A streetcar named The Bywater....

It was announced this past week that the streetcar will be extended to run from Canal Street to Poland Street in the Bywater running along Rampart Street and St. Claude! This means we will have a street car to get around town just 3 blocks from our house!

After hearing the news of course I googled to find out a little more about the history of the streetcars here in New Orleans. I was shocked to see how many lines were in use in the early 1900's. A couple of major lines were operating from the mid 1800's up until the late 1920's - 30's - then came the car.

Esplanade Avenue streetcar

Fun Facts:

 -  The St. Charles street car line is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world

 St. Charles Avenue Streetcar

- There once was a line that connected New Orleans to KENNER!!

 Canal Street Streetcar

- Though short-lived, the first true streetcar line to begin operation in New Orleans was the Poydras-Magazine Street line, having opened the first week of January 1835

 STELLA!

- The Desire Streetcar line ran through the French Quarter to it's namesake in the Bywater. It was immortalized in Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire. 

- BOO

Kitchen Ideas... Inspiration Files!

When renovating or looking for new ideas to just spruce up a space I definitely recommend keeping "Inspiration Files" on hand. I used to clip any useful ideas out of magazines, make a note why I liked it and organize them accordingly....

That was only a couple of years ago and my how things have changed! The internet has made it so easy to find and file away anything in just a few clicks. So on that note, let's see some kitchen inspiration shall we?!

 (Sorry for not being able to credit these photos, I have had them saved forever and have no idea where I found them now!)

I love how functional such a small space is in the image above. Open shelving for books, pots and pans over stove, subway tiles, and did I mention the WHITE STOVE?! Can I have one of those PLEASE?! I promise I'll clean it everyday! The negative is not enough counter space, I hope they have a kitchen island that we're just not seeing.

This is similar to the previous kitchen but I love how this open shelving is hidden. GREAT idea - extremely functional yet still looks uncluttered since it is tucked away.

 

Skylights... YES PLEASE... I'll take the exposed wood beams too while we're at it!

Love the white floors - SO not practical in a kitchen but looks darn goooood! Open shelving, black larger than normal subway tiles behind stove, light fixture... all caught my eye.

PAINTED FLOORS!!! Yesssss! I might try something like this in our upstairs huge room... looks great in a kitchen too though.

 

Loves this! I love how the stove is built in to the wall, all cooking tools are over stove, clock, that very functional island... just about everything!

This is a little on the traditional side for me but I saved it because of the openness to the dining area... we plan on doing something similar and it's nice to try and visualize how it could look.

This is another great idea on how to open the kitchen up. I prefer kitchens that are not completely open. I  love the foot rest for the stools... yeah, look again, I bet you didn't even notice it! Storage bins are a cute idea too...

This reminded me of the bargeboard table I want to make that I mentioned before.

Wall of windows - YES!! Huge glass french doors leading out to my French Quarter style courtyard - HECK YES! What?! I can dream!

This house above is probably one of the closest things to what ours might end up looking like. Where the living room is in this home is where our renovated room would be. (Does that make sense?)

We definitely plan on putting in windows along the whole back of the house where the kitchen will be. It will brighten it up so much! 

Love this island too! Although I think I want a range on the island and a double oven on a wall. I could do without the barn sink. Unless you live in an old barn... these sinks are majorly trendy and will look dated in 10 years. I want stainless counters too. Some find they scratch too easily but that does not bother me.

On that note I'll leave you with this stunning kitchen! Looks like art more than a kitchen! Those chairs are amazing although completely uncomfortable I'm sure...

Have a wonderful weekend!! We'll be painting away! I am now on my 8th room of the house! ENOUGH!!

- BOO

Kitchen Ideas.... from The Butcher!

Since I started this week with kitchen design on the brain, I think I'll stick with that theme!

A couple of weeks ago we had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants here in New Orleans, Cochon. The food is fantastic (wood fired oyster roast - YES!) and the design of the restaurant is refreshingly modern and unique. After, we headed next door to Cochon Butcher for fresh local cuts of meat (they have a great andouille sausage!) While we were waiting in line I got great design ideas for our future kitchen!

It is a great mix of industrial and traditional...

Here's what I was lovin':

Awesome idea for shelving! This would look amazing in the right kitchen!

Close up:

I would love to use the old bargeboard that got ripped out during the renovations. The wood is over 3" thick and over 100 years old. It would have to get planed of course but I think it could look amazing. I also plan on designing a dining table from some of it - hopefully we have enough that wasn't termite ridden!

Subway tiles - I like that the tiles go up maybe 3/4 of the wall...

 

Informality of the chalk board...

I obviously would not have meats hanging in my kitchen (although The Hubs would LOVE that!) but I like the idea of the glass door fridge mounted high. It brings in completely different design ideas with kitchen design.

 

What if you had a smaller version of one of these mounted above counter space. You could keep all your produce in it and just grab whatever you needed while using the counter below it! I hope that makes sense in writing because my brain totally sees it!

 

Love these shelves too - great in a pantry!

 I hope you liked the Butcher inspiration!

 - BOO

Dream Kitchen... Fridge

In our dream kitchen we both want it to be a restaurant style. Now, I am not talking just a viking stove (which is not even used in most restaurants), stainless appliances, etc. - it goes way beyond that! I worked in a restaurant for over 8 years and I loved the open shelving, reach in fridges and the accessibility of everything.

So, in this temporary kitchen we are trying out the open shelving with foods we use most out in the open. I tend to forget what is in my pantry so I love being able to see everything I have to cook.

 

And speaking of everything out in the open, may I show you my FANTASY LAND fridge?!:
(sorry for the low quality pic)

 

The one above is way out of our price range and I think it's probably too big for our future kitchen. Below is more than likely what we will get: 

(if they still make it by the time we need it!)

I LOVE it!! I know most people think "Ew glass door?! Then I'd have to keep my fridge clean and organized!" but that's exactly why I want it. I always forget what I have in our current fridge. Not to mention, these two bad boys are the equivalent of having two freezers and two fridges!

Check out the fridge below... 4 doors for housing different items - LOVE IT!

 I would love to have stainless bowls inside to house smaller items and glass containers for leftovers.

Something similar to these two images...

What do you think?!

 - BOO

Little more histry for ya...

 The Bywater is one of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans. It runs along the river and sits about a mile away from the French Quarter. Many people from the French Caribbean settled here, especially refugees from the revolution in Haiti. During the century it grew with both free colored Creole, and French, joined by immigrants from Germany and Ireland. The neighborhood is still very culturally rich not to mention eye candy everywhere for architecture buffs!

 Some of my favorites:

The one below is a much larger version of our house!

The house below is one of my all time favorites! I just love it!

 

 

I love how you will see huge gorgeous almost mansions next to small cottages or shot-guns. It is such an interesting mix of architecture as well as people. In other parts of New Orleans you will see this usually from block to block - not house to house. 

 

 

 

You definitely feel the Haitian and French Caribbean influence to this day... from the bright colored homes to the laid back island like feel of the neighborhood. The Hubs still jokes (actually he's serious!) that he still feels like he's on vacation - it's been over a year living here! I think it's great he feels that way... I see New Orleans through a different lens thanks to him... and it makes me love the city in a completely different way. 

- BOO

All in the details...

I never get bored of going on walks around the neighborhood. It seems like I can walk to same route everyday and still notice something new! Here are some pictures of little details I love:

 I love the image below, it is an old picture of a house tacked onto the front of the house.

There is always something new to see!

- BOO