Donna Russell

Post Katrina New Orleans has had a building boom with many modern houses being juxtaposed with the traditional. People are constructing new homes with an eye towards the hard lessons learned from Katrina. Structural issues are more important than ever, and they are addressed with style by using the latest building materials.

Tom and Donna Russell with their dog Tyson in their new home that Donna designed in New Orleans - Tom says, “I decided early on not to reenter the house until it was ready to reveal. I wanted to save the ‘shock’ and ‘awe’ until it was finished.” Then he adds with a smile, “The ‘shock’ was writing the checks for the work, the ‘awe’ was walking into the house for the first time and seeing our beautiful new house.” Donna couldn’t be more proud of their home and adds, “It was a true labor of love, and today we have our dream house.”

Donna Russell is a New Orleans interior designer who lived in a nice enough house for many, many years. After Katrina she and her husband Tom decided to finally build their dream home in a neighborhood by Lake Pontchartrain that they always loved. They engaged architect Dodie Smith.
There is a nice article in New Orleans Magazine all about it (Bonnie Warren writer, Cheryl Gerber photos above and below).

The exterior

The new home was built on the ruins of an old one. The design involved removing the porches and a small living room, and creating a large new space with 12-foot high ceilings, a unique fireplace and a series of 10-foot high windows and sliding glass doors, topped by clerestory windows. New front and rear doors were added at each end of the hallway that joined the new construction to the existing house. “The seamless connection between old and new was a key design feature,” the architect Dodie Smith explains. “The final modern design is a fresh approach not typically seen in New Orleans.”

The living room - The floors are flood and hot weather friendly tile!

The dining room

The galley style kitchen has the look of fine furniture and blends into the open floor plan - Donna is a master at mixing tiles

The sensuous master bedroom

More extraordinary tile mix in the master bathroom - You walk through the huge shower to get to each side where the sink and tub is located - It is a most unique and beautiful design

An upstairs hallway that joins the old and new structure

A vignette in the guest room on the ground floor

The patio

I have had the pleasure to be given a tour of the home by Donna and her associate Mitchell Settoon, who did may of the finishes and created some art for the home. I love the floor plan, the finishes, and the furnishings.

The following photos are the ones I took when Donna gave me the house tour, and thought I'd share them with you.

The living room

Coffee table styling and close look at the modern fireplace

Another view of the living room -I love the way Donna layers art and accessories

Console table styled up nicely

Mitchell Settoon did the large piece of art to the right of the fireplace

Another view of the at work by Mitchell Settoon

Mitchell Settoon did the faux painted beams

Another view of the faux painted beams done by Mitchell Settoon

The dining room - The table has steel legs

Another view of the dining room - Love all the storage

A view from the kitchen into the dining room

A butlers pantry next to the kitchen

Detail of terrific tile selection in the butlers pantry

There's a guest bedroom on the ground floor

A nifty little desk in the guest bedroom

The guest bathroom

Let's go to the upper level of the house

This art filled hallway connects the old part of the house to the new

The master bedroom - I love how Donna used this coffee table on wheels at the end of the bed - The bed is custom by Leonels

There's a dressing room for Donna off the master bedroom

You walk through the shower in the master bath - again, another awesome tile choice - The shower divides the sink and toilet area from the bath tub area

One side of the walk through shower has a soaking tub

There's another upstairs bedroom used as a home office

Outside spaces:

Back patio

Fountain with plantings on the back patio

Rear view of the house

Front view of the house - the dining room is on the left and the master above, and the living room on the right

Front patio

I hope you enjoyed my snap shots and the tour of the home of Donna, Tom, and Tyson.

Tyson in the home office

Contact info:

Donna Russell

Phone: (504) 975-4860

Dodie Smith

Mitchell Settoon

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