dolliope house | working-copy

Boutin House, 1825 Creole Cottage, New Orleans

At the downriver termination of Bourbon Street sits what is considered to be the first center hall, Creole Cottage built in New Orleans. Constructed in 1825, the house is significant for its original blend of Federal and Creole styles and the colors reflect this blend.

Extensive care was used on each surface revealing schemes that had not seen the light of day for hundreds of years and showcased the decorative styles of each distinctive era. After the drywall and studs were removed, an original red ocher scheme (above) was revealed in remarkable shape!

A Paint Color Analysis was performed - 8 samples in all on known original building fabric. The colors revealed were relicated in the new paint scheme or informed original choices preferred by the owners.

Parlors

A significant discovery – original ocher colors – appeared when the drywall was removed from the parlor walls. Although most of them have currently been re-painted, the walls on either side of the pocket doors were waxed to preserve the finish to as close as original as possible.

All woodwork was hand – stripped with a heat gun; dipping woodwork can ruin the fibers.

Crown molding was re-cast where the original had failed, and the center medallions were painstakingly attended to with the goal of revealing decades of past color choices.

Gallery & Center Hall

Dating this renovation to about 1880 was confirmed by wallpaper applied directly to bargeboard walls – the pattern is a Cabbage Rose from the Eastlake Stick era (identified by wallpaper expert Isabelle Dissard - Cooper).

Colors

A prior renovation in the center hall was confirmed in a similar way – wallpaper underneath the wainscoting dated to the mid 19th century – and had been applied on top of a new layer of plaster. When purchased in 2020, the center hall ceilings had been lowered to accommodate HVAC ductwork ruining the proportions. When the drop ceiling was removed, the original plaster crown molding was exposed and a paint analysis revealed the original colors replicated on the trim, hall ceiling, and baseboard (below).

Kitchen, Side Hall, Den

The scullery was completely renovated, an island was added, and the fridge was located in front of the original door from the hall – the molding remains in situ as a nod to the past (a technique similar to ghosting in historic preservation).

The greens and the bright blue in the kitchen and den are not original to the house but the placement of color molding on colored walls or simply one color on everything is a Colonial tradition that lasted in New Orleans. Colors were also chosen because the owners liked them.

Powder Room - Similar gauge slate in a different pattern from the hall chevron flooring, and (Napoleon) bees, gold, and marble.

Master Suite

All the finishes were chosen on the basis of their appropriateness to the spirit of the house and if the owners liked them. Color was the original focus; see Pauger Street in the COLOR section of this website for an historic analysis of the schemes.

Guest Room and Upper Hall

The color scheme was inspiried by Laura Plantation as an homage to Norman Marmillon.

COLLABORATORS & SOURCES

Wallpaper Historian - Isabel Dissard - Cooper

Wallpaper in Master bedroom and Powder room; Timorous Beasties - 'Bloomsbury Gardens' & 'Civic Bee'

Wallpaper in Guest Room; House of Hackney - 'Indienne'