A Domestic Adventure

This poor blog has withered in the whirlwind of work commitments, kid commitments, and the continuous revelry of New Orleans.  But now we find ourselves in the middle of a serious project, and I have fielded enough interested questions from friends and family to realize that others are closely following along.  So, I've dusted off the old Blogger login and decided to bring this space back to life.

We recently sold our beloved 1914 double shotgun on Laurel St. with an aim to having a little more room for our growing kids, a need that seemed suddenly urgent as we hosted a hurricane party (Barry) and found ourselves quickly out of space.  The house we found was built in 1900, a sturdy Victorian sitting a bit over a block from St. Charles Avenue on Arabella.  The melodious rumble of the streetcars reaches the front porch.  It's classic, and it's quintessentially New Orleans.  We're in love.

All that said, if we've learned anything in our time in this city, it's that maintenance needs exceed those of many other places.  Structures are older and quirkier with layers of historical changes, half-hearted repairs, necessities mothering strange invention.  A house inspection borders on archaeology.  The heat, humidity, and creepy crawlies ravage wood.  The city is called the Big Easy for so many reasons, but this aspect of the city is not easy at all.

But we wanted it this way.  We spent months wandering open houses and evaluating options.  Many places have been beautifully restored, but such care comes at a premium.  Other places proved hastily restored, which leaves the specter of hidden trouble down the road.  Our ideal scenario was an old house in need of some work that we could really make our own.  We finally found it.

So here we are with the great adventure ahead.  We're deep into the work already, and I aim to chronicle some aspects of the transformation--the discovery of the massive attic cistern, the coat closet that may have housed a WWII-era kitchen, ancient wallpapers, and knob and tube wiring.  In the meantime, here's a picture of the house from around 1907.  I can only hope that by the end of this we will be entertaining our friends in such style.