Less than two months before Hurricane Katrina blew through and made a mess of everything, Matt McShee purchased the circa 1903 Victorian side hall townhouse near the river in Bywater.
Many of the questions he surely had about the condition in which he found the once-stately structure, which had been chopped up into three apartments, remain unanswered.
The ceilings had been lowered. An array of partition walls divided spaces nonsensically. Why?
“The interior walls were ‘textured’ with a coating that could not be removed,” said Dr. Dusty Allen, McShee’s husband of almost 12 years. “All the interior trim had been removed. Most glass in the house had been replaced with Plexiglass, and all the original louvered shutters had been replaced with a mesh wire.”
Just why?
Unbeknownst to them, just as McShee, now a retired geologist, was purchasing the home, his future husband was decamping from the Faubourg Marigny just a few blocks away for life in Gentilly.
“Katrina brought us together,” said Allen, a now-retired veterinarian. As a couple, they set about restoring the home. They were married nine years after they met.
McShee and Allen entertain frequently in their sun-splashed dining room. The towering ficus lyrata tree basks in the sunlight from a nearby window.
“The doors and floors are original,” Allen said. “We have done our best to use moldings and trim that are in keeping with the spirit of the house. Moreover, all lights and fixtures were chosen to be as appropriate as we could manage. The ceilings are just over 12 feet. We have created an illusion of higher ceilings using moldings.”
See the result of the couple’s exhaustive work on the Bywater Home Tour, on April 12 from noon to 4 p.m.
A lavish showplace
The 3,200-square-foot home is now a showplace with a lavish garden, swimming pool, wet bar and plenty of space for entertaining. The yard is shared with the house next door, which the couple also owns and uses as rental space.
The home’s original double parlor has been divided into separate spaces, a living room for entertaining and a guest bedroom, which remain open most of the time but can be closed off via the home’s original pocket doors for privacy.
The parlor at the front of the house is resplendent with a pair of Victorian settees upholstered in burgundy velvet. Flocked velvet draperies, also burgundy, are trimmed in gold fringe and hang dramatically from cornices upholstered in gold damask trimmed with Austrian chandelier crystals.
The walls are covered in blue-violet damask. Gilded wainscoting divides the walls horizontally, 4 feet from the floor; the lower halves of the walls have been finished with iridescent “Chicklet” tiles that reflect the flicker of candlelight from the many candelabras in the room.
“Glass tile just kinda floats my boat,” Allen said of the shimmering tiles that repeat throughout the home and garden. They cover the outdoor bar and the long, horizontal steps in the swimming pool.
“I like shiny things, I guess, and I am fearless about design and color,” Allen said.
A scene of merriment
The seating area in the primary bedroom affords a view of France Street as well as the couple’s garden
The ceiling in the living room is covered in pressed tin with a dramatic, glossy black finish. A grand piano stands sentry across from the settees. A professional-grade amplifier and instruments in their cases suggest the space is the scene of much merriment.
A Belle Époque-era basket chandelier illuminates it all. A large Venetian glass mirror with a claret frame and accents carries a theme throughout the home.
“We decided every New Orleans house needed a funky, layered kind of room,” Allen said. “Like all the house, it continues to be a work in progress. We call the design ‘bordello chic.'”
The Victorian-style bed in the guest room was custom-designed to combine elements of a bed that belonged to Allen’s grandfather with those of another made by celebrated Creole craftsman Prudent Mallard. The bed is bathed in color from a nearby stained glass window that overlooks the garden.
The couple has an enviable collection of Venetian glass mirrors, such as this one, in the den.
After conquering the home’s steep 20-riser staircase, one is greeted by the couple’s wedding portrait, a likeness featuring the two grooms dressed in kilts standing before a medieval castle. Behind them, clan flags fly, representing their ancestries. The coats of arms on their respective flags represent another repeating theme throughout the home.
“Matt McShee is very Scottish, born just north of Glasgow,” Allen said of his husband. “I am of Welsh descent. Between us, some whiskey can be had for sure.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
