To enter this light, airy New Orleans apartment, visitors must pass through a small communal gate, then a beautiful shared courtyard and finally onto this bright space. Each apartment in the complex has a porch overlooking the courtyard, and it’s the perfect place to wind down after a long day. Egg Collective designer, Hillary Petrie, has lived in this charming Southern apartment with her roommate, architect John Kleinschmidt, for nearly four years. It’s proven to be the perfect retreat from their busy lives. I love seeing shared spaces that prove that living with roommates doesn’t mean sacrificing style. Thanks, Hillary & John! — Amy A.
Image above: The butcher-block prep table came out of a hotel kitchen in St. Louis, Missouri, and is perfect for entertaining — it’s where people tend to congregate. It also weighs nearly 300 pounds! This portion of a porcelain sign seems to be the result of a business name-change — I assume they removed the “Inc.,” and kept the rest. I picked this up at my favorite New Orleans thrift store, the Bargain Center. The wooden chair belongs to my roommate, John Kleinschmidt, and I love its detail. His father salvaged, refinished and caned the piece, as well as a similar one in the workroom.
Image above: The bed is DWR “Min,” and the blue dresser is one of my favorite thrift store finds — it came from an old girls’ boarding school.
The full sneak peek continues after the jump!
Image above: This is my favorite room in the house, as all the doors can be opened to welcome the lovely courtyard below. Photograph by Andy Sternad
Image above: My prized Zulu coconuts are displayed on the credenza — they are a coveted throw each year in the Zulu Mardi Gras parade. Wall art is Algue by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. The orange chair is another thrift store find and, according to a plaque on the underside, came out of a Church’s Chicken office!
Image above: This vignette features my roommate John Kleinschmidt’s collection of lovely objects: The white tile is from the Alvar Aalto museum in Jyväskylä, Finland. He brought it back after traveling all over Scandinavia and Finland. The tiles are called “halla,” the Finnish word for “frost.” The original tiles started detaching from the building and had to be replaced — this is one of the originals and is a reminder of how incredible the tiles looks in the low Nordic light. The clay tile is from the roof of a building in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, that John is currently working on with his architecture firm. It’s a Ludowici tile, stamped from their Chicago factory in the 1920s. They still make tiles, and John’s firm will use them in their renovation. The giant light bulb was rescued from this same building. John also rescued the orange chair from a school auditorium renovation. The artwork is mine.
Image above: Photograph by Andy Sternad
Image above: The mirror is an Egg piece, and the chair I recently fell in love with. I can’t decide if its ugly or whimsical, but I adore it nonetheless. It’s very feminine in its design and scale, and everyone who sits in it loves it, too.
Image above: Photograph by Andy Sternad
Image above: This is a lovely place to end all dinner parties.
70 Comments
The light in this home IS fabulous. And I love the colourful pops of furniture and artwork, too.
The light balances beautifully off the interior- it’s easy to understand why it’s Hillary’s favorite added element.
This is absolutely beautiful. Dang.
wow, those windows/doors! little cartoon hearts just shot out of my eyes. what a lovely, lovely space!
i’m insanely jealous of all the light, the doors that open all around the sun room, and the window arches in the last photo. light is my number one priority in a home!! (and in my photography…!)
more photos of the rest of the home, please?
AM.AZ.ING.
I’m in awe! I’m sure my stuff would fit over in that little corner of the green house. Yes? No?
I’ll cook.
That sunporch is fantastic! I love all the plants, with the pops of orange.
Wow…I am jealous of all the beautiful light spaces. Mine’s pretty good but there isn’t much sun poking out of the clouds today.
Oh my god, those porches. As a native of New Orleans, every time I see ferns and lush foliage like that, it makes me homesick. And screened in porches with arches? Man, such a beautiful home!
Chair looks like it might be an “Stora Eva”? http://www.bukowskismarket.com/items/167833-fatolj-stora-eva-ur-serien-paradiset-kerstin-horlin-holmqvist-nks-triva-serie
oh Hill…you are so talented…what a great space you created for yourself…can’t wait to see what you create in NY…love you girl…RAchel
My favorite part of your home is the light too! What a stunning space!!! Plus, I have a major crush on that butcher block prep table. Fabulous sneak peek!
Ohmygosh. I love this so much.
Wondering what a “Chicken office” is… ??? Could anybody help me out, please?
Amazing, amazing. I am hopelessly in love with New Orleans, and this apartment seems quintessentially NOLA without being too stereotypically so. If that makes sense! This is one of my favorite sneak peeks yet!
The light! Oh the light! Amazing lighting is pretty hard to find, especially where I live where the weather is as unpredictable as the future is! Oh but how glorious it is to find a spot where the sunlight hits you at just the right angle!
L
refreshing and vibrant! would love to see the kitchen and bathroom too!
@carolinadelnorte – i can definitely see why you’d be confused – Church’s Chicken is actually a chain of fried chicken restaurants: http://www.churchs.com/index.html
The light/windows/space are just gorgeous and your killer collection of chairs and furniture is awesome! And thanks to “Treme” I know what a Zulu coconut is ;)
i really love this space. uncluttered, great chairs, lovely rugs and a killer sun porch. may i ask, where is that white and yellow rugs from in the office from? and btw carolina “Church’s Chicken” is a fast food fried chicken joint in the south.
