Tour of design

• By KAREN MARTIN
• Advocate assistant People editor
• Published: Apr 18, 2008 - Page: 1E - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Nick Saban may be gone from LSU, but he certainly has not been forgotten. Now you have a chance to see the palatial estate the coach Tiger fans love to hate once called home.

Hospice of Baton Rouge scored a real coup this year in securing Saban’s old home, an elegant French country manor on Highland Road, as its Decorators’ Show Home.

For a small fee, you can walk the French limestone corridors where Saban undoubtedly paced many a mile, and help a good cause at the same time.

Proceeds from tours of the home, which begin with a preview gala on April 25 and run though May 4, benefit Hospice’s Patient Care Fund, which ensures that anyone needing hospice services will receive them regardless of their financial resources. The fund also will help with Hospice’s Butterfly Wing, the only licensed in-patient unit in the Baton Rouge area.

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Dodson donated the use of the home for this year’s fundraiser.

For months now, 21 local design firms have been planning its transformation. So don’t expect to see any Sabanesque décor, except perhaps for the purple and gold carpet in an upstairs room, which probably served as the coach’s office.

What you will see in this one-of-a-kind residence are gorgeous rooms designed by some of the city’s most-talented designers.

The home was built in 1949 by the Clint Pierson family. Cherie and Jim Flores, who made his money in the oil and gas business, completely transformed it from a single-story ranch to a two-story mansion in the early 1990s.

The couple had the roof raised, walls moved and defining architectural touches, such as the intricate frieze that runs the staircase and tops the entrance hall, built into the manor.

It sits on seven acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, including gardens and a large pond with a gazebo. An additional 15 acres extend the property to Burbank.

At press time, only one room was ready for viewing, but it’s a beauty.

Designers Dana Oatley Ortego and Beth Levine packed the small sitting room off the master bedroom with high style.

“We picked this room because of the views,” said Levine.