Fabric of Life

The perfectly curated home of Material Things’ owner Joyce and Robert Sims.

ARTICLE BY MARÉ BRENNAN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Surrounded by the bottomland hardwood forests of Eastern Ouachita Parish, an American flag flies proudly over the yellow farmhouse that Joyce and Robert Sims built and have called home since 2002. Designed by Larry James and built by Lee Harper, a builder from Oak Grove, the home has served the Sims family well.

“Our sons grew up here,” says Joyce. Though near (Shelby, 25, lives in West Monroe and is recently engaged) and far (Alex, 29, works at CERN where the Hadron Super Collider is in Geneva, Switzerland as part of his Ph.D.program), the boys’ younger lives were spent exploring this idyllic part of the parish with creeks and bayous traversing the wooded landscape and abundant wildlife at every turn.

“When the kids went to college, they each took pieces of furniture and decor with them,” says Joyce, who explains the home’s recent interior renovation, The transformative process began last November by painting the interior yellow walls a liberating creamy white hue, Sherwin Williams Steamed Milk. “I knew I wanted neutral walls. I went through a lot of suffering in front of Sherwin Williams’ paint chips,” said Joyce. Joyce updated chandeliers, pendant lights and sconces throughout and filled in with key new pieces of furniture to replace those the boys took to start their adult lives.

The front porch beckons visitors to linger with a swing positioned on one end piled high with custom pillows created by the homeowner, who is known for her ability to turn fabrics into covetable pillows, bedding, drapery and an occasional quilt. Vintage white-painted iron plant holders from Dallas’ Country Garden Antiques welcome visitors to the cheery front door. As owner and co-founder of Monroe’s venerable source for beautiful home furnishings, decor and design, Material Things, Joyce has made the art of beautiful living easier for all who have found her shop. In addition, the homeowner’s easy-going nature and “It’ll be fine” positivity radiate throughout the home. Innate optimism and love for each other is reflected in their style.

The back covered porch is an oasis which overlooks a magnificent pool. Robert’s grandparents’ black wright iron table and chairs set the stage for al fresco dining. The tablecloth is a find from antiquarian Nick McKinney, along with the concrete garden bust, which had been a fixture in Nick’s storied garden in Monroe. Vintage, mid-century modern wrought iron chairs were sourced by Joyce at an estate sale in Monroe. Joyce created custom cushions for each chair, ensuring pleasurable hours spent overlooking the pool as hummingbirds chase each other from feeder to feeder. Dotted around the yard, bluebird houses provide shelter for nesting pairs which return twice a year to raise new families and hours of birdwatching enjoyment. Terra-cotta pots filled with herbs and lead the way to the back door and the home’s open concept kitchen.

Just inside the back door the home opens into the dining room and kitchen which is separated by a tall, wrap-around island. “Robert likes to joke that the whole house was built around the farmhouse sink. It’s true. I do love it. I had the sink before the house plans, and we had to add height to the island to make the sink work,” says Joyce. Added storage for cookbooks is created in a niche on the side of the island cabinetry.

A sunny alcove overlooking the back patio contains a stylish aluminum desk from IKEA and a painted wrought iron daybed that the couple’s energetic, brindle Jack Russell/Boston Terrier mix loves to lounge on during the day. “This is CoCo’s spot,” claims Joyce of the bed (once a hospital bed that Joyce and her mom rescued and painted), piled luxuriously high with pillows made by the homeowner. “If CoCo has a choice between a down pillow or plain, she always goes for the down!” Joyce’s friend and co-founder of Material Things, Peggy Gonzales, made the tiny sachet pillow that takes center stage on the daybed. The rug that brightens the spot belonged to Mrs. Billie Berry. When Mrs. Berry sold Joyce the rug, she told her it was the first rug she bought with her husband, Oliver; thus beginning Berry’s lifetime of collecting beautiful rugs. Says Joyce, “The colors are perfect. I am lucky to have acquired many of Mrs. Billie’s rugs. They add so much warmth to our polished concrete floors.” The vignette over the desk includes Lori Young Louisiana series paintings mixed in with French oyster plates. The hanging cabinet was a find from a shopping trip to Dallas with Peggy. The desk chair with airy, lucite legs is sourced from Material Things. Illuminating sheers sewn by Joyce cover the nook’s windows and are hung on IKEA wire tension rods.

In the adjacent dining area, the furnishings Joyce has combined here are a testament to the art and versatility of painted furniture. A rolling bar cart was sourced from Canton, Texas and Dolly Jordan gave it new life with paint. A 1960’s wooden dining set was stripped down, painted and refinished by Richard Carroll to create a completely different look from the original. Here and on windows along the front of the home, Roman shades made of natural woven material provide a neutral window covering. The Aiden Gray chandelier was sourced from Material Things.

