Claire - A Tale Of Two Houses

Claire. Native of New Orleans. Avid art collector. Lover of color. Friend. Wife of Josh. Mother of Margot.
This is the story of two homes that Claire has made for her aforementioned family, and her three dogs and two cats.

She lives in New Orleans, in a beautiful and typical 100++ year old Uptown townhouse.

But that's where typical stops, and incredible Claire starts.

The entry is wallpapered in silver vinyl. It reminds me of Andy Warhol's Factory.
The front hall leads up the stairs, carpeted in a wonderful animal print.
Claire has a summer project for the front hall: She is designing a floor to ceiling crystal chandelier with the feeling of water. She is making a pop art ceramic faucet where the crystals will flow from. Stay tuned!

The living room is painted a great shade of brown, and has many colorful pieces of furniture, and is jam packed with art. The carpet is an elegant sea grass custom cut and contoured to the shape of the room.



Sebastian the poodle is allowed on the furniture.


The furniture is off limits to the two Dobermans, Bridget and Henry, and to make sure they understand this, Claire puts mouse traps on the furniture. However, the dogs have several nice poufs as dog beds scattered through out the house.


The cats Stella and Chance go wherever they want to.


Adjoining the Living Room is the dining room, painted a great shade of yellow. Turquoise silk drapes give additional energy to the room. The Chinoiserie chairs are yellow too. Claire did the triptych of her daughter, and she made the sculptural sconces on each side of it


Next to the dining room is the office. There's grass cloth on the walls, zebra print on the floor, and a reindeer fur office chair, and of course more fabulous art work.


The family room is a cheerful room. The furniture and art reflect Claire's love of color.


Off the family room is a screened in back porch, that the family just loves. Note the old brick floor.


The brick floor extends outside to the patio around the pool. I love the huge chair and curved ottoman - it looks like Ying and Yang. And of course the tall yellow sculpture is to die for.


The bedrooms are upstairs. The master bedroom is pale and serene.


The daughter's room is a color-paloooza. She loves color as much as her mom does.


The guest room is Palm Beach traditional, but still colorful.


Even the upstairs laundry room has whimsy and color.
I took all these pictures as snap shots of the house "as is", just as the family lives with no photo styling or fluffing. I just love this house.


The family relocated to Houston for a short time after Hurricane Katrina.
But Claire missed her New Orleans, and they came back to their Uptown home.

Poem and nails from a house destroyed by Katrina on the book shelf in the office

You can see much of the art work and color in the Houston house, a mid century beauty, designed by Charles Tapley. All the rooms open to one another, with expansive ceilings, walls of windows, and hardwood floors.
It's for sale via Martha Turner Properties.
It's interesting to see some of the same art and furnishings in a modern house. I think each house looks spectacular, but I prefer the New Orleans house. Which do you like better?

Claire's House In Houston: