Infusing Historic New Orleans Character Into A Boring, New-Build Home
This new-build home in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans was well-built, had a number of details that did set it apart from a copy-paste house you might find in a suburban development, but my client couldn’t help but still feel a little bored. We talked at length in order to put to words why that might be, and fix it!
Her home needed to feel like if it were carefully picked up and dropped in another place, it would still feel like New Orleans – not in a tacky way of course, but instead in an honoring of New Orleans character.
See below for some New Orleans home style inspiration and then photos of the client’s final product at the end that tie it all together!
New Orleans is an old city
There are a lot of old cities, and other parts of the world are far older than a lot of Americans can imagine. But you know what I mean when I say “old city,” right? The roots go deep, and there are more layers to the culture than a croissant at a French bakery. Even in rebuilding itself after Hurricane Katrina, the city didn’t lose its beautiful, community-based oldness. My client and I figured out together that this new-build needed some old touches to reflect the city it’s in.
In the midst of the project I found this beautiful antique door at Ricca’s Architectural Sales over in Mid City NOLA. Bower Home got this to custom fit into our client’s home, and it was a great example of lifting something from forgettable to absolutely signature.
We knew we wanted to incorporate custom moulding on the walls that would be similar to the historic trim in older houses. Bower Home sourced, crafted, and installed beautiful millwork for us! Now the whole house looks period-appropriate.
New Orleans character and style come from its color and vibrance
You are not going to walk around any other city in the US with so many yellows, reds, purples, pinks, and greens. (You should know that pink and green consistently light a fire in me). Even the most outspoken of sports fans don’t have anything on NOLA’s vibrance. These are regular homes of regular people! Show me purple and yellow trim on the same house someplace else Honey, I dare you. New Orleans is not afraid of color, and you shouldn’t be either.
The organic wall of it all! There is something about how the greenery and structures of this city work together in a unique way. It is just full of life! In many places, plants almost have a somehow sterile nature to them, very man-designed. In NOLA it honestly just feels like we’re all in this together.
Relatedly, art in New Orleans really has something special, and I’m excited to keep exploring that on my blog here. For now I’ll talk about what we had in mind for this Bywater project. Art here isn’t necessarily “maximalist” but minimalists would be uncomfortable. There’s a lot of reliance on organic shapes, community-based messages, lots of vibrant color of course, black lines, extremely… analog? I’ll include some photos of NOLA art I’ve come across recently, but also please do check out @cubsthepoet on Instagram. Christian Davenport is VERY delightfully New Orleans.
New Orleans is a Black city
NOLA may have heavy French influence, but this city is Black. The majority of the city’s population is Black, the people who built it were Black, and this client, too, is Black. This huge part of NOLA was missing in my client’s home, and we leaned heavily into Black, in style and most notably in the wallpaper of the dining room (you’ll see below).
Bringing it all together
This was one of my favorite projects to date. I think you’ll see why. Oh, and send me a note if you’re looking for some more style and character in your New Orleans home!
