I was completely swept up in Degas House, from my first step to now, in hindsight. The French impressionist painter Edgar Degas, whom I have always loved, lived in New Orleans for four and a half months in 1872-73. His mother and grandmother were from New Orleans and he was staying with family members. The house is huge and old-fashioned and you can stay there overnight if you want. They have four rooms and two suites. They also do events, parties, meetings and weddings. [Correction: Degas House has 7 rooms and 2 suites.]
I spent some time on the patio before entering, a beautiful stone patio with many tables and chairs. Then I open the front door and step into a time when wood was important: dark wood, hard wood. And to my left is a row of quality reprints of Degas paintings on the wall in gorgeous gold painted wood frames. I was surprised to see that these are the Degas paintings that I had loved all my life.
You walk and there are Degas everywhere, dozens of works of art, both paintings and statues made with Degas figures. If you already like Degas, you already like this house, where each element is chosen with great taste and care to get the period. All the furniture is old, even in the room where you stay. But not big goofy antiques or flashy antiques, but luscious pieces that bring back an old time when craftsmanship was king and things were built to look good, with a delicate and intricate appearance that nonetheless lasted for many decades.
This is not a house where you go to sleep because someone famous also slept there. It goes way beyond that. The atmosphere the place creates is unique and overwhelmingly pleasant. It's like going to another country or last century, but you didn't even have to leave New Orleans.
The night before I stayed in a suburban hotel and it was more expensive than Degas House. For me, the choice is between a forgettable room or an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I'm elated just thinking about what I saw.
The long living room totally erases where you have just been and takes you to yesterday, but a yesterday that still exists and you can see for yourself. At its end is a dining table covered by a white tablecloth with a large figure of Degas drawn on it. There is a full service kitchen ... The living room has comfortable old sofas covered in stitched patterned fabric and a mantel with a large mirror above it.
To go up to my room, I climbed a wooden staircase with a railing and then a narrower staircase from the nice old houses. On top of that was a second small kitchen with a sink and refrigerator. Walking down the narrow hallway to my room, I am very happy to see very wide floorboards right next to narrower floorboards. Brass beds built in the 1800s may actually require different lengths of slats at one end of the bed than the other. In the same way, these staves were cut by hand when the width was not standardized. Seeing this lifted my spirits and made me smile. Opening the door to my room, I was surprised to see an artist's easel with paper, with an old chair and colored pencils next to it. Of course you could take your job but many people left theirs and I enjoyed their creations. On the wall, Degas were reproduced most excellently. I was hesitant to ask if there was air conditioning, but there was an air conditioning unit that I could adjust. The bed was a four poster bed with a very plush and most comfortable mattress. The bathroom sink was marble, and there were three large mirrors side by side with the same gilt wood frames I'd seen below. The floors were multi-sided white tiles with an imaginative repeat of four forest green tiles spaced from time to time. The bed was a four poster bed with a very plush and most comfortable mattress. The bathroom sink was marble, and there were three large mirrors side by side with the same gilt wood frames I'd seen below. The floors were multi-sided white tiles with an imaginative repeat of four forest green tiles spaced from time to time. The bed was a four poster bed with a very plush and most comfortable mattress. The bathroom sink was marble, and there were three large mirrors side by side with the same gilt wood frames I'd seen below. The floors were multi-sided white tiles with an imaginative repeat of four forest green tiles spaced from time to time.
Degas House is an old house with an ancient story to tell. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else, both calming and invigorating. It catches up to you and hits you as soon as you walk in: "Come and stay with me, forget all the fast pace, fast cars, fast life, slow down inside out, breathe relaxed, calm and happy surrounded by dozens of examples of the art more Biggest in the world with a touch of history and mystery. "
Degas painted in this house. You are invited to this 19th century potion, both a tranquilizer and an elixir, known as Degas House.
@Copyright Walter "Buddy" Bougere 2014
wbougere@cox.net
(reprinted with the approval of Mr. Bougere)