During the re-painting of the home, all of the art was taken down and Joyce decided to create a gallery wall in the living room of some of her favorite landscape and bird paintings and objects. To create her design for the wall, she laid out all the artwork on the floor until she got the balance right, then transferred the paintings to the wall. An old English trunk which Joyce has had since her high school days in West Monroe serves as an interesting coffee table. “My nephew calls it the ‘treasure chest,’” says Joyce. Sconces on either side of the fireplace mantle are by Aiden Gray and were sourced through Material Things. The neutral sofa is also from a line of upholstered furnishings carried at Material Things. Robert was able to restore a Swedish tall clock from the 1700s to working order. Joyce found the clock at the Round Top Antiques Fair, one of her favorite places to source antiques for her shop. Vintage Fortuny fabric pillows by Becky Vizard add elegance to the sofa. B. Viz pillows are available through Material Things and are sought after for their one-of-a-kind embellishments and use of antique fabrications. An Art-Deco style club chair in rich leather is Robert’s favorite perch. A pair of swivel glider chairs from Joyce’s shop are upholstered in a graphic print. The cow painting above the mantle was another prize found at Round Top Antiques Fair. A large Hekman armoire was sourced from Bodie’s in Ruston and hides the television and audio/visual equipment. Acrylic waterfall nesting side tables add a lightness to the conversational area.

In the master bedroom and en suite bathroom, the Sims find a welcome retreat from the bustle of their busy lives. The Material Things workroom made all the drapery, the duvet cover and countless custom pillows for the space. Laughs Joyce, “One Christmas, Robert gave me an electric staple gun, and it was the best gift ever.” Joyce also calls attention to the crewel work antique fabric shades on bedside lamps which were custom created by her former partner and fabric co-conspirator Peggy. Above the headboard hangs a hand-painted fabric fragment discovered in a flea market in Geneva, Switzerland. “We had recently taken a trip to see Alex, and I knew it could easily be rolled up in my suitcase for the trip back to the states. Lisa at Timbermill framed it for me, sewing the fabric to the boxed frame for effect. The guy I bought it from was a true eccentric, wearing only a top hat and shorts, no shoes or shirt,” exclaims Joyce. An upholstered chair from Anthropologie is outfitted a botanical toile. Because the bed is so tall, Joyce added a bench to aid CoCo. Above a handpainted, Italianate desk are photos of the couple’s ancestors, at the top are Joyce’s, at bottom are Robert’s, including his grandfather from Start who participated in D-Day +1 at Normandy and his grandmother who entered America through Ellis Island as a little girl. The two met in New York City and soon they married and she was living in the little country town, a far cry from the Big Apple. The door covering beside the desk is Vosca Honey, an English linen that Joyce loves for its Asian flair in hues of pinks, greens and honey. The bedspread is a washable mattelasse by Lili Alessandra which can be sourced through Material Things.

For the home’s master bathroom, the Material Things workroom sewed the shower curtain. An Italian tole chandelier dangles above the jetted soaking tub. Peggy found the perfectly proportional rattan cabinet that fit perfectly between the two pedestal sinks. Antique mirrors above the sinks were Antique Alley finds. Wall-mounted brown transferware plates and serving pieces provide luscious counterpoints to the serene turquoise painted walls. As Joyce surveys the bathroom, she says, “There is a lot of Peggy in here,” as she points to a bee painting that hangs above the closet door. “That bee art was from the first time Peggy and I went to Round Top.” Peggy and Joyce first met at Fabulous Fabric, where they were both working part-time. They quickly realized their shared love of fabrics, home decor, antiques and vintage items would make them a great team. Together, they opened Material Things on Park Avenue originally, moving to the Forsythe location in 2013.

The Sims’ own idea of nesting reaches its nexus within their home in the lovingly and carefully curated collections interspersed throughout. Nowhere in the home are Joyce and Robert’s passions on display more than the upstairs Great Room. The room, which runs the entire length of the home, is distinctly divided into a His and Hers, if you will, to provide Joyce an enigmatic workroom, filled with colorful fabrics, sewing equipment and an oversized table to spread all of her large fabric projects out with ease. “Obviously, I’m a fabric-oholic. It’s so pretty, I can get pulled in by color,” says the talented homeowner. “Upstairs is set up to do just about any kind of sewing I want to do.” Joyce, who learned to sew from her mother, began her own sewing journey by making a quilt. “It was the first thing I ever made,” says Joyce, “I was pregnant with Alex, and I wanted to make a baby quilt for him. I had no clue what I was doing; I just did it and figured it out as I went.” That first project has evolved into home decor. Laughs Joyce, “When people figure out you can sew, you won’t believe the projects you get asked to take on.”

