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    Office La draws on “special magic” of New Orleans for colourful house

    The colours of New Orleans’ iconic streetcars informed the decor palette chosen by local studio Office La for this bright pink house.

    Office La founder Lauren Hickman Ross is a long-time friend of the clients, who asked her to reimagine a building at the corner of Chartres and Desire streets in New Orleans.
    Original penny-hex tiles inside the home were retained and helped to inform the interior colour paletteOpposite Crescent Park on the banks of the Mississippi River, the single-storey structure was formerly a corner store and then a bar before becoming a home.
    “Tasked with outfitting a space that is seeping in and of New Orleans, Office La sought to capture a special magic only felt here through colour and light,” said Hickman Ross.
    The dining and kitchen area is raised slightly from the lounge and barFor the interiors, the designer looked to the city for influences — particularly the historic streetcars that criss-cross its

    The vehicles, also known as trolleys, are painted swampy green and deep red, and Hickman Ross introduced these hues throughout the house.
    Window trims are painted red, while millwork is green”These contrasting colours are immediate wins in the eye pleasure game,” Hickman Ross said.
    “Further, sunk in a bowl of its own creation, New Orleans also produces fantastic sunsets that colour the humid air with pinks and lavenders against the year round lush green subtropical landscape.”
    Designer Lauren Hickman Ross looked to the city’s tropical climate and historic streetcars for influencesIn the social space, the kitchen and dining area is raised a couple of steps up from the lounge and bar, which includes an oxblood-toned pool table.
    Original penny-hex floor tiles patterned in red, yellow and green-gray were retained in this lower area, further adding to the varied colour scheme.

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    Window trims – including a long pill-shaped aperture – are painted red, while partitions and millwork are green, complementing pale pink walls.
    The residence is filled with a mix of cosy, tactile soft furnishings and exposed wood elements, alongside vintage finds and local art.
    Artist RJ Raizk hand-drew murals in each of the bedrooms”On the walls is a mixed-media drawing by native Roy Ferdinand, as well as works by other artists including Sally Heller, Emilio Sanchez, and Max Seckel to name a few,” Hickman Ross said.
    In each bathroom and bedroom, artist RJ Raizk has hand-drawn a unique mural using patterns and colours lifted from the rest of the home.
    The bathroom tiles are green, red and pinkThe building’s exterior continues the streetcar red and green as accents, framing expanses of wooden boards painted bright pink.
    Equally maximalist interiors in New Orleans can be found at The Chloe Hotel, designed by Sara Ruffin Costello, and Hotel Peter and Paul in a converted 19th-century schoolhouse, convent and church.
    The photography is by Alison Gootee.

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    Sara Ruffin Costello fashions quirky interiors for The Chloe hotel in New Orleans

    Inky blue walls, alligator-print carpet and grand four-poster beds appear inside The Chloe hotel in New Orleans, which has been designed by decorator Sara Ruffin Costello.The Chloe hotel comes as the latest venture from restaurateur Robert LeBlanc and is situated amongst the picturesque streets of New Orleans’s Uptown neighbourhood.
    It occupies a family mansion that was originally designed by American architect Thomas Sully in the 1860s.

    Top image: The Chloe’s entrance lobby. Above: an alligator-print carpet runner features on the stairs

    Sara Ruffin Costello, who is a native of New Orleans, was tasked with devising the interiors of the hotel.
    “Sully’s architecture is grand Southern Victorian – exceptionally tall ceilings, incredible tile work and plaster mouldings and a Byzantine layout,” Costello told Dezeen.
    “I ran with the romance of that era and played around with the notion of New Orleans being a port city, kind of that ‘what news do you bring from the outside?’,” she added.
    “To translate that into a vibe, The Chloe is moody with dark, antique furniture, with an emphasis on Orientalism but updated and made culturally relevant through a very special art collection.”

    Plush furniture decorates the reception lounge
    Guests enter The Chloe via a lobby that features inky-blue walls and dark wood floors. The building’s original ornate staircase is left in place but updated with a quirky, deep-red carpet runner that depicts an alligator creeping down the steps.
    “Last time I went for a kayak in the Bayou, not five minutes into my paddle two giant alligators got into a splash fight right in front of my boat – alligators are a real part of life here!” added Costello.

    Inky blue walls appear throughout the hotel
    Adjacent to this is = a reception room arranged around a large fireplace. Just in front are a couple of plush, claw-footed sofas perched on a blue floral rug, while an oversized cream lamp has been suspended overhead.
    A doorway in the corner of the room looks through to a cosy blush-pink seating nook with trellis-style walls.

    A bird-print mural is the focal point of the hotel’s salon
    The hotel’s restaurant serves signature New Orleans’ dishes with a contemporary twist. Drinks can be enjoyed in the bar and salon, where one wall has been painted to feature Egret birds fluttering amongst spindly tree boughs.
    A burnt-orange leather sofa runs along the lower half of the wall, accompanied by a handful of fringed seating poufs and tiny lamps that dimly illuminate the room.

    Guests can also enjoy dinner and drinks out on the patio
    Guests can alternatively sit with cocktails on the hotel’s porch – the floor here is clad with the tiles that date back to the 1860s.

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    Outdoors there’s also a swimming pool shaded by palmetto trees, a herb garden and an alfresco bar.

    Bedrooms come complete with four-poster beds
    A more pared-back design approach is taken in the bedrooms, where walls have been painted eggshell-white.
    Touches of drama are added by the four-poster beds and freestanding soaking tubs that take centre stage in the bathrooms.
    “Since The Chloe is actually a house, it feels like you are getting invited over to a local’s – which is all I ever want to do when I travel,” concluded Costello.

    The en-suite bathrooms also include freestanding tubs
    The Chloe joins a number of charming spots to stay in New Orleans, where tourists continue to flock to experience its rich history, vibrant live music scene and revered Mardi Gras parade.
    Others include The Eliza Jane, which takes over seven historic warehouses, and Maison de la Luz, which is designed as if it’s the home of a well-travelled woman that’s come to acquire several worldly souvenirs.
    Photography is by Paul Costello.

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