Beautiful Spaces: A Symposium - Exploring the Design Legacy of 19th Century N. O.

On Saturday, September 16, Beautiful Spaces: A Symposium - Exploring the Design Legacy of Nineteenth-Century New Orleans premiers in one of the French Quarter’s most beautiful spaces—the salon at Historic BK House. Participants will visit the past through the images and experiences of designers and curators whose work today is informed by historic interiors and decorative arts. With presentations on historic materials, decoration, and artistic depiction, guests will gain inspiration for designing their own beautiful spaces in this historic city. 

The program will feature local interior designers Sweet Dupuy and Eugenie Gibbens who will provide ideas and examples of ways to use historic decoration in contemporary design. Decorative Arts Curator Lydia Blackmore of The Historic New Orleans Collection will share the rich patterns and textures of 19th century New Orleans wallpaper and upholstery shops, while Architectural Conservator and Professor Jane Ashburn will speak on how historic construction methods created the backdrop for these finishes and why modern methods of architectural conservation seek to preserve these ingenious systems. Cybele Gontar, Curator of Visual Arts at the Louisiana State Museum, will give glimpses of past and present beautiful spaces in the Garden District. 

New Orleans homes in the 19th century were as fine as any in the county, and those once-fashionable interiors can speak to the present. The Beautiful Spaces Symposium offers an opportunity to be inspired by this legacy of design and to experience a beautiful space. Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite and are $60 for non-members ($50 for members). Breakfast and lunch and reception are included. Hotel Richelieu has generously offered discount parking nearby, subject to availability.