Bayou Bend Idea House Tour

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.

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.

• Tour the Entry Way

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

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.

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.

• Tour the Kitchen

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.

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).

A geometric iron lantern hangs in the kitchens' built-in eating area.

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.

A graphic painting by Amanda Talley (www.amandatalley.com) hangs above the chest in the nook beside the Venetian plaster fireplace.

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.

• Tour the Study

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.

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.

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.

For the accent pillows and chair fabric the designers used Catana Floral Chocolate by Ballard Designs (ballarddesigns.com).

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)

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 

Paint Color: Quicksilver by Sherwin-Williams (sherwinwilliams.com)

• Tour the Primary Bedroom

Grace and Vesta found the marble-topped cloverleaf bedside table at Covington's Abode (shopatabode.com), just a few miles from our Idea House.

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).

Vesta and Grace chose fabric by Etienne Moire Check in Moss/Chamois 51261 by Schumacher (fschumacher.com) for the bedskirt. For the duvet they used Ipek Damask in Fresco 2602-0 by Carleton V (carletonvltd.com).

The primary bedroom has access to the front balcony, with a great view of the sunrise.

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 primary 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.

• Tour the Primary Bath

The generously sized primary 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.

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.

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.

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.

• Tour the Sitting Room

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.

Decorative painter E. Lee Jahncke Mead created a metallic floral pattern in the powder room which sits off the gathering space.

Tucked beneath the stairs is a built-in desk for homework and bill-paying.

Provide Storage Space

Cubbies and cabinets near the back door keep the family organized.

The garage apartment has a Murphy bed that folds up to create an open living area.

Antique iron chairs surround a rustic trestle table in the garage apartment.

The living room opens onto a porch designed exclusively of items from Ballard Designs.

Our landscape architect, Brian Sublette, designed a unique outdoor courtyard that includes a pergola with a retractable canopy using fabric by Sunbrella that is great for protection from sun and rain. Comfy seating is centered around a fireplace to create an outdoor living area that is great for parties and entertaining.

• Architecture: Brian Sublette (dalysublette.com)
• Pergola: Walpole Woodworkers (walpolewoodworkers.com)
• Retractable Canopy: ShadeFX (shadepergolas.com)