Gambit
Billy & Denisa Means | New Orleans Saints kitchen
Instead of going for the gold when designing the kitchen of their second home, Billy and Denisa Means went for the black and gold. Avid New Orleans Saints fans, they wanted the kitchen to celebrate the colors and symbols associated with their beloved home team. In 2012, interior designer Jennifer Kelly of Design Lab (who worked with the couple to gut and renovate the entire four-story 1835 Creole townhouse) helped them bring the vision to life. Black-and-gold design elements include a marble tile floor with a laser-cut fleur-de-lis, the chandelier and medallion from which it hangs, brick backsplash (from Stafford Tile), black galaxy granite with gold flecks, brass plumbing fixtures and an iron fleur-de-lis crest above the stove. Old doors purchased from The Bank Architectural Antiques were reworked as pantry doors with fleurs-de-lis sandblasted into the antique glass. French doors open to the courtyard, and a 13-foot-long island with six barstools provides plenty of room for serving and seating.
Penny & Quentin Dastugue | Covington great room
“If we’re sitting on our porch having a glass of wine, someone always drops by,” Penny Dastugue says of the Covington cottage she and husband Quentin Dastugue built recently. “First they come to the porch, then they frequently come into the living area.” The living area, like the rest of the newly built house, is designed to fit in with the ambience of an old town while offering an open floor plan and modern comforts and conveniences. The couple worked with designers Cindy St. Romain and Anne Hammett of St. Romain Interiors to make the room cozy yet accommodating. (The couple recently hosted a fundraiser for 125 people.) Matching sofas flank the space, while smaller seating areas provide additional conversation spots. Two separate doors lead to the house’s wraparound porches so traffic flows smoothly. The living room also is open to the kitchen, where guests gravitate during events like football parties. A masonry, A. Hays Town–inspired fireplace made of the same old brick used on the home’s exterior and featuring a stepped-out mantel provides a homey focal point.