Preservation Resource Center 2015 Shotgun House Tour

PRC 2015 Shotgun House Tour - 2 days - Saturday March 28 and Sunday March 29

You know Spring has arrived in New Orleans when the annual PRC Shotgun House Tour takes place. This year it's back in my neighborhood, The Irish Channel. The weather is going to be perfect and all the homes are unique and will give you plenty of great ideas about renovating and decorating. The tour benefits the Education Department at the PRC. Buy your tickets HERE or the day of the tour at Nadeau Funiture for the Soul on the corner of Magazine and Washington, the tour headquarters.

You can see a Sneak Peek of the PRC 2015 Shotgun House Tour in a nice video clip at WGNO.

Here is my sneak peek in photos (photos by Sara Essex Bradley). Please come and support the PRC, and come and see me too. My home is on the tour for the second time. The first time was several years ago, and some things remain the same, but so much has changed too.

You can read more about all the houses and homeowners in Preservation in Print magazine

The article starts on page 20

Preservation Resource Center 2014 Shotgun House Tour

 

When I joined the committee to help organize the PRC 2014 Shotgun House Tour, I had no idea how much my life would change by the time it rolled around. I love the work the PRC does, and this is the only committee I work on.

The weather is going to be gorgeous, so come on over to the neighborhood known as the Audubon Corridor.  It's Uptown close to the zoo. As usual the houses are adorable and inspirational, and the homeowners are generous and sweet to let all of us looky-Lous traipse through their rooms. There are homes done by designers, contractors, and just regular folks like us who have the knack, Each shotgun house floor plan is utilized in an interesting way. The shotgun house is the most plentiful housing stock in New Orleans, so chances are you live in one. This tour will give you a ton of energy and ideas for your own home, and raise money for the education department at the PRC,

One of the homes on the 2014 PRC Shotgun House Tour - photo by Ian Cockburn

I will be at tour headquarters signing my book from 1 - 3 PM,  with the proceeds going to the PRC.

Come on out and say hello and get a book.

Sara Ruffin Costello New Orleans Style

A couple of weeks ago Sara Ruffin Costello introduced her BFF Miles Redd when he gave a talk at his book signing at the Ogden Museum in New Orleans. My thought bubble was "Oh that chick". Sara was wearing a matching top and pants, slim silhouette. It was black, with a small print that made her outfit look like chic grown-up PJs. And her introduction was genuine, funny, and perfect.

Sara Ruffin Costello and Miles Redd in New York

I remember another blogger/stylist/artist and I talking on the phone one day (quite awhile ago) when SRC's name came up. The BSA asked me if I knew SRC who had just landed in New Orleans from New York, another New New among our ranks. I was told SRC and her husband Paul are the coolest couple and they would be great to know. I kind of said yeah sure.............................(sound of crickets).

I noticed a few pics of the couple in the company of the design and social glitterati here in NOLA, and a wisp of a memory of them came into focus. She is a kind of famous as one of the Domino Magazine (and book) team, and as a writer for the NY Times and Wall Street Journal, writing great style pieces. He is a well known photographer for the NY Times and many many other major outlets (his work is also beautiful).

New Orleans living room of Sara and Paul Costello, recent New News

The West Village home they left behind for the Garden District in New Orleans - I love to compare what they kept and changed - There's a nice mix of old and new here, but I think it gets better in NOLA

There's definitely more color and stuff, something that takes you over when you live in New Orleans

I checked out their West Village house on Curbed, and another light bulb popped off. Oh that girl! Oh that couple! I realized "I knew" them all along, just not putting names with spaces and work I already loved. In fact their bedroom wallpaper inspired a wall treatment in my house.

The master bedroom in the West Village House - This wallpaper inspired me

SRC inspired me before I knew who she was! You can see we both like to rock a good print and some PJ style -  photo by Sara Essex Bradley for Rue Magazine

And of course I "knew" the couple from Domino and Domino The Book, and all their work at large that I have been looking at and enjoying over the past few years. Duh. I finally connected some dots.

This is the West Village again, but the room changed - It already has some New Orleans flava - I think the more simple room might have been done when they put the house up for sale

Here's a composite of the real estate photos of the West Village house from Curbed

So here they are now living in New Orleans! We are so happy in New Orleans for the influx of a cadre of young smart stylish people choosing to make New Orleans their home (or at least their home base).

I love this quote - so true, so true - And  when you first come to New Orleans you cannot believe that a door like the one in this photo is standard issue in many houses - It can make you do a happy dance

Detail of the living room in New Orleans - Tip: Paint your trim the same color as your walls

They know what Alberto and I discovered 13 years ago: This is a nice little cosmopolitan city with affordable real estate, so staggeringly great in comparison to New York. When you first start house hunting you almost do a happy dance when the real estate agent isn't looking. The space and the style in New Orleans seems like a steal. In fact it is. More than a steal, it is almost a gift.

Everything we love - Color, books, art

And if you have jobs that you can do from any home base, New Orleans is so perfect. We chose it for just that reason, and because it is the most beautiful Bohemian place with no winter, great food, wonderful shopping, fantastic music and art, lots to do (or not do), and terrific people who thrive on joie de vivre.

