind of chalk paint in Houma, so I decided to bring it here,” Malbrough said.
Since opening up, Malbrough has continued to expand her business. Customers can bring a piece of furniture to her store to be painted. If they want an entire kitchen done, Malbrough will make a house call. According to Malbrough, a kitchen job can be finished in a weekend due to the quick turnaround on chalk paint.
“It’s fast and easy. The paint dries in 20 minutes. Then you put the second coat of paint on, that dries in 20 minutes. Then you just wax it,” Malbrough said.
Malbrough can help those enterprising customers who want to get their own hands dirty, too. Shoppers can pick out their favorite colors, and she will show them how to utilize the best techniques with their purchases. Malbrough said she conducts painting classes once a month.
The selection at Nouveau La Vie continues to grow, as well. The shop has a strong variety among its 34 colors.
There is a light Louis Blue, a bold English Yellow and a darkblack Graphite color. Nouveau La Vie has recently added three new hues, according to Malbrough. There is a bright blue Giverny, a deep Amsterdam Green and a brown Honfleur. The continually-increasing selection is a testament to chalk paint’s growing allure among home decorators, something Malbrough is helping facilitate in Terrebonne through her business.
“It’s grown a lot in the three and—a-half years,” Malbrough said. “We started off and people didn’t really know what we were doing, so we started advertising a little bit. NOW it’s mostly word of mouth.”
Noaveau La Vie started in January 2014. Since the business opened, it’s grown a lot, helping decorate local homes.
