Tour a New Orleans Victorian Home With Its Own Carriage House

Jul 18, 2023

By Michelle Duncan

Photography by Jess Isaac

Dusty pink with forest green accents is an unconventional colorway for the façade of a house. But when it came to a New Orleans Victorian renovation, those are just the hues that Samantha Wetton and Alexandra Neu of Los Angeles–based Lafayette Studio decided were best. “We were driving around town, looking at other people’s color combinations and trying to come up with our favorite,” explains Wetton, as she talks about the property they renovated for a retired Southern California couple moving to the quiet neighborhood to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law. In a place like New Orleans, where vibrant architecture is a visible language, their choice “speaks to the playfulness the city has to offer,” Wetton says.

Their desire to embrace the essence of the city continues inside. After a series of unfortunate decorating efforts in the 1980s and ’90s left the 1904 structure with terra-cotta tiled kitchen countertops, colored bathtubs, and carpets the color of spoiled avocado, the designers wanted to restore the dignity of the house while honoring its original era. “I envisioned all the ways in which we could bring it back to its potential, because it still had a lot of its architectural bones,” Wetton says. “They were just hidden by all of these bad renovations over time.”

After peeling away the lamentable decor and updating the plumbing, wiring, and some of the flooring—a fire in 1991 had left a gaping hole in the kitchen floor, which had been merely covered by a rug—Wetton and Neu got down to outfitting the space. In the process, they fashioned a dynamic color story in the public rooms by using fabric to connect the rooms. By the time the duo finished, they had created an elegantly classic interior filled with bold textures, local and imported antiques, a few modern spins on traditional accents, and some religious iconography for emphasis.

A sunny yellow bedroom appointed with Schumacher fabric

In the opulent dining room, robust green pigment makes the strongest color statement. “[In] New Orleans, you see that green is a big color used on a lot of the architecture. That very rich, vibrant green hue [is] representative of the city. You [also] see it in the beautiful oak trees and the lush greenery,” Wetton says. “We were trying to figure out what would make this room feel really luxurious. That color was the first to come to mind.” As for the space’s furnishing, antique Thonet Bentwood chairs surround an oval table, and a 20th-century six-light crystal bronze chandelier straight from a Milanese Palazzo adds to the sense of extravagance.

Although many of the home’s pieces were brought into the city, much of its look and feel come courtesy of local salvage yards, antique shops, and craftspeople. “A big part of our design process was trying to highlight local artisans and makers,” Wetton says, referencing contributions by the likes of Chip Martinson. “Our overall design intent was to preserve the historical shell and details of the home,” Wetton says. Neu adds: “[On] all the projects we work, we want [them] to feel like there’s a history, and [they’ve] been lived in. I think we did a pretty good job.”

The pristine façade is painted in Setting Plaster No.231 by Farrow & Ball with trim in Galapagos Green by Benjamin Moore and shutters in Jade Romanesque 476, also by Benjamin Moore. French Quarter Lantern by Bevolo.

“The antique gilt wood table base was one of the items that came with the house. We found it dusty in the garage and decided to give it new life. Once it was refurbished, we had a new pink marble top made.” Says Wetton. Bentwood Type C Jindrich Halabala armchairs covered in Lee Jofa Mansfield Linen Woodlan Fabric.

The custom sofa is upholstered in Jane Churchill’s Mali Orange Fabric with Samuel & Sons’ Oberon Bullion Fringe. Side tables are custom. Carved Italian alabaster marble table lamps, yellow overdyed vintage hand-knotted Oriental rug, and Murano Glass Bowl are all antique. The oil painting from The Parker Gallery in London dates from the 18th-century.

This room is painted in Pioneer Green Volume 2 by Portola. The drapery is by Wells Abbott, the chairs are antique Thonet chairs, the rug is a hand-knotted Oushak antique, the gilt mirror comes courtesy Dop Antiques, the large glass hurricane lamp vase from is Oka, and the antique newel pedestal from is Merchant House.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

The custom island is by Chip Martinson of Monkey Wid-A-Fez. The rattan and iron bar stools are by CB2. The Large Priscilla Pendant glass lamp is by Pooky. The Georgian era bridge kitchen faucet is by Perrin & Rowe. The stove is from the La Canche Classique Line. And the drapery is by Summerby Chintz by Colefax and Fowler.

