As a child living just a few blocks away, Anne Redd always admired the Federalist-style home in the middle of her great-grandmother’s block. “It was always my favorite house in the neighborhood,” she said.
The house eventually became available, and Anne and her husband Edmund were thrilled by the chance to own it, making them only the third owners in the property’s history. The stately Federalist-style home, built in the early 1930s and designed by noted architect Frederick Parham for the Hume family, formerly of Charleston, S.C., was a relative newcomer to the neighborhood, which was carved from the lands of the Livaudais plantation in 1832.
“Before building this house, there were only four homes on this block,” Anne said. “The neighbor across the street remembers when the land on which this house was built was a tennis court.”
The peach-colored house is set back, visible from the street only through the front gate. Behind the gate, pink flagstone walkways traverse the front and side of the house, leading into expansive side and rear yards. A balcony is above the natural wooden front door, trimmed with sidelights and topped by a fanned transom detail. Within a coved entryway is a black-and-white checkered marble floor that is in keeping with the era in which the home was built.
The grand staircase ascends from the right of the entryway, sweeping across the foyer. A carved handrail punctuates the sweep of the stairs, illuminated by a curved window with sidelights.
The curvaceous theme is repeated throughout the home. The inviting cypress-paneled library has comfortable, traditional furnishings, including a family portrait above the onyx mantel. A floor covering with a small repeating cheetah print pattern is found in the library as well as in a staircase runner in the entryway, adding a touch of whimsy.
The first floor is square, with a spacious central dining room. The piece de resistance is the stunning hand-blocked wallpaper by Zuber of Paris in the l’Hindustan pattern on three walls, depicting the languorous beauty of daily life in northern India. The fourth wall is painted a soothing seafoam blue-green to correspond with the sky in the wallpaper scene.
A series of operable French doors topped by fanned transoms open onto an outdoor terrace, allowing for an effortless indoor-outdoor flow for entertaining. A gilded Chinoiserie mirror oversees the room atop a mantel with bird’s-eye maple inlays.
Like the dining room, the family’s living room overlooks the rear garden and terrace with access through a French door. The room is furnished in a combination of French and English antiques, including a stunning Parisian settee given to the family by a former neighbor. As in the rest of the home, the oak floors are original.
“I like to mix traditional furniture with contemporary art for a youthful approach,” said Anne, who was formerly a president of the Board of Directors for the Preservation Resource Center.Artists represented throughout the home include Charles Reineke, George Dunbar, Nicole Charbonnet, Gretchen Weller Howard and Thomas Swanson.
When the family bought the property, it was move-in ready save for the kitchen and the bathrooms, all of which have since been renovated. The millwork in the kitchen, including the French door with a fan transom, was left in its natural cypress, topped only with a coat of low-luster protective varnish. The wooden cabinets are finished with a pale-yellow wash. The counters are soapstone. The kitchen island is topped with wood salvaged from a tree felled by a storm at the family’s weekend home in Covington. A rustic iron chandelier illuminates the island.
Through the years, the family has worked with Melissa Rufty Design and Sweet Dupuy of Gibbens and Dupuy on the home’s interior design.
The Holiday Home Tour is a self-guided walking tour that explores the interiors and grounds of several stunning homes all dressed up for the holidays in the historic Garden District of New Orleans. Festivities also include live musical performances, a festive boutique, and more! This beloved event returns December 14th & 15th for its 49th year. Learn more and get tickets
