TRANQUIL ESCAPE

ARTICLE BY VANELIS RIVERA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY  KELLY MOORE CLARK

As they prepare for a new chapter in their lives, the Land family is eager to share the story of their home Luna Moon with the hopes of manifesting someone, who like them, deeply lives the poetry of growing roots.

There are those that want to own land and then those that grow alongside it. Heather Land and her family are the latter. For over fifteen years, they have lived in a parcel of lush green pasture of originally 144 acres located on the outskirts of Ouachita Parish. Step by step, they have transformed what began as rolling hills and a spacious pond into a modern homestead complete with gardens, farm animals, and a palpable feeling of serenity. As they prepare for a new chapter in their lives, the Land family is eager to share the story of their home Luna Moon with the hopes of manifesting someone, who like them, deeply lives the poetry of growing roots.

“It was just pasture,” says Heather, as she sits cozily in an upholstered armchair, the golden afternoon light brightening the living room through a glass garage door. Outside, two white turkeys gobble close to the glass pane, eager to be as close to her as they can. “In fact, where the house sits now was another rolling hill that we had to kind of taper down and we used the dirt to create the pad.” The Lands had a lot of construction before them when they first purchased the property, including building a driveway, establishing plumbing, and wiring electricity. Originally, the house was a custom erected steel building. “There were no front doors. I just had two windows. And then upstairs the common space was our bedroom. We had a bathroom. We had the laundry in the closet that goes to now what is the attic,” says Heather, pointing to the living room area, now brimming with natural light from French doors providing a panoramic view of their wraparound porch and front pasture. A far enough look reveals a herd of cows and some horses. 

At a certain point, the Lands allowed themselves to dream a bit more, which is when Heather began thinking of the ways she could make the metal building they already called home look like a farmhouse—warm and inviting. Already drawn to the industrial feel of the house by way of the metal purlins and concrete floors, she began to build its personality. “So I just took that and ran with it.”

One of the major changes began with exchanging the original sold metal bay doors with windowed roll-up doors. “I wanted to erase the division of the outdoors and in,” she says, referring to one of her favorite views, the pond, now busy with the fluttering hijinks of a variety of ducks and geese. Her bathroom, which is in the same wing of the house as the kitchen was also a point of reconstruction. “How do I get every square inch of that view, right, and still have a bathtub and a shower,” she remembers considering. The result—a white tile shower, a vintage bathtub, and four large rectangular windows that make the bathroom feel like a greenhouse. 

Everything in the house is very open. “I don’t like walls. We don’t have many doors,” says Heather, adding, “I want the house to feel welcoming. I want you to walk through the door and not be able to pinpoint what it is that you are feeling other than you’re supposed to be here.” Hitting on all of the senses, the interior of Luna Moon is intentional and immediate. Walking through the door feels like you are being hugged by layers of warmth—the softness of the furniture, accents on the walls, and pops of color from rugs to the brick fireplace. 

“I like everything in the house to have a purpose, really,” maintains Heather who doesn’t incorporate many “beautiful little vignettes” as decor. Instead, the trinkets hanging around every nook and cranny of the first floor are more akin to a collection, life slowly building around the home, beautifully effortless. “That’s always my goal, for everything to look real, look used, and to be inviting,” later adding, “I want it to feel like you can come in from outside and sit on the furniture, you can put your bare feet on the furniture, you can pull a book off the shelf.”

Everything has a story at Luna Moon. Next to Heather, a worn leather chair is draped with a textured throw. “You see this chair. It’s a hot mess, but it sits comfortably and it serves its purpose,” she asserts, also making mention of a “little dresser” in the dining room that holds all of her daughters’ schooling and games. It’s tattered but whimsical, and most importantly, it evokes the beauty of eclectic living. “That’s my aesthetic,” she stresses. Heather keeps scanning the room looking for pieces that stick out to her. She lands on her dining room table, and after taking a beat says, “That table makes me happy.” It belonged to her grandfather who had it made “years and years and years ago.” At one point, a portion of it burned, and the legs got charred, but was salvaged by her mother and aunt. Heather ended up building a temporary top out of two by ten pieces of wood. “We never did a proper top,” she says, though it would never be necessary. The moment she noticed that its surface had become layered with paint and glue, she realized, “Ah, this is our life. These are our fingerprints all over it.”

Another large furniture staple of the home, which the family will be leaving behind as well, is a large kitchen island from England. Heather spotted it at the Traditions On Trenton warehouse and was told, “It’s a monster. Someone’s gonna have to build a house around it.” Instantly, she knew she would be the one to build around it. “It was the hub of the first house we built together. And it’s been the hub in this kitchen ever since. And now it will stay. That’s because it belongs here,” she says, pointing out the extension she built alongside her husband with wood that came from old porch posts that her aunt gave her and barn wood from Tennessee. 

The Lands wanted a place that felt like a getaway, but what they have created over the years can be described as a sanctuary. 

“I’ve called it my island because that’s what it felt like for me,” she says, intentionally referring to her home as sacred, calm, nourishing, and peaceful. “It’s inspired me in so many ways. And the girls, you know, they grew up barefoot, and running outside and climbing where they could, exploring, hanging from trees and trying to zip line from the roof of the golf cart.” In other words, Luna Moon has all the makings of an idyllic childhood. 

“The house has evolved as we have evolved as a family. We have continued to create the space conducive to the life we were leading. And in return, we have evolved as visionaries, buildors, and creators. It’s all been very life-giving,” Heather explains. Essentially, they have wholly embraced their corner of the world. “There’s something wonderful about this, seclusion and walking through the woods,” professes Heather, who keeps returning to the word intentional. “Our blood, sweat, and tears are in this place, all with nothing more than the intent of creating a lifestyle for ourselves and for our girls.” With that said, the family welcomes anyone who is hungry for the kind of life where you can plant your feet and allow the power of seclusion to guide every step. 

All serious inquiries can be sent to Heather Land on her Instagram account at @evolutionofland.