This is my Vieux Carre part III post.
Welcome to my Vieux Carre salon, as in the French word for living room or parlor and not necessarily, as in a gathering of literati. Being that access to the gallery was only through French doors in both bedrooms, I decided to turn the guest bedroom into a salon. Rarely did it see use for longer than an extended weekend so a good sofa bed served that purpose well. The house was built in 1830 so I wanted to stay true to the time period. I wanted to create a room that looked like it had evolved over the years from one generation to the next. We added parquet floors and covered them with a reproduction Aubusson rug. Lace curtains covered the window and French doors and were held back with antique articulated drapery tiebacks so the French doors could function properly. Antique and reproduction pieces were mixed; antiques used where affordable, reproduction where not.
The fireplace was functional but really needed attention. I painted the mantel white and added a Tambour clock and bronze dore candlesticks. That recessed area to the right in the first picture became the perfect place to store the tall ladder which was necessary to change light bulbs, window air-conditioner filters and access the curtain rods on French doors. It was hidden by an antique screen with silk panels and mirrors.
This little Louis XV chair was covered in a moss green velvet when I found it in an antique shop on Magazine Street. I love toile and the chair with some accent pillows was the perfect place to use it. The back of the chair was in a matching check. A camel back sofa bed, another cane backed Louis XV chair and a pair of white Provençal side chairs completed the seating. All the accessories, such as books, prints, paper weight and kaleidoscope were all true to the period of the house.
The bath just required some fresh paint to walls and cabinets. A niche in the wall opposite the brick wall was the perfect size for the Irish pine washstand. A mirrored multi paned window frame with a sheer curtain was hung on the brick wall to make the area feel more spacious.
A cypress wrap around mantel, typically found in New Orleans homes in the 1800s was added in the second bedroom. A white wicker chair, simple white shades, a matelassé coverlet and a white metal washstand from a convent brightened this room.
Yes, that is the face of a window air-conditioning unit and I have no idea what it was doing there!
Well, that’s the end of the tour. I hope you enjoyed it. If you ever come to New Orleans and are curious to know where Angelina and Brad live, just bring those exterior and street pictures (especially that one looking toward the river) and I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding their house.
– Lorre Lei
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