Last weekend, I traveled to New Orleans for my cousin’s graduation from law school. While in town, I was able to visit with old friends and see their rehab projects similar to the Depew Redo! Today, I’ll report on Emilie Taylor’s future masterpiece!
The 1880′s house is on Louisiana Avenue tucked beneath large trees and some convenient on-street parking. Emilie is an experienced design/builder working with Tulane’s URBANbuild and City Center, first as a student and now as studio instructor. She bought the home last year and has been renovating it with Seth Welty, a fellow architecture grad and current Rose Fellow in Biloxi. The house is a traditional camelback, with one story to the front and two stories at the rear. The original layout was 3 bedrooms/one bathroom. The new layout will be divided into two units, a studio apartment and 2 bedroom unit. [Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics during my visit, so I pulled the pictures below from Emilie's Facebook page.]
The exterior – note the front and side porch!
They modified the rear facade turning windows in doors and adding rear balconies on 2 levels.
Similar to the Depew House, the walls are wood. These walls are barge board with vintage wall paper, which were later covered by tongue-and-groove shiplap.
Congrats Emilie and Seth! The house is looking amazing! Maybe you’ll share more pics with us in future?
Filed under: Landscape
After the neighbor’s tree debockle, I moved quickly to remove the 3 very old, tall trees in my yard. Based on the age of the house and location of the trees, I imagine all 4 were planted around the same time – maybe 1915 to 1920. With the drought last summer and being almost 100 years old, they just died.
To remove the trees, I hired Roy Mannix of TerraForm Services. He’s a young guy that knows quite a bit about trees – and has plenty of friends who do too. This diverse crew used multiple chain saws, a 50 foot boom, chains, trucks, and ladders to get the job done. Roy posted the tree removal on Craigslist, so the guys came swarming for the free pecan wood for BBQ and heating. I was happy it went to good homes, rather than the landfill!
Tree permit!
Before – south side of the house.
The biggest tree came down piece by piece.
Tree explosion
Chainsaw!
Malcolm, one of our many Craigslist friends, came to pick up wood.
After 6 months in the house, it was time to re-organize and de-clutter our living/dining room. Last weekend, I bought a new entertainment center to replace a borrowed IKEA piece. We also edited out a large book case, several chairs, and misc stuff. Our new arrangement isn’t set in stone, but its a huge improvement!
BEFORE . . .
AFTER . . .
I found this new entertainment center at Next to New, a thift store run by the Episcopal Church, for $27! Great price for a great cause! The piece needs some TLC and reattachment of the left hand door. I may paint it – not sure yet.
I also hung this vintage map of Italy. I rescued it from the trash pile at a flooded high school in New Orleans. Amazing!
Cheers! Sarah G
Filed under: Uncategorized
Shortly after getting my tree permit, someone told me how expensive tree removal is! I was shocked! With economy in mind, I contacted the property management company, Eyes of Texas, that manages the neighboring house. I proposed that we both should get some tree work done to share the costs. They agreed and got bids from two companies. Things got busy, and I put the work on the back burner for two weeks.
Today, we woke up to find one of the trees had fallen! Fortunately, it was on the neighbor’s property and didn’t damage any people, their house, or valuable possessions. Wake-up call! My trees are coming down ASAP.
Sincerely, Sarah G
