By Liz Swaine
Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate
Published April 8, 2026
Over the next two weeks, 19 custom-built and remodeled homes will throw open their doors to show the newest trends in residential living. The Parade of Homes has been one of the Homebuilders Association of Northwest Louisiana’s premier yearly events since the 1950s.
This year, the tour takes in homes in Shreveport and Bossier City, Stonewall, Benton, Minden and Heflin, with a choice of lifestyles ranging from larger city to smaller city to small town living.
Not only lifestyles, but home styles run the gamut.
In south Shreveport, Realtor Cheryl Dunson will be showing off several architectural styles; from conventional suburban to Acadian to Southern classic.
Builder Josh Knicely’s home is considered “transitional,” blending traditional and contemporary styling.
Over the years, between his father’s construction business and now his own, Knicely, the CEO of Josh Knicely Builders, has played a role in 12 to 13 ‘parade’ homes.
He said builders who participate don’t always sell their homes during the tour. While that would be nice, he admits, it is more about the long game.
“For years, really, the Parade of Homes is planting seeds. It’s allowing people to see your product, how you’re different, how you pay attention to detail differently than other builders.”
“I have been fortunate enough that I’ve had a couple of customs that have come from it years later and several remodels that have come from it.”
Knicely’s home this year is at 2121 Pecan Square in Shreveport’s Provenance, an area popular with parade builders. Three of the new homes are there; two more are nearby at Provenance’s The Grove at Garrett Farms.
2121 Pecan Square Ave.
Dunson handles the showing and sales of homes in Provenance, a traditional neighborhood development concept that places an emphasis on outdoor spaces and interaction with neighbors. “It’s porches and people and all the important things,” Dunson said of the home facades. “The necessities [parking] go to the back.”
One thing that helps encourage the neighborliness is the 80 planned events each year, from the open-to-the-public farmers’ markets, musical concerts and outdoor movie nights to a recent resident’s-only “Big Bunny Brunch” and Easter Egg Hunt.
Dunson said the Knicely home on Pecan Square incorporates many of the amenities buyers are currently looking for. Large bookshelves are painted a deep saturated blue. Countertops are Quartzite, a natural stone, and fixture metals are mixed, which Dunson said is a strong trend.
She said when people look at homes now there are a couple of things on their list. “High end appliances are always important. For a larger home, one of the things that we’re seeing that people like is to have a separate little play room upstairs so that the kids can have the toys all over the place and it’s not part of the main area.”
By the way, she said, the once popular media rooms are no longer “must haves.”
Angel Pou, an interior designer with Gautreau Interiors in Shreveport, has seen real estate from all sides- as a commercial Realtor, the owner of a home décor retail business, and now, as a residential and commercial designer for major remodels and new construction.
She confirms that quartzite is now a preferred countertop option and the white interior palette that has been preferred for a number of years is moving to more color.
“Now we’re seeing more saturated colors, moodier browns, moodier greens,” she said. As an example, Pou is working on a tan kitchen for a customer who has white now and wants something different. “She wants to do a rich caramel color on her cabinets.”
“I haven’t done a white kitchen or a white bathroom in probably a year,” she said.
2101 Pecan Square Ave.
Another popular look is using a well-placed antique and vintage piece to make a space look richer and unlacquered brass fixtures that are allowed to patina.
She shared that local tastes are also moving away from open concept living to more defined spaces where if a kitchen or play space is messy, it can simply be closed off.
In terms of flooring, both Pou and Dunson said wood and engineered wood are still the most requested.
While great for current homebuying and future homebuilding ideas, more than anything, the Parade of Homes is just fun, Dunson said.
“These are people who love to come look at beautiful houses. I recognize a lot of them because they come every year. It’s what, $15, and they have 4 days of being able to go look at homes and they have a great time.”
The Parade of Homes is 1-5 p.m. April 11-12 and 18-19. Tickets are $12 online or $15 cash at parade homes.