‘Star Wars’ Fan’s Home in Acadiana

“Chateau Eminence,” as the owners dubbed it, is the approximately 13,000-square-foot home of Michelle and (resident “Star Wars” devotee) Charles Dyess located on nine acres overlooking a natural bluff.

In a long, gallery-style hallway not so far, far away, a storm trooper, Boba Fett, Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine live in relative harmony. It helps that they are in the form of a suit (for the storm trooper) and busts (the rest), otherwise it might not be so harmonious, despite being on the same team — the dark side. The hall leads to a 26-foot-wide by 35-foot-long theater room that seats 12, is designed to look like it’s located on the Death Star and is presided over by none other than R2-D2 and C-3PO. That is, life-sized models of the two iconic droids from “Star Wars.” If you aren’t a fan of the franchise created by George Lucas in 1977, keep reading. There’s something for everyone at “Chateau Eminence,” the approximately 13,000-square-foot home of Michelle and (resident “Star Wars” devotee) Charles Dyess.

Situated on nine acres overlooking a natural bluff, the Dyesses’ home is an homage to the entrepreneurial couple’s work, lives and interests. From Charles’ “Star Wars” obsession, born as a teen when the first film in the saga was released, to Michelle’s love of Murano glass and their shared hobby of travel, their home celebrates it all in eclectic style. Michelle, president, CEO and owner of Eagle Electric Machinery, Inc. and Tulco II, LLC., and Charles, who works for both companies and is also a music and video production professional, are both Alexandria natives. The couple’s design team consisted of Jeff Burns Designs, Paige Pebbles Interior Design, EC Smith Building Contractor and cabinet builder CL Specialties, with whom they worked closely for two years on customizing everything to their wants and needs.

“Light, bright and happy,” says Michelle, describing the home’s interior. “That’s what I wanted. Opposite of what I had in the past.”

Michelle and Charles’ former home was “dark and gothic.” The couple was keen to flip the script for the design of their “second forever home” as Charles calls it. With the exception of the “Star Wars” gallery and theater, inspired by a trip to Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in Los Angeles, the home stays true to Michelle’s resistance to the dark side. A feature of the old house that did carry over to the new is a center hall with rooms off to the right and left. Michelle and Charles worked with Burns from the center out to design an open floor plan that lined everything up, just so.

“You come in the front door, and you can stand at one end and look all the way to the other end,” says Charles. “Your eyeline takes you all the way through the living room, all the way through the big hall, straight into the pool room, straight outside.”

The through line can be interrupted, however, via the office, guest suite or TV sitting room, which each have doors to close them off from view. The home also has a primary suite, a coffee bar (room), music studio, indoor pool and a tornado vault, with various architectural features outside, including a pavilion and a pigeonnier (which they call the guard house).

“We built both houses with entertainment in mind, because that’s who we are; we love entertaining and company,” says Michelle, sharing their open-door policy for friends and neighbors, with even their former subcontractors frequently dropping in. “Everybody loves to come by here for coffee every day.”

The coffee bar — which could easily be mistaken for a service kitchen — features a white, backlit quartzite center island with seating for five. “I wanted the coffee bar to be solid white, so I could put any color I wanted,” says Michelle. Copious white cabinetry is broken up with white shelving upon white walls, which houses colorful glassware, tableware and small artworks. An oval window above the sink floods the room with light. European white oak covers the floors in this space and throughout the adjacent open living areas.

“Light, bright and happy,” says Michelle, describing the home’s interior. “We love entertaining and company.” The couple has an open-door policy for friends, neighbors and even their former sub-contractors. “Everybody loves to come by here for coffee every day.”

The decorative color palette of the home is inspired by Michelle’s favorite hues of blue, turquoise and navy, and her love of the ocean and sea life. Elements such as cozy overstuffed chairs and couches, soft, velvet-covered slipper chairs (with lots of Scotchgard, jokes Michelle) and wide, open spaces serve as an invitation to kick back with a cup of coffee and stay a while.

“I didn’t want people to come in and feel like they were scared to touch anything; I was trying to create elegance with warm welcome,” says Michelle, who, despite going in a vastly different direction for the rest of the home, says she loves the “Star Wars” theater. To which we like to think Charles — the Han Solo to Michelle’s Princess Leia — says, “I know.”