Entertaining at home is a beloved holiday tradition for many hosts and hostesses, but few have wowed guests quite like Dan and Carolyn Heard did in the 1990s. Just like their Perkins Road estate, their entertaining style sat comfortably in a class of its own.
After purchasing the mansion, christened “Charbonnet” by its high-profile builder, A.C. Lewis, in 1989, the Heards extensively renovated the home set on 100 acres of majestic oaks, installing a mural in the foyer, filling the formal and informal wings with antiques gathered during trips to New Orleans, New York and France, and transforming four upstairs bedrooms into one circular primary bedroom, among other improvements.
The sprawling estate was notably a set for the 1982 comedy The Toy and, in a slightly smaller role, the cover story of the November 1999 issue of inRegister. Each year, Carolyn transformed the Greek Revival-style home into a holiday wonderland to host several holiday events for employees of Dan’s business, John H. Carter Company, including a black-tie affair.
“We like to host company functions here,” Dan says in the original feature. “They are important people to us, and we can show that by having them here.”...