[StBernard] For a Chalmette home, the dining room is where the heart is

[Westley Annis]

For a Chalmette home, the dining room is where the heart is
 By Contributing writer, The Times-Picayune 
on December 07, 2012 at 5:00 AM, updated December 07, 2012 at 5:05 AM Print

DRESS-UP TIME: Karen Bouffine said she loves opening her Chalmette home in
Corinne Estates for company so much that, on Thursday, this will be the
second time her two-story Acadian stucco home -- built in 1989 and rebuilt
after Hurricane Katrina -- will be featured in the St. Bernard Christmas
Tour of Homes. The annual event benefits several local charities and is
celebrating its 20th anniversary.

And of all the rooms in her home, Bouffine said her formal dining room is
her favorite, because it is the hub for gatherings of family and friends. It
will be one of six rooms in her home on display in their holiday splendor.
Bouffine and her sister, Janine Bouanchaud, love to decorate, and they have
spent all of their free time since Halloween making countless Christmas
arrangements and displays, shopping everywhere from local outlets to
specialty Christmas stores in the Tennessee towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon
Forge.

"Janine has always made decorations, and I guess she has rubbed off on me,"
said Bouffine, who admits to making about three trips a week to Michael's
and Gordon's for craft supplies in the past month. "I actually surprised
myself with some of the stuff I made."

YEAR-ROUND DECOR: In addition to using a combination of new holiday
decorations and those that were in her attic and spared from Katrina's
flooding, Bouffine, a surgical technologist, said she also wanted to feature
her year-round decor that includes dramatic black-and-white sketches and
photographs, as well as full-color paintings of uniquely New Orleans scenes.

In her dining room just off the home's entryway, her table is set with a
Christmas scene that includes a sleigh, Santa and two reindeer -- all in
white ceramic trimmed in gold -- nestled atop a mesh of gold ribbon with
burgundy accents that ends with a series of decorative table-top trees.

"My dining room has always been my favorite place in my house because there
are so many special family memories in it," Bouffine said. "It reminds me of
my family gatherings."

She and her husband, Raymond Bouffine, used to have a sit-down dinners in
the room for Mother's Day, but in recent years the family has enjoyed
outdoor crawfish boils by the backyard pool instead. Most of their parties,
including the family's annual Christmas Eve bash, now are buffet-style, with
the formal dining room still a central gathering area.

CHERISHED KEEPSAKES: Besides the fond memories of past parties, Bouffine
said her dining room is a place for special, prized possessions from family
members. Many items in her china closet were ruined by Katrina's flood
waters, and Bouffine said she treasures the pieces she still has on display.

"I have a lot of sentimental pieces from my family in my china cabinet," she
said. "I have pieces of crystal from my granny, china pieces from my
husband's mother and aunt, and I have some dried flowers from my dad's and
uncle's funerals."

She has several numbered, original Rosenthal china pieces from her husband's
mother, Thea Bouffine, and his aunt, Christa Roser, who lived in Germany. In
front of two old Hummel statues, Bouffine has a gold-rimmed Rosenthal cup
and saucer along with a costume brooch from her grandmother Olga Costa.

There's also a gold-rimmed Rosenthal candy dish with hand-painted flowers
alongside a bouquet of dried flowers from the funeral of her father Joe
Barcia, who died this past summer. Nearby are a handkerchief with a pin and
a crystal necklace from her grandmother. Just to the right, an amethyst
crystal necklace is arranged on a German crystal ashtray from her husband's
mother.

A MEANINGFUL COLLECTION: In addition to family pieces, Bouffine's dining
room holds several original, collectible Giuseppe Armani statues. The walls
are lined with black-and-white New Orleans sketches and photographs,
including a signed sketch of the Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop in the French
Quarter by Ricky Boyett and one of a fleur-de-lis superimposed on an outline
of Louisiana by Donald Williams.

Because family is so important, Bouffine has two frames with professionally
photographed scenes of her and her husband from their 25th anniversary trip
to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, two years ago.

She said the room is much the same as it was before Katrina, but she was
able to update the décor with Brazilian cherry wood floors and a rich merlot
on the walls.

"I wanted something warm and cozy for the room," she said. "We celebrate all
of our birthdays, holidays and Christmas Eve together. We are a very close
family, and we just enjoy being with each other."

-- Karen Turni Bazile

ST. BERNARD CHRISTMAS TOUR OF HOMES

WHAT: The annual tour to benefit St. Bernard Parish charities includes
refreshments, a Christmas boutique, prizes and music performed by
schoolchildren. Presented by St. Bernard Volunteers for Family and Community
Inc.

WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 13, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.

WHERE: Corinne Estates, Chalmette

TICKETS: $12 in advance; $15 day of.

INFORMATION: Sandra Edel, 504.738.1663 or 504.481.6172, or Judy Nicosia,
504.301.3630 or 504.460.4382