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 Redd 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 was built in the early 1930s.
The stately home, built in the early 1930s and designed by noted architect Frederick Parham for the Hume family, formerly of Charleston, South Carolina, 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 Redd said. “The neighbor across the street remembers when the land on which this house was built was a tennis court.”
The peach-colored house, set back and visible from the street only through the front gate, will be one of six featured Dec. 14-15 on the Preservation Resource Holiday Home Tour.
Behind the gate, pink flagstone walkways traverse the front and side of the house, leading into the expansive side and rear yards. A balcony above the natural wooden front door is trimmed with sidelights and topped by a fanned transom detail.
Within a coved entryway is a black-and-white checkered marble floor, 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.
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 cypress-paneled library has traditional furnishings, including a family portrait above the onyx mantel.
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 spacious central dining room includes stunning hand-blocked wallpaper by Zuber of Paris. A gilded Chinoiserie mirror oversees the room.
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.
The living room overlooks the rear garden and terrace. The room is furnished in a combination of French and English antiques. As in the rest of the home, the oak floors are original.
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 with 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, a former 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.
This story was reported by The Preservation Resource Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to preserve New Orleans’ historic architecture, neighborhoods and cultural identity. For information, visit prcno.org.
HOLIDAY HOME TOUR
What: The Preservation Resource Center’s annual self-guided walking tour, presented by McEnery Residential, featuring six Garden District homes.
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 14-15
Where: Homebase is Louise S. McGehee School, 2343 Prytania St., New Orleans
Tickets: $40-$45. See prcno.org for details.
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