House Beautiful: Interior Elegance

Elegant home and decor inspiration today, enjoy.

NAPA HOME

31″ Double-Ficus Faux Topiary, Green/Cream

E.J. Victor Furniture

Author Julia Reed’s New Orleans Home

In her more formal living room, Julia mixes a Chinese Chippendale sofa (which belonged to both her grandmother and her great-grandmother) with a pair of gilded Regency settees and Indian cocktail tables. “I’ve become an accidental eclectic,” she jokes. The author reupholstered the sofa in a green silk damask almost identical to its original silk.

Julia found the gilded bamboo benches at Ann Koerner Antiques in New Orleans. “I saw them and I knew I had to have them,” Julia says. “They sat in storage until I had a place to put them. I love any kind of paw feet, and I love bamboo, so they were perfect. And for pieces that look so nutty and over the top, they are really deep and comfortable.”

MICHAEL THOMAS COLLECTION

Brynn Chaise, Green Velvet

Interiors S.r.l. from Italy

Century Furniture

BLINK HOME

Lafontaine 71″ French Sofa, Ivory Linen

Author Julia Reed’s New Orleans Home

One of the biggest challenges of decorating her new apartment was arranging furniture without a fireplace as a focal point, Julia tells us. “My old house had two big fireplaces in both of the parlors. It was kind of weird having these huge, huge, almost loftlike rooms.” Luckily she convinced her dear interior designer friends Courtney Coleman and Bill Brockschmidt, partners in a design firm, to help with the promise of a visit New Orleans’s best restaurants.

CASKATA STUDIO

S/4 Melamine Canape Plate, Pink Passion

Hickory Chair Furniture

Basilius Besler , botanical art

Century Furniture

Author Julia Reed’s New Orleans Home

Any occasion is one for polished silver and antique goblets as far as Julia is concerned. “I’ve never understood the concept of saving your good stuff, for, I don’t know, what? The return of the Duchess of Windsor? It doesn’t matter if I’m just having some close friends or neighbors around for a casual Sunday supper: I’m going to pull out the good stuff.”