My Houzz: Art and Antiques in a Louisiana Center-Hall Cottage
Pink azaleas greet visitors to this couple’s eclectic and art-filled 1890s home in New Orleans
Vivian and Richard Cahn were in their early 20s when they bought their home in the Bayou St. John neighborhood of New Orleans. The 1890s home was abandoned and the expansive half-acre it sits on was overgrown. “That didn’t deter my husband and me, as the innocence and inexperience of youth left us undaunted by the tasks that lay ahead, and the romance of this vacant and neglected beauty captivated us,” says Vivian, an interior designer, pictured here with the family’s dog, Lucy.
This type of home is often referred to as a raised center-hall cottage, an architectural style that can be found throughout New Orleans. Some of the key characteristics are grand stairs leading directly to the middle of the house, a large front porch and a long interior center hallway that extends the length of the home.
The staircase leading up to the front door of the Cahn home is flanked by azalea bushes with bright pink blooms. The backyard features a large garden; however, most of its tropical plants were damaged by this year’s harsh winter weather.
The couple replaced the missing spindles and damaged woodwork that decorates the home’s impressive Eastlake-style facade. Other characteristics of this late-Victorian architectural style are the gable ornamentations and brackets on either side of the porch supports. The features on this home have a sunburst design and are accented with gold leaf and painted pink to match the azaleas.
The staircase leading up to the front door of the Cahn home is flanked by azalea bushes with bright pink blooms. The backyard features a large garden; however, most of its tropical plants were damaged by this year’s harsh winter weather.
The couple replaced the missing spindles and damaged woodwork that decorates the home’s impressive Eastlake-style facade. Other characteristics of this late-Victorian architectural style are the gable ornamentations and brackets on either side of the porch supports. The features on this home have a sunburst design and are accented with gold leaf and painted pink to match the azaleas.
The front double doors feature large glass windows and open to a small vestibule. A potted palm provides decoration.
The property is near the Fair Grounds Race Course, home to the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Previous owners have rented out rooms in the house because of its prime location just off Esplanade Avenue.
The property is near the Fair Grounds Race Course, home to the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Previous owners have rented out rooms in the house because of its prime location just off Esplanade Avenue.
Vivian describes her decorating style as eclectic and curated. “I constantly read design books and magazines. I pull those things that I think are special, beautiful and have a certain integrity to them,” she says. This room is decorated in bright whites and muted tans, accented with antiques, luscious plants and artwork. “There’s a lot of cottons, linens and silks incorporated in the furnishings and seagrass and wools for the rugs,” Vivian says.
This room serves as a formal living room and is the first of two parlors.
This room serves as a formal living room and is the first of two parlors.
Large bay windows that look out to the front porch light the room beautifully. The draperies are a tone-on-tone stripe of Bergamo fabric with custom gold leaf rods. A curved fainting couch from Swaim is upholstered in a Scalamandre stripe fabric, accented by leopard velvet and antique Aubusson pillows. Vivian found the Moroccan side table at a consignment shop in Houston.
This marble inlay table was made by an Indian family that has produced these types of slabs for generations. Members of the family also worked on the Taj Mahal. Glass Steuben pieces sit on top of the table, allowing its intricate detail to show through.
Complementing the other gold accents in the room is a hand-painted antique gold cabinet from High Point Market. Displayed atop it is artwork from friends, plus a small gilded hand sculpture by artist Pedro Friedeberg that Vivian bought at his home and studio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Vivian says she loves “mixing pieces in a room to create an interesting dialogue between them, much like mixing guests for a successful dinner party.”
The white sofa is from the 1950s and was previously upholstered in a floral fabric. It’s been reinterpreted in white linen.
The sculpture on the mantel is a bust of Vivian, created by Mexican-American artist and family friend Enrique Alférez. The wall sconces are Venetian antiques.
