Joel Podolski’s University Lakes Zen house – My Space

Oriental gateway. Architecturally, my home is often referred to as Baton Rouge’s “faux” Frank Lloyd Wright house. It was built in 1959 by two Chicago-based architects of the FLW School of Architecture. I love its two-story rectangular geometric shape and all its 30 spectacular floor-to-ceiling windows. In the foreground is an Oriental iron and wood gateway with half-moon, wood-carved doors co-designed by local metalsmith David Cano and myself.

Cedar tree trunk. My home is all about imaginative personal design, creative self-expression and handcrafted details. This majestic large cedar driftwood tree trunk—standing upright with its bold outstretched limbs, is my favorite downstairs centerpiece. For many years after I had painted it a dark brown, it just lay in my garage shed, cast aside, stuck in a corner. When I renovated my home five years ago, I had it sandblasted. It sprang to life, showing off all its striking natural wood tones and textures.

Moon gate. I created this archway to highlight my sculptural park gardens. It circles about five feet high, so that adults have to just bow their heads down a bit to experience some humility before entering the “sacred” gardens. The curved bamboo fencing—reminiscent of the Great Wall of China—meanders all around my gardens, revealing and concealing different parts of the landscaping.

Abstract barstools. These appear almost like sculptured people and are made of maple, cherry and mahogany woods, co-designed by local designer Roy Phelps and myself.

Meditation room. I chose this concrete “Laughing Buddha” with arms raised high to help bring extra joy and laughter into my home. The Buddha welcomes everyone as they enter my meditation retreat room. The glowing backlit Japanese rice-papered screen panels, framed here in Spanish-cedar wood, are known as shoji screens.