Exterior Design in the Big Easy

This past week I traveled to New Orleans with some college friends -- I'd never been before, and we decided to take advantage of Spring Break (weird to have one of those again...) and get out of the northeast. It's always a little bittersweet for me to travel when I have time off because even though I love seeing new places, it also means foregoing any work on apartment projects which is something I really love to do when I get a free moment. Fortunately, NOLA was full of some amazing and inspiring architectural sights. Just thought I'd share!

We stayed in a B&B on the border of the French Quarter and Marigny, where many of the houses look like the one below -- multi-story, with iron-wrought second-story decks perfect for catching a cool breeze on a hot summer evening.

Outside of the French Quarter we saw some larger homes as well, with classic southern architecture. Yes please, I will live in this home.

Okay fine, maybe I need to set my sights on something more modest. I'll take an adorable bungalow if I must.

Or his and hers houses. Except I want both.

There were so many amazing exterior paint colors, I found it inspirational to think that I could paint my house turquoise someday and it might actually look good.

Or maybe just the shutters if I'm feeling a little risk-averse.

There was so much blue and pink, it's like New Orleans was made for me.

One really cool thing is that in many areas, the street names are tiled into the sidewalks at every intersection. At first I was like, "Man, this is just like Boston -- no street signs!" But then my more-observant travelling companions pointed out that the street names were actually laid right out at our feet for us. So thoughtful.

Last but not least, it was nice to spend some time out of the northeast, where the pace of life just feels different. Granted I'm a true northerner with a penchant for punctuality and efficiency, so the more laid-back style we encountered definitely challenges me. But I think I could get used to it and it could be very good for me...

After New Orleans, I headed up to North Carolina to meet up with Sam...more details to follow in a separate post. And now I'm back to the homework grind in Boston, though not without a little time to wrap up my bar project. I'll keep you posted!