8 Luxury Additions To Give Your NOLA Home Old-World Charm
1210 South Madison Street, Listed by Barbara Bedestani
New Orleans charms everyone who lives there. The blend of local cultures shows in every inch of the city, including the residential areas. Whether you live in the Garden District or want your home to fit among others built with ironwork porches and grand windows, there are some upgrades you can consider. These luxury additions will give your NOLA home some old-world charm within a modern context.
There’s a timeless beauty to old-world architecture. It calls back to times when people socialized at home more often, which is why billiard rooms fit perfectly in NOLA architecture. They invite everyone to hang out with an old-fashioned game that still creates fun memories. Add arched cathedral molding around your windows to make it feel like you’re at the Crescent Billiard Hall.
Some NOLA homes came to life in the late 1800s. They included more architectural elements inspired by the then-current Victorian era, like beadboard walls. The vertical, thin planks make any space appear taller, which was a subtle nod to the tall buildings around the area stretching to catch more wind for air circulation.
Beadboard is an affordable upgrade that creates a luxury appeal. Renovate a kitchen or dining room corner to build a dry bar. The wall behind it can feature beadboard paneling to reflect the elegant charm of Victorian-era NOLA houses.
Libraries were places to socialize before television and radio existed. They provided take-home entertainment while offering comfortable gathering spaces. Give your NOLA home some old-world charm by adding a luxury library as a new room.
It could include stained-glass and two-story windows, much like the mansion turned into a library on St. Charles Avenue. Ornate woodwork will take you back in time, while a residential elevator lends unobtrusive convenience for accessing books on the wraparound second-story library shelving. Whether you want to age in place or have entertainment on hand for hurricane power outages, a library could be the next best addition to your home.
4. A Series of Iron Lanterns
Every aspect of historic NOLA homes served a practical purpose. The light fixtures were often simple wrought iron lanterns fixed to walls and porches. The simplicity and French inspiration are luxury additions to the modern world of LEDs. Add a few lantern fixtures to your home, complete with faux flames or flame-styled miniature bulbs.
Glass panes prevent dust from settling on the inner light sources. Use that to your advantage by replacing the panes with the stained glass that commonly appears in homes inspired by French Creole architecture.
1210 South Madison Street, Listed by Barbara Bedestani
5. A Wraparound Porch
Porches are a must-have for luxury homes in NOLA. Historically, people used them for socializing, storing belongings and hosting parties. They also sat in the outdoor shade to cool off, using the trees on their property to avoid the sun on any side of their house.
Adding a wraparound porch to your home will lend it some old-world charm. As long as your trees remain safely distanced from your house, you can expand the edges of your home without compromising its safety. It’s also an excellent chance to change the structure’s paint color and make it fit with the rainbow hues in NOLA neighborhoods.
The neon colors come from the area’s Spanish roots. Colors used to indicate status or hierarchy within a neighborhood or city. Now, they’re an unmistakable mark of a home’s historical presence, so it’s something to consider when upgrading your property to achieve an old-world appearance.
6. A Real Wood Cabinet Upgrade
Older cabinets used natural wood from the areas around New Orleans. It added an earthy texture to homes with stucco, wood planks or clay tiles. Anyone can upgrade their cabinetry to real wood as well. Add glass fronts to showcase whatever’s inside and your kitchen will point back to the area’s long history of stained glass artistry.
Tubs always provided the best way to clean yourself before people created and installed bathroom showers. Bring history back to life by adding a porcelain tub on gold or iron claw feet. It’ll become the luxury focal point of your bathroom and provide a place to relax during in-home spa treatments.
Front porches in New Orleans often have grand columns. They stretch from the porch floor to the roof, bypassing taller residential structures’ second and third floors. They’re an essential upgrade if you want luxury additions to your home’s exterior.
You could even opt for wrought-iron columns instead of traditional white alternatives. The nature-inspired motifs and curving designs match well with iron railings. They could even continue to stairways inside your home to carry the old-world theme through your interior design.
1210 South Madison Street, Listed by Barbara Bedestani
Give Your Home Old-World Charm
Luxury additions in NOLA homes lean into the area’s history for inspiration. You’ll live in a palace of old-world charm no matter your house’s size with ideas like these. A few renovations could be transformative and make your residence feel like it jumped out of the history books without losing the modern touches you love.
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