The 1950s French rattan chairs from Malachite Home surround a custom table created by New Orleans–native Chip Martinson, as a raffia Umbrella Pendant lamp by Honoré hangs over the setting. The banquette fabric is Camden Cotton Check in Pumpkin by Schumacher.

The wallpaper in the powder room is painted with Moccasin Volume 2 by Portola, and the custom vanity is made with Calacatta Michaelangelo marble. On the wall is a 19th-century French Rococo sconce.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

The custom bed frame is upholstered in Lulu Velvet by S. Harris. The antique metal horse table lamps, Louis XVI inlaid side tables, Turkish area rug, and Suzani bed cover are all vintage. The antique French female nude painting from Fireside Antiques.

In the primary bathroom, two antique Louis XV–style dressers were converted into vanities. The chandelier is vintage 1950s by J.T. Kalmar, the sconces are 19th-century French Rococo. An antique oil painting sourced from the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Los Angeles watches over the room. The rug is vintage Oriental Persian.

A standalone shower clad in Calacatta Cremo stands next to a soaking tub in the primary bathroom. The Italian brass mirror and Oriental Persian rug are both vintage. The floor is Classic Statuario Octagon Mosaic honed with Botticino Dot.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

“We had a fun time with color,” Wetton says. “As we were pulling things we started realizing, ‘Oh, this is the blue room.’ Everything kind of fell into place even, though that wasn’t our original intent,” she says of the color themes found in many of the rooms. The wallpaper is Isabelle Floral Toile by Thibaut. The drapery and headboard fabric are by Pindler. The pendant light is by Lucent. The nightstands are Wilshire Wooden by Maisonette. The table lamps and shades are vintage Le Klint Model. The rug and mirror are both vintage. And the wood-and-marble dresser is from Renaissance Interiors.

A blue-and-white hand-painted vanity by Sylvia T. Designs sits in the guest bathroom of the main house. The sconces are Clemente Double by Visual Comfort.

The modern toile, custom canopy, and side table cover are all Schumacher fabric. The antique solid brass standing candelabra is from Carpenter Studio. The table lamps are a pair of early 20th-century American colonial brass candlesticks.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

The entry to the carriage house.

The designers longed to lay historically used cypress planks on the carriage house’s kitchen floor, but because the former shed is not elevated and sits directly on the marshy New Orleans ground, they were told by the contractor that they had to use tile. The custom island is by Chip Martinson, the Vienna matte black backless stools are by Crate and Barrel, and the Italian iron pendant lantern is from 1stDibs.

Antique French Green and White Oyster Plates from Ebay adorn the wall of the living area in the carriage house. Two 1950s Vintage Paolo Buffa Highback Chairs upholstered in white bouclé fabric, along with a Chippendale Sofa upholstered in Homestead Toile by Pindler, surround an antique wicker coffee table.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

The bathroom on the first floor of the carriage house uses the same Italian stripe jacquard linen and weathered white zellige tile as the bathroom on the second floor. The sconce is Ledbury Ribbed Glass by Fritz Fryer.

A 1960s Danish vitrika pendant light from Pamono hovers over a bed with an antique bamboo headboard that leans against a wall painted in Copper Rose Volume 2 by Portola Paints in the carriage house’s first floor bedroom. Nightstand and mirror are both antiques.

In one of the carriage house guest bedrooms, two vintage Lexington Palmer Home Collection nightstands bookend a bed frame wrapped in an imported hand-block printed fabric while an antique painting of the Virgin Mary sourced from the New Orleans Antique Mall sits watch above. “We were going to all the salvage yards and antique stores, we found all these old, religious [images] that were so beautiful and pieces of art in their own right,” Neu says. “Luckily the client was super open to it.” Sconces are vintage Danish brass with opaline glass. The antique crochet bedcover is from Sunday Shop.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

Zeus Wallpaper in tobacco by House of Hackney warms the upstairs bathroom in the carriage house. The antique carved mirror is Italian, sourced from the River Road Flea Market in New Orleans. The shower curtain is Italian Stripe Jacquard Linen by RH. The tile is a weathered white zellige by Clé Tile.

By Paola Singer

By Elizabeth Stamp

By Ilana Kaplan

By Elizabeth Fazzare