Bayou Bend, our quaint coastal cottage in Covington, Louisiana, is rooted in the architectural traditions of the Deep South, but its open floor plan and vibrant interiors are fit for the modern family. Step inside to see our favorite ideas.
Welcome to Bayou Bend
Welcome to the 2010 Louisiana Idea House. Click through these slides for the best design ideas and style tips. See our favorite aspects and small details of each room that you can easily incorporate into your own home.
Take an Overview Tour of the Louisiana Idea House
Entry Way
Make a Statement
A custom glass tile “area rug” inset in the foyer sets an artful tone for the house. The warm colors and dark grout make a glamorous statement in the simple space.
Dining Room
Create an Eclectic Space
In the dining room designers Grace and Vesta surrounded the marble-topped trestle table (pictured left) with a set of antique caned-back chairs and a pair of upholstered armchairs for a creative mix of old and new. The host chairs, designed in a modified Parsons style, are upholstered in durable outdoor fabric to withstand spills.
Tour the Dining Room
Dining Room Lighting
Find Dramatic Pieces
The dining room's dramatic five-piece installation of golden glass pendants was created by New Orleans lighting designer Fifi B. Laughlin (fifiblaughlin.com), who specializes in one-of-a-kind glass lamps and fixtures.
Galley Kitchen
The sage green kitchen cabinetry has generous space for dinnerware and pantry items, and a fossilized countertop surface adds a sense of history to the space.
Breakfast Nook
Make Small Spaces Serve Big Purposes
The built-in benches in the attached breakfast nook, with cushions covered in easy-care vinyl, are punctuated with block-print pillows in shades of blue and green to bring the outside in.
Breakfast Nook Fabrics
For the benches in the nook, the designers used Tuscan in Cypress by Calico Corners (calicocorners.com), and for the pillows they used Birds in Ocean by Galbraith & Paul (galbraithandpaul.com).
Bold Living Room
Mix and Match Colors and Fabrics
To provide ample seating but still allow traffic flow, Grace and Vesta paired a deep sofa with a tailored love seat, both in shades of lavender. A floral rug and coordinating pillows add more color, while an animal-print chair heightens the drama.
Graphic Wall Art
A graphic painting by Amanda Talley (www.amandatalley.com) hangs above the chest in the nook beside the Venetian plaster fireplace.
Cozy Study
One of the few private spaces on the downstairs level of the house is this cozy study, which closes off from the open living spaces with a set of cypress pocket doors, a signature of Miller Building Company.
Handsome Bookshelves
Add Built-ins
The wall-to-wall built-in shelves evoke a library feel. Grace and Vesta hung a landscape by noted New Orleans painter Alexander J. Drysdale (1870-1934) in the center of the unit, then balanced their arrangement of books and accessories with two tall mirrors leaning inside the shelves.
Writing Table
An elegant gold partners desk, perfect for letter writing, sits beside the window. Instead of matching chairs, Grace and Vesta chose a brown-and-white geometric storage ottoman for one side and a bold floral club chair for the opposite side.
Velvet Loveseat
The plush chesterfield love seat is a comfy spot to curl up with a book. A Turkish rug pulls together the colors and fabrics, while the ceramic elephant table helps lighten up the otherwise serious space.
Chair and Pillow Fabric
For the accent pillows and chair fabric the designers used Catana Floral Chocolate by Ballard Designs (ballarddesigns.com).
Local Artwork
This graphic painting from a New Orleans' gallery Guthrie Contemporary Gallery (guthriecontemporary.com) adds color and pattern throughout the room.
Local Artwork in Other Rooms: Studio Amanda Talley (amandatalley.com), Arthur Roger Gallery (arthurrogergallery.com)
Master Bedroom
Grace and Vesta “refinished” a vintage brass headboard with metallic Rust-Oleum paint (rustoleum.com). The bed linens, a modern floral duvet paired with a checked bed skirt and shams, are sweet but not too feminine. At the foot of the bed, a lavender ottoman with an ivory flange trim by sits on a rug from the Southern Living Collection.
Ottoman Slipcover: Best Slipcover Company (bestslipcovercompany.com)
Floor rug: Southern Living Home Collection (southernlivinghomecollection.com)
Paint Color: Quicksilver by Sherwin-Williams (sherwinwilliams.com)
Bedside Table
Grace and Vesta found the marble-topped cloverleaf bedside table at Covington’s Abode (shopatabode.com), just a few miles from our Idea House.
Finishing Touches
A striking chandelier (made with sea urchins and crystals) plus blue glass bedside lamps light the room. Hanging over the bed is an acrylic by artist Bernd Haussmann from New Orlean's Guthrie Contemporary Gallery (www.guthriecontemporary.com).
Bed Skirt and Duvet Fabric
Balcony Access
The master bedroom has access to the front balcony, with a great view of the sunrise.
Spa Bath
Add Striking Details
The curved tub wall, striped with Daltile’s iridescent glass tiles in various shades of blue (daltile.com), strikes a spa tone in the master bath. A trio of windows lets in lots of light, but their height allows privacy. An antique Oushak rug (instead of a bath mat) and a dainty brass chandelier keep the room elegant.
Luxurious Shower
The generously sized master shower with built-in benches has walls of the same Carrara marble that covers the floor. Nearby, beaded mirrors and crisscross wall lights hang above each vanity.
Safari Chic Boy’s Room
A classic striped headboard and bed skirt are combined with Indian batik-inspired textiles for a sophisticated yet boyish look. The curtains’ woven tape trim adds natural textures, and a photograph of an alligator above the bed is a nod to Louisiana's gator-inhabited marshlands.
Boy's Room Linens
A brown-and-khaki stripe on the headboard adds a grown-up, masculine touch to the boy’s bedroom. New Orleans’s Leontine Linens (leontinelinens.com) is the authority on couture linens with bold appliquéd monograms and fresh, unexpected colors.
Sitting Room
Transform Small Spaces
In a genius use of often-overlooked space, the upstairs landing was transformed into a small den that makes an inviting, casual family hangout. An upholstered wall softens the space above the built-in bench, while bamboo Chippendale-style chairs and vibrant turquoise Moroccan poufs add plenty of extra seating.
Bookshelves
Grace and Vesta prove that storage can be both beautiful and functional with their clever bookshelf arrangements. The cypress shelves in the den hold photos, color-coded books, and funky accessories.
Powder Room
Decorative painter E. Lee Jahncke Mead created a metallic floral pattern in the powder room which sits off the gathering space.
Garage Apartment Dining Area
Antique iron chairs surround a rustic trestle table in the garage apartment.
Outdoor Living Room
Architecture: Brian Sublette (dalysublette.com)
Pergola: Walpole Woodworkers (walpolewoodworkers.com)
Retractable Canopy: ShadeFX (shadepergolas.com)
