Elevated Bayou Living: Pelican House, a Picturesque Retreat on the Gulf Coast
Situated on the shores of Lake Prien, straddling the Louisiana-Texas border, the Pelican House exudes the aesthetics of an elevated retreat. Designed by architect Winn Wittman, this stunning 7,500-square-foot home, clad in Western red cedar, features Texas Lueder limestone columns, broad arches, and exposed wooden beams.
The home’s design prioritizes both indoor and outdoor living, with glass walls seamlessly integrating the interior with the surrounding wetland landscape. “It’s a very picturesque site, but as you can imagine, a very stormy one as well,” says Wittman. Engineered to withstand the harsh Gulf Coast climate, the Pelican House has weathered four hurricanes, with the only evidence being the sand-blasted wood surface.
The bright entry, with modern pivot doors surrounded by fixed windows, makes a lasting first impression. The pavilion-style design of the home creates a more human scale, despite its significant square footage. Two shed roofs frame the gabled volume with glass panels that connect to the slightly raised roof planes.
The 24-foot-tall living room ceiling with floor-to-ceiling glass panels offers a captivating visual connection to the lake. The 82-foot-long negative-edge pool visually merges the interior and exterior spaces, creating the impression that the lake “comes right up to you.”
Wittman’s design for the Pelican House prioritizes both connectivity and privacy. The children’s rooms are located upstairs, while the parents have a separate wing accessible through a glass-enclosed corridor. The primary bathroom even features floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a private courtyard, shielded from the neighboring golf course by dense vegetation.
The home’s movable glass walls are protected by large overhangs that slightly project over the balconies, creating an indoor and outdoor media room and enhancing the flow between the living area and the outdoor space. The smooth operation of the sliding glass doors is crucial in the humid subtropical climate, and the Western Window Systems products used in the Pelican House have proven their ease of use, even with large panel sizes.
Embraced and created by nature, the Pelican House is a testament to the power of thoughtful design in the Gulf Coast region, offering a picturesque and resilient retreat for its family.
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