So it's good to have Sara and Paul and family here in New Orleans. They will give alot to the city, and it will give alot to them.

Good to have you in New Orleans - Paul Costello and Sara Costello (she is on the right at the end) hosting a party in their new New Orleans home

Their house was on The PRC Holiday Home Tour 2012

All photos of the New Orleans house from a great blog called Domaine. Photos of the West Village house from Curbed.


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The Winner Of PRC Shotgun House Tour Tickets!

Tracy please pick your two tickets at Will Call at the PRC table in front of Whole Foods on Magazine Street. I will be at the desk this morning until Noon, but you can come anytime and get the tickets from anyone at the desk.

Thanks to all for supporting the PRC and this wonderful tour. You can still buy your tickets today at the table in front of Whole Foods.

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Free Tickets To PRC Shotgun House Tour On Saturday

New Orleans is especially beautiful now. Spring sprung a couple of months ago The weather is perfect, and everything is blooming. What a perfect time for the Shotgun House Tour hosted by the Preservation Resource Center. And they have given me two tickets to give away to you. Just leave a comment, and one of you will be chosen at random.

Ashley Longshore did the art work for the 2013  PRC Shotgun House Tour posters

There are seven great houses on the tour this year, taking place in the posh Uptown section of New Orleans. The humble shotgun house never looked prettier or more grand. So all you looky-lous have a wonderful chance to see the inside of these homes. And anyone in the midst of renovating their home will get lots of great ideas from viewing these wonderful houses.

Shotgun House and Art Tour

Saturday, April 6  ·  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  ·  Uptown

Enjoy a delightful self-guided tour of shotgun homes Uptown, featuring the personal art collections of artists, collectors, and gallery owners.

Headquarters:
(H) Whole Foods Market, 5600 Magazine St.

Homes on Tour:
(1) Mamie Sterkx and Kirk Gasperecz - 1001 Joseph Street
(2) Alexis and Daniel Walter - 1024 Octavia Street
(3) Amanda Rizzo - 1103 Joseph Street
(4) Jamie Meeks - 1201 Joseph Street
(5) Susan Couvillon - 839 State Street
(6) Sidonie Villere and Jonathan Ferrara - 519 State Street
(7) Lauren and Jeff Habetz - 417 State Street

Lots of fun interiors to see on the tour

Headquarter for tickets and info will be in front of Whole Foods on Magazine Street. Several merchants offer discounts to ticket holders, so it's a great day to combine the house tour with shopping.

Elegant interior of one of the houses on the tour

Art studio in one of the homes on the tour

There are great ideas to be found on the tour

So please leave a comment, and I will let you know today, Friday, if you won the tickets.

Shotgun houses are like the little temples of architecture

PRC 2013 Shoutgun House Tour - Advance Tickets:
$16 for PRC members, $20 for non-members, $10 for groups of 10 or more
On the day of the tour, all tickets are $25

 

All photos by Ian Cockburn courtesy of the PRC


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2012 PRC Shotgun House Tour

This Saturday March 31, is the annual Shotgun House Tour presented by the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. This year it is in Bayou St. John, one of the prettiest waterfront neighborhoods in New Orleans.

Here's a sneak peak at some of the homes on the tour (all photos courtesy of the PRC).

It's all about the porches on the PRC Shotgun House Tour - don't you want to come inside?

It takes a special person to choose to own, restore, and live in an old Shotgun house. The floor plan is challenging for a modern lifestyle, and it is so interesting to see how people deal with it. Shotgun home owners are dedicated and unique, and not afraid of a challenge. The solutions they come up with from cutting edge eco choices, to colorful decor and furnishings, to loving restoration, always makes this tour the best of the many house tours offered in New Orleans.

Shotgun house owners often have a sense of fun and always love color - You have to see this house on the PRC tour!

It's always fun to be a looky-lou in the homes of the rich and famous, but the Shotgun House Tour takes you behind closed doors of regular people like you and me who are house proud on a level that we can realistically aspire to.

So New Orleans! I can tell you that this house does not disappoint when you see it inside

So get your tickets now. The  money helps keep the PRC going. Without them we would not have the incredible treasure trove of antique homes being restored and lived in today.

Another darling porch on the PRC 2012 Shotgun House Tour

If you want to see great uses of color and how to deal with a challenging floor plan don't miss the tour

More color and another cute porch to lure you inside

Greek Revival done the Shotgun House way!

As an added bonus, the headquarters for the tour is the Pitot House, the only Creole colonial country house that is open to the public New Orleans. It tells the story of life along the bayou since the earliest days of settlement. The Pitot House has had a variety of owners from prominent lawyers to austere nuns. One of the most prominent was James Pitot, the first mayor of New Orleans after the city's incorporation who lived here from 1810-1819.

The fabulous Pitot House is the headquarters for the PRC Shotgun House Tour

Get your tickets for the PRC 2012 Shotgun House Tour

This is a glorious time of year in New Orleans. All the gardens are blooming and the weather is perfect. So grab your walking shoes and head out to Bayou St. John on Saturday.

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