On Robert’s side of the Great Room, a pool table finds its place among what many would call a mini-museum of World War II military objects, including cots, uniforms, trunks, canteens and ammunition, neatly displayed on shelves and life-like vignettes. Most of the items are original WWII vintage pieces, including wool blankets and other items that Robert sourced from Army Supply stores throughout the country. “There’s a story behind each piece, and things were built to last back then,” says the collector.

Says style connoisseur Cathi French of the Sims’ and their home, “These are collected lives in a collected home. It’s the mix that works so well.” Says Joyce, “I’m sentimental, and it can be hard to part with meaningful objects, but Robert is getting better about letting go.” Robert was instrumental in establishing Chennault Aviation and Military Museum and donated many pieces of his grandfather’s WWII memorabilia and photos to the museum.

When the couple’s boys left home for college and adult life, Alex’s bedroom was converted into Robert’s home office, while Shelby’s bedroom received a makeover with a decidedly feminine feel. “Robert calls it my ‘Princess Room,’” laughs Joyce. Originally, this room was painted an avocado green and felt like a cave, according to the homeowner, but with a fresh coat of paint and a headboard designed and upholstered by Joyce and crafted by Robert, the look is delicate and inviting. Joyce created the bedding and chose a vintage turquoise fabric with a contrasting striped trim for window treatments and the duvet. The chest in the corner had been her mom’s as a child, and the large antique old pine armoire is now a permanent fixture in the guest room. “We struggled to get the armoire into the room, so it is definitely not coming out,” laughs Joyce. Stacks of Joyce’s handmade quilts are featured on an antique bread rack. The antique shelf above the rack was a Round Top, Texas find.

The hallway guest bathroom exudes a very masculine feel. The heavy mirror framed in a dark rubbed mahogany is an antique given to Joyce by her grandmother. European mounted deer antlers above the mirror were a purchase from Victor Cascio’s estate. The shower curtain, reminiscent of a Ralph Lauren fabric was sewn by Joyce especially for the bathroom. A World War I artillery basket hangs above the toilet to hold toiletries. The lamp on the countertop was a candlestick converted to a lamp by wiring wizard, H.L. Brown.

Robert’s office, which had been converted from Alex’s bedroom, is the homeowner’s retreat for peace and quiet while working from home. European mounted deer antlers are trophies from time spent hunting with his sons and friends. A trunk at the center of a conversational seating area in the office is actually an antique WWII field desk. Once opened, the trunk transforms into a desk complete with drawers and a stool. Robert’s has always exhibited a passion for collecting WWII memorabilia and for restoring antique vehicles and has just recently begun collecting vintage Coleman lanterns, which provided a source of light for troops in the field. A shadowbox filled with Robert’s grandfather’s antique, hand-painted fishing lures are a reminder of the craftsmanship of past generations. Robert’s deep appreciation for history is evident. One of his prized possessions is a copy of the ship’s manifest that bears the name of his great grandfather, who arrived in America in the early 1900s and found work as a chef at the famed Waldorf Astoria in New York City. He believes his grandmother arrived in the United States as a young child around 1907 with her mother to join his great grandfather.

Robert, whose of love of cars and military ephemera runs deep, is fittingly the fleet manager for CenturyLink, traveling the country to ensure the Fortune 100 company’s wheels are ready when they are. His well-outfitted shop is just few steps away from the pool and back patio. Here beneath a large pre-World War II American flag with 48 stars is the haven where Robert’s passion for restoring antique military vehicles is satisfied. Robert first started as a mechanic for Coca-Cola and eventually began managing the fleet operations for industry giant. He has managed CenturyLink’s fleet operations for the last four years. Robert’s most recent vehicle renovations have included a 1942 Ford/Willys Jeep collaboration, explaining that because of high demand, Ford was contracted to build Jeep Willys for the Armed Services. Robert painstakingly documented the restoration process with photographs to illustrate the incredible care that went into crafting the original vehicle. A 1952 Jeep was a gift from a Korean War Veteran in Paducah, Kentucky. Robert had painted a Jeep for him and in return he was given this Jeep to restore. Another of his vehicle restorations, an Air Force Crash Rescue Truck, won many awards for Robert’s attention to detail and is on permanent exhibition at the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

Comfortable in scale and heroically edited in style and substance, the Sims’ home is the epitome of a thoughtfully curated home filled with unbridled optimism and enthusiasm for the past, present and future.