This is so stunning, I just can’t find the words.
I love how a space with so much potential exceeded in beauty, ILLUMINATED beauty.
I agree, the light through the house is just beautiful! Gorgeous features too, throughout.
Oh my. So divine. Makes me want to move to NOLA or at least go thrift store treasure hunting with you!
Great light in this space and that prep table is so gorgeous. Wish we had space for something like that in our tiny house, alas…
A beautiful, safe retreat. I love the light and the beautiful porch. Simple elegance.
I admire your thrift store finds..good eye.
Love, love, love. Makes me want to change my whole colour scheme…again. Does anyone know the red curtain fabric from the bedroom?
The chair is by Anthropologie, I lovvve it.
Gorgeous! The sunlight that fills this home is amazing. I love the homeowner’s fav room – it’s my fav too!!!
Love love……u r so talented
I am so excited for Egg to furnish my ENTIRE home one day!
Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments! Quinn and Leela – thank you for explaining about Church’s Chicken- I forget they don’t exist everywhere! Quinn, the rug is IKEA and Tara, the curtains are Anthropologie.
love this sneak peak. one of my favorites ever (those i’m biased from a New Orleans native) awwww so homesick now, but in a good way.
Happy to see a who dat on designsponge :)
i couldn’t really locate NOLA in your home until i saw the “lovely place to end all dinner parties” photo. i had almost that exact porch when i lived near tulane. lovely home.
Wow. this is the most beautiful home I have ever seen. LOVE it.
on my list of favorites for sure. the light, the furniture, the floors, the windows, but the room with plants. done. love.
Proud of you Hillary…Love you
Actually, this is my joint favourite house from todays sneek peeks and so different from the Austrian Tyrol house. This home has reall character. I love old houses like this with old wooden floors, rooms that open wide into other rooms, those old windows, the light – this is beautiful, I woudl like to live in this house.
love this, especially the island unit – not usually a fan but this is is hot to trot!
WOW! The light is amazing.
Nice porch!
What the WHAT??!! This place is incredible!! Why do I bother living in Brooklyn?
That porch is so very New Orleans to me! Love the light–my house faces north and we get so little direct sun; the one thing I miss about my old rental. Now I just need an excuse to move…
You’re right about the light. It’s awesome. Also, the more wood the better!
I second Quinn’s comment–I’m very interested in that wonderful yellow patterned run in the patio/office! Any leads?
Hello form another Hillary in New Orleans! I love your place.
I love the way mid century modern has been incorporated into a more traditional home. It is just breathtaking.
I am especially jealous of your porch.
It does look like you are not on the first floor, but is it true that the only curtains you have are over the bedroom window?
Love the ease and simplicity.
insanley jealous!!!
it IS a lovely home and it makes me miss the south, now that i live in portland.
i did get a kick out of imagining what the “chicken office” in a church might be used for…
Again, any idea where to get the orange fabric on the window in the bedroom? I’m drooling….
Being a New Orleanian, I was shocked to see Zulu coconuts in a home in Iceland. That is AWESOME! Besides that, beautiful home. I’m jealous. Laissez le bon temps rouler!
I’m an idiot. I was scrolling through my email and thought this was a continuation of the house in Iceland. Now the cocounuts make more sense. Sorry!
The lighting IS magnificent!!! Oh to spend an afternoon on that terrace! Lovely lovely home! Thanks for sharing:)
Hi Mel and Ronnie! The yellow rug is IKEA and the bedroom curtains are Anthropologie “Aspen Sunset.”
Amazing amount of light. I love the room with the plants. Lovely home!
I love the grey couch, where is it from?!
ohhh, that porch makes me SOOO homesick!!!
OMG!!!! Our little Melrose Place…oh, I mean Second Street! I LOVE what you have done, Hillary. Can we use these for future rentals? I’ll tell potential tenants to go to you for design. FABULOUS. We miss you, Hillary!
Hi Maggie! The sofa is Gus* Modern’s “Blake Loft.”
This design is well suited to my learning activities .. as a student
hi! great place! would love to find a place like this when i move to nola in jan!
i love that huge rug (yellow/cream). where did you find it?
Such a beautiful home! Love how the light flows around the apartment!
What a wonderful home. I especially love the butcher block table, that fabulous blue dresser, and the AMAZING porch. Thanks for the gorgeous sneak peek! :)
Among the clean white surroundings there are pops of color which really show some personality! What a great place to live!
I love it. So classy and comfy.
It feels like you can really breathe in this space. Can’t wait to see your new apt. All your pieces are fabulous! Great Job! BTW, the “ugly” chair is in no way “ugly” I love it!
I love every room the hardwood floors and light all through the home, the plants, so fresh looking and clean its what I am trying to bring into my home.just love it all.
I love your home! I live in Shreveport and I so wish I lived in Nawlins!
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