New Orleans perpetually captivates my husband (and favorite architect) David and I – especially the architecture – its wit, playfulness, and sophistication.  So on a recent fall family trip down there, in an effort to “get it” – we…..took pictures! And here is what we found…..

I am forever in love with the historic Victorian houses of the Garden District…..

This one here has a funky partial wraparound porch on the upper floor…..

…..and a porthole window…..

…..and an ambling haint blue porch ceiling that just dances on, around the corners, and around the brackets…..

The whole house is so silly and fun – yet so cool and intriguing at the same time.  That is what makes this New Orleans architecture. Every town has Victorian architecture – but not like New Orleans…..

On another day, David got captivated by a similar piece of architecture – a newly built corner office building…..

It has the same second floor cantilevered porch as the Victorian house. But this porch cleanly wraps the street sides of the building, giving it a more modern form.  The color – one of our favorite historic colors – is French Green.  But the use of it as the overall color of the building (instead of as an accent) gives it a modern feel.  A very, very clever take on a modern but historically “contextual” building.

…..details of the bracketry…..

Here’s a more traditional take on French Green,which has me swooning – on a shotgun house…..

And another – French Green on cream…..

And another – this is the most classic – French Green on the shutters. David and I both took pictures of this on different days!  We loved the boxwood patio garden too…..

Folks told us the architectural action was in The Bywater, on the other side of the French Quarter, so we checked it out…..

This historic garment factory which has been converted into apartments, was the most intriguing new development we found…..

A very lovely gentleman, a “real Creole” originally from the Dominican Republic, whose grandfather had played with Louis Armstrong, invited us inside.

Here is the view back outside from inside the courtyard.  Notice the apartments playfully ambling up and over the driveway entrance…..

…..quintessential New Orleans shangri-la outdoor living inside.  The stains up top are indigo garment dye from the factory days…..

…..and a shangri-la pool…..

…..and a detail of the steel windows…..

The takeaway?  It’s just the fun of it all….. 🙂

– marcelle