When Paige Goodloe, owner of Atlanta-based Paige Goodloe Interiors, was asked by a close friend to help redesign and decorate her New Orleans home, she jumped at the chance. The stunning 1800s home in Audubon Park was a chance to play with color, print, pretty wallpaper, and clever renovations.
The owners first moved into the home when they were expecting their first child and looking for a historic, family-friendly neighborhood. Three years later, they had a full house with three busy kids. The design project expanded as the family grew, allowing Paige to turn the footprint of an old home into a space that works for modern living and, more specifically, this busy family’s lifestyle.
A Historic Home for a Modern Family
The minute you walk into the home, there’s a sense of lightness. The historic residence retains the stately details of a period home, but it feels fresh and styled. The entry has a fireplace, defining it as a place for gathering — not simply a passthrough. Paige played on that intentionality by offering a place to sit, using two striking wood chairs from the owner’s time spent in Malaysia as a child.
The wood of the chairs is echoed in the antique entry table, which the designer sourced from a local antique dealer in Atlanta. The ornate ceiling medallion beautifully contrasts the modern light fixture, and the dark colors of the Hunt Slonem art over the fireplace offset the bright space.
A Warm and Welcoming Kitchen
Paige’s friend and client had two requirements when it came to her kitchen. She wanted a warm space to gather her family, and her heart was set on a La Cornue range. If she could have both of those, she’d have her dream kitchen — which is exactly what Paige created.
While it’s a classic light and bright off-white kitchen, the designer warmed up the space with fabric and textile details, including a custom Roman shade over the window and pleated fabric shades on the brass light fixtures over the island.
Brass is echoed throughout the kitchen, from the details on the custom hood to the hardware to the light fixtures. Throughout the space, you’ll notice a lack of appliances — those are hidden behind closed pocket doors in a pantry.
At the kitchen island, Paige combined form with function. She chose lovely Hickory Chair counter stools but covered them in camel vinyl for practicality. There are three children in the home, after all!
Navigating Narrow Spaces
Century-old homes come with various challenges, with maximizing space often at the top of the list. Fortunately, the house had an existing first-floor powder room, offering a great blueprint to work with. However, the space was incredibly narrow. Paige devised a plan to completely redo the powder room, and she worked with Waterworks to design a custom marble sink to fit within the space and still leave room to open and close the door (a tall order!).
She warmed up the small powder room with a Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wall covering and sourced framed intaglios on marble paper from Tyler + Tate in New Orleans. These were hung throughout the room (and even the soap has an intaglio on it!).
Adding a Casual Place to Gather
While the home had a formal dining room, it didn’t have a casual place to sit and enjoy a meal with family. During renovations, an addition was added to the back of the house, creating a space to carve out a breakfast area. The homeowner was excited to incorporate a banquette. A round table and antique-inspired chairs make the most of this cozy spot.
To add color to the breakfast area, they commissioned a work by William McClure. The piece was hung unconventionally, using a Collier Webb picture rail over the window. The effect makes the art look as if it’s floating, creating a stunning visual of the gardens just behind it.
Off to the side of the breakfast room is a long hallway — a perfect retreat that offers the homeowners space to sit with a cup of coffee steps away from the activity on either side.
The Blue Lacquered Bar!
One of the most eye-catching additions to the home is a bar area, added where a back staircase once stood. In this space, a beautiful custom bar includes brilliant blue lacquered cabinetry. The color matches a custom de Gournay wallpaper featuring a gathering of pelicans — a nod to the husband’s favorite NBA team, the New Orleans Pelicans.
The wallpaper took six months to arrive, but it was worth the wait! Due to the customization, the cabinets and shelving were installed first. The wallpaper was installed around it, requiring someone specially trained in de Gournay wallpapers.
Laundry Room Meets Office
As the house was reconfigured during the renovation, one of the repurposed rooms was a former office. It’s still technically an office, though now it’s more of a children’s homework hub sharing space with a laundry room. This large room was divided into separate areas, with two washers, two dryers, and two desks. It’s now a center for family activity, where the kids can hang out, and the adults can pay bills or do laundry. There are spots for everything from gift wrap to stationary — a drop zone that gets everything out of the kitchen.
A cheerful yellow floral from Schumacher is perfectly complemented by vibrant yellow paint on the trim and doors.
Hiding the Mess
With three children, a mess is inevitable. One of the design goals was to hide clutter whenever possible. In the Jack-and-Jill bathroom between the oldest two children’s rooms, custom cabinetry was added to hide pull-out hampers and plenty of storage.
This bathroom was completely gutted, and the Waterworks tile gives it a fresh look. A pretty, soft green hue bridges the boy and girl bedrooms, while a vintage rug on the floor adds contrast, pattern, and color.
The Girliest of Rooms
Because the homeowners have only one daughter, they wanted to lean into making the space as girly as possible. From the Peter Fasano peachy-pink wallpaper to the Visual Comfort & Co. bow sconces to the Chelsea Textiles gingham fabric on the window seat, every detail helps further the ultra-feminine look.
Needlepoint pillows made by the homeowner add a bit of sentimentality.
Room to Grow
In the older boy’s bedroom, colors and art were chosen to grow with him. The stripe Pierre Frey wallpaper in neutral taupe can evolve over the years, while the streetcar art is from a famous New Orleans artist — this is a piece he’ll treasure for years.
Spindle beds are classic, and rattan side tables were sourced from 1stDibs. A rattan light fixture from Serena & Lily echoes the warmth of the rest of the room.
A Light and Bright Attic Nursery
The house didn’t initially have enough bedrooms for three children, so when the couple found out they were expecting a third, they decided to finish out the attic and turn it into a playroom and nursery. This bedroom was designed to work with the angles of the attic space, and green Schumacher ticking wallpaper covers the walls, ceiling, and doors.
A Malta fabric was used on the window seat and ottoman. While a delicate stripe is a challenge in an old home with century-old walls, the result is a light, bright, and fresh space — even in an attic.
A Joyful Playroom
The homeowner wanted this attic playroom space to feel bright, happy, and durable. Everything needed to be performance or vinyl. The Brenda Bogart art guided the entire color palette, with Goodloe pulling out pink, blue, and mustard from the art’s moth wings. An Oushak rug ties together the colors within the space.
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