Condo Captivation: The French Quarter

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Wouldn't it be fun to roll out of bed and have one of the city's best brunch spots just down the street? For only $2.6 million, this French Quarter condo buys you just that.  And beautiful hardwood floors, a 30 foot balcony, high ceilings etc... What's not to love? Maybe the vieux carré pricing, but believe it or not, $900+ a square foot is the going rate in that neck of the woods.  Call/email/text/message me for a private showing (see the "send a note" icon on the right? Just click it!)

Happy hump day!

Powder Room Reno

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Because there is no better time to renovate two bathrooms in your house then when you are pregnant and chasing a 16 month old....  Maybe it's the whole nesting thing, or maybe I'm just a glutten for punishment, but we are down to one working bathroom in our house while we renovate our first floor powder room and make some minor changes to our master bath.

The real story is that we had a leak in the powder room and a mold issue in the exterior wall which required immediate remediation.  Long story short, we had to gut and start over.  Here is the current state of the space...

It's located under our stairs and about the size of a postage stamp.  There is really only configuration possible - toilet in the back sink on the right wall.  We were able to salvage the floor (although not in the best condition, but at least it's marble) and the sink faucet (cold water only but beautiful Sherle Wagner).  The window above the sink and left wall are being mirrored and a shelves added behind the toilet.  We are working on the sink bowl now, any suggestions welcome!

Here is some inspiration...

Love this sink!!

Like the check on the wall and the sconces.

We were originally considering a mounted sink bowl to sit on top of the original wooden banjo counter but have decided to just go with the white sink bowl in marble. 

I love a fun wall paper and bright color in a powder room.  Our space is really too small to do much color, but still calls for a fun paper.  I chose this Farrow and Ball Napoleon Bumble Bee.  

We are in the middle of searching for a marble remanent for the sink. I like the warm tones of this one with the wall paper we are using.  We'll see what I can find...

Finally, the boisserie in this powder room is really standout.  It just makes everything look more finished and refined, doesn't it? Hopefully we will have it all finished by the time baby comes.  Check back for a finished update.  Soon I hope!! 

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto Pasta & Grilled Shrimp

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We have a rotation of about 6 things we eat for dinner and get super excited when we find something we like enough to add into the mix.  This is one of those things.  Whole Foods sells a delicious little jar of this for a million dollars, and I will admit, I usually get lazy and just buy it.  BUT making your own pesto and freezing it would be even better.  This recipe is one I would try if I ever got adventurous enough to make my own pesto.  Here is the Sandra Lee version of the recipe for the meal for 2.

Ingredients: 

Red Pepper Pesto Pasta
1 jar red pepper pesto (or homemade!)
1/2 pound of radiator pasta (or any noodle you like)
Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano


Grilled Shrimp Kebobs 
1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp (we like to get them as large as they come locally)
1 red pepper
1 onion
Salt & pepper
Pimente d'esplette (an ingredient we got hooked on while living in France and use on everything now)

Recipe:
Season shrimp with spices.  Cube the vegetables into about 1 inch squares (smaller the better because if too big, it gets in the way of the shrimp grilling properly).  Lace shrimp and vegetables onto a skewer alternating so that each shrimp is surround by the vegetables (we like the metal skewers that we can wash and reuse).  Send husband out to the grill.

In the meantime, heat pesto in a saucepan (I actually use a wok because I like the way it heats better). Add desired about of heavy cream (I use a decent amount to make the sauce go further).  Once heated, add in parm.  While you are doing this, cook the pasta to just al dente.

I like the radiator shape because sauce really sticks to it with all the edges.  Once you have drained, toss pasta in the sauce (not the other way around or you lose sauce!) and remove from heat.  Combine and let sit (can leave on low if still cooking shrimp).  One day I will actually remember to take a pic of finished product.

LGD Townhouse Luxury

One of my favorites on tour today was this Lower Garden District townhouse at 1351 Magazine St. The sprawling 4500 square foot restoration boasts original ironwork and floor-to-ceiling windows. Just a few blocks from the warehouse district, it's a unique, must see property.  Check out the Curbed article re: the former famous owner here.  Let me know if you would like a private showing.  Listed price: $1,550,000. 

Closet Reno

When we bought our house, one of the things missing was a master closet.  We've been here about 2 years and are finally getting around to adding it.  We are using Carbine Restorations to build out a new closet, taking over a portion of the bathroom and the adjacent linen closet in the hall.  (I found the graphic above very useful when planning out the space!)

This is the existing space, which was originally two closets - small bedroom closet and small hall linen closet back to back (photo taken from bedroom closet entrance).  The door to the hallway, and original linen closet door, was taken out and walled in.  The left wall was taken out and space from the bathroom incorporated to make the closet wider.  

Image after door walled in and bathroom wall removed (cut out is for chest of drawers).   It extends about 5 more feet to the left with an 8 foot back wall and 4 foot side walls. 

So now it's time for the design.  These are a few inspirational images: 

Picture lights + built-in dresser/vanity

Wall of shoes.

Laquer.

Shelving + built ins.

I had the hardest time allocating hanging space with open shelving and found this graphic to be useful. Obviously, my space is not nearly as large as any of the photos shown above. Always gotta dream big though!

I am still deciding on paint and finishes.  I'd love to do a fun color but with such a small space, I think white is going to be the safest option.  I've been leaning toward Benjamin Moore White Dove.  What whites do you like?

For hardware, I am thinking lucite, but again, can't really make up my mind. The gold looks really good above.

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Would handles be better since drawers are 34 inches wide? Gold? So many decisions... I think I'm out of my league!

Hopefully I'll be following up with an after update very soon....

Would love to see you on house tour tomorrow.  Let me know if you are interested in a weekly email with tour list....