New Orleans Magazine – November 2013
Living in Janace’s Vision
The Gennusa family shares a dream home.
Bonnie Warren
One corner of the living room is devoted to a unique dining nook complete with a banquette, two lucite arm chairs and an oval table.
Cheryl Gerber Photographs
In a quiet neighborhood near three of their four children, Janace and Thomas A. “Tom” Gennusa II built their dream home. It was a carefully planned and executed project with their son Thomas A. “Tommy” Gennusa III (TAG Homes, Inc.) serving as the contractor. “We knew we would have a quality home with Tommy as our builder,” says Tom, an attorney with Gennusa, Piacun & Ruli.
Janace and Tom selected Dodie Smith (C. Spencer Smith, AIA, LLC) as their architect and Leah Richardson as interior designer. “Janace had a vision of everything she wanted in our new home,” Tom continues. “No detail was too small for her attention.” Fortunately, with Tommy, Dodie and Leah signed up as a team, it did turn out to be Janace’s dream home.
Tom goes on to explain that even the lap pool adjoining the loggia was Janace’s concept, “She wanted it to be elegant as well as functional. It was her idea to have the unique water fountain coming out of the tile wall behind the pool, and since there’s an iron fence between the pool and loggia she knew it would be a safe place for our nine grandchildren to enjoy.”