The hammered and incised copper and brass coffee table dates to the 19th century and was made in India. On top are some of Vivian’s coffee table and design books, the most cherished being about Isamu Noguchi, her design idol and inspiration.
The white sofa is from the 1950s and was previously upholstered in a floral fabric. It’s been reinterpreted in white linen.
The sculpture on the mantel is a bust of Vivian, created by Mexican-American artist and family friend Enrique Alférez. The wall sconces are Venetian antiques.
The hammered and incised copper and brass coffee table dates to the 19th century and was made in India. On top are some of Vivian’s coffee table and design books, the most cherished being about Isamu Noguchi, her design idol and inspiration.
“If you go with the things you love, they seem to go with each other as well,” Vivian says. On the wall facing the mantel is a Mars demilune metal table designed by Mario Villa. On top is a bust of Richard when he was 7 years old, also made by Alférez. It’s flanked by antique olive jars, with a Venetian mirror behind it.
This small side table was shaped using a continuous thin wire. “As an interior designer, I’m always investigating furniture, fabrics and accessories,” Vivian says.
Sculptural vases: R&Y Augousti; chair: Baker
Sculptural vases: R&Y Augousti; chair: Baker
An antique red Chinese cabinet from Richard’s childhood home is on an adjacent living room wall. “The furnishings, art and accessories have been collected over time and reflect our extensive travels and investigations of different cultures,” Vivian says.
Vivan bought this vintage French settee and had it upholstered in the same Bergamo fabric as the draperies to tie two different elements of the room together. She purchased the small crown accent pillow in London from a nonprofit called Fine Cell Work, which teaches high-quality needlework to people in prison. An Art Deco silver tea set sits on top of a small antique side table.
The expansive hallway is a signature feature of a center-hall cottage. Measuring 50 feet long, it’s lined with antiques and collectibles.
The ceilings are 12 feet high, and the home also features Victorian woodwork similar to the detail on the exterior.
The ceilings are 12 feet high, and the home also features Victorian woodwork similar to the detail on the exterior.
A traditional Korean chest is topped with contemporary ceramic pieces found in Arizona; above it hangs an antique Chinese screen.
The baseboards throughout the home are about 13½ inches high, and the floors are original heart pine.
The doors have transom windows and original brass hardware.
The baseboards throughout the home are about 13½ inches high, and the floors are original heart pine.
The doors have transom windows and original brass hardware.
This large portrait is of musician Marcia Ball, a good friend of the couple’s, taken by New York photographer Michael Weintrob. Displayed on top of the table is a decorated Krewe of Muses shoe from Mardi Gras.
The gallery wall of photographs includes work by the late New Orleans photographer Joseph Woodson “Pops” Whitesell and Josephine Sacabo.
The gallery wall of photographs includes work by the late New Orleans photographer Joseph Woodson “Pops” Whitesell and Josephine Sacabo.
This den space features framed photographs by Richard’s late father, Jules Cahn, a businessman and photographer known for his early documentation of African-American culture in New Orleans. His body of work is now in the archives of The Historic New Orleans Collection. Also included on the wall is a portrait of Richard taken by Yousuf Karsh and one of Richard as a 7-year-old with sculptor Alférez, who is completing the bust of Richard now on display in the front parlor.
Wall paint: French Lilac, Benjamin Moore; sofa: Design Within Reach; blue indigo pillows: Dransfield and Ross, now closed
Wall paint: French Lilac, Benjamin Moore; sofa: Design Within Reach; blue indigo pillows: Dransfield and Ross, now closed
The paneled walls of the kitchen are decorated with folk art such as carved wooden ducks and various mementos. Cheery enamelware teapots sit on top of the vintage stove. The two potholders were made by Tracy Thomson of Kabuki Design Studio.
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See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Who lives here: Richard and Vivian Cahn; their son, David; and their dog, Lucy
Location: Bayou St. John neighborhood of New Orleans
Size: About 6,700 square feet (622 square meters)
Year built: Early 1890s