Out of the almost 50 houses featured in this column over 2025, it seems a daunting task to pick five favorites to highlight for a year-end wrapper on the real estate reading.
Five is a nice number (with a few extras thrown in as “much-liked” mentions).
There’s no particular order, and some of them may no longer be on the market. But they all had a little something that stuck in memory banks as making them unique in a region packed with interesting houses.
So here are five (plus) favorite houses — and why they piqued curiosity.
The home at 1456 Camp St. is one of only two remaining original buildings on Coliseum Square Park in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans. The home has enjoyed a variety of incarnations, including a private residence, school and board domicile for women.
Architectural details abound in the home, including stacked plaster molding that conjures images of fine European lace.
Set between the Muses’ streets of Euterpe and Terpsichore, this home is a visual embodiment of architectural inspiration. While it may not seem to have been touched by Euterpe’s gift for music or Terpsichore’s penchant for dance and lyric poetry, the 6,400-square-foot home is a grand example of craftsmanship, elegance and refined living. It is one of two remaining original structures on Coliseum Square.
Built in 1856 and restored over the past eight years, the $3.1 million home has seen life as a private residence, a school and a women’s boarding house for social and academic training. The initial view of the home, which has five bedrooms and more than five baths, is a preview to the details inside.
Why it stands out: In addition to an enviable address, the details of this house are riveting. Plus, it conjures images of the Banks’ house from “Mary Poppins” fame, maybe even “practically perfect in every way.” And it has a pool and off-street parking.
Mature and manicured landscaping forms a fitting frame for the 6,000-square-foot home on Mulberry Drive in Old Metairie.
James Norton
A unique shape to the pool allows multiple groups to enjoy the aquatics with plenty of space in between.
James Norton
Mulberry Drive has a Y-shaped entry off of Metairie Road, creating a park for old-growth trees and well-maintained landscaping. That pastoral spot and a neighborhood that evoke images of the family-friendly movies of the 1950s and ’60s is the view from the house — upscale suburbia with meticulous landscaping, tall oaks, well-kept dwellings and a robust sense of style.
Built after the end of World War II (1947) and set at an angle to afford it the best views of the surrounding area, the home holds more than 6,000 square feet of space with five bedrooms and an abundance of character. The asking price is $2.975 million.
Why it stands out: The pool and the backyard oasis are enough to make this treasure worthwhile, but the relaxed elegance of the home immediately provides a level of comfort that feels just right.
The balcony affords some of the city’s most enviable views of the Mississippi River as it makes its crescent around Algiers Point, with the French Quarter on the opposite bank and the verdant spaces downriver as a backdrop.
SNAP Real Estate Photography,LLC
The great room is, indeed, a grand space laden with architectural details that include a coffered ceiling, broad windows overlooking the river and access to the living room, right, and the dining room, left.
SNAP Real Estate Photography,LLC
Apartment 15F at One River Place
Perched like an eagle’s nest overlooking the Mississippi River in one of the city’s landmark buildings, this is a three-bedroom slice of opulence with almost 5,000 square feet of space, panoramic views and a cornucopia of details for $6 million. Grandly configured with multiple public rooms and possibilities for entertaining, the chief benefits of the home might well be in the flexibility the layout affords.
Why it stands out: Because the river glides behind the levees (out of sight), it can oft be forgotten that this is a river city. The condo, with its advantages of condo life, is an atmospheric level of living in the metropolis that keeps the river in focus.
Two doorways open onto the outdoor space from the central living area of the unit, balanced with the kitchen on one side a gas fireplace on the other.
SNAP Real Estate Photography,LLC
Across the street from the French Quarter’s Cabrini Park, 1220 Dauphine St. Unit A is part of a development built in 2016 that mirrors the look of vintage Vieux Carré architecture.
SNAP Real Estate Photography,LLC
1220 Dauphine St., New Orleans
The home fits seamlessly into the ambiance of the French Quarter, with shuttered windows, a recessed doorway and a wrought iron-framed upper gallery accessible by a trio of French doors. Yes, it looks like it has stood with the Vieux Carré for the past few centuries. But the upscale development is a mere 9 years old, incorporating the look and feel of many of the older homes with the conveniences and ease-of-living found in contemporary dwellings. Unit A, perched on the street with a view of Cabrini Park, has four bedrooms, all en suite, plus a half-bath and more than 3,100 square feet of luxury space.
Why it stands out: To borrow from the saying, everything new is old again. The style and ambiance of the original character of the French Quarter is honed to a fine detail in this contemporary dwelling, with off-street parking and an elegance of modernity.
Walls of light wash over the space of the main living room in the home, a glistening space that includes areas for conversation, relaxation and dining.
The home at 350 Faciane Lane in Slidell is located on a bend in Bayou Bonfouca, enjoying panoramic views of the waterway and the wetlands.
The dwelling in Coin du Lestin is on the market for the first time, priced at $2.85 million. Built in 2000 for an artist owner, the home features more than 2,100 square feet of space with two bedrooms in the main one-story building. Set on almost 2 acres of land, much of it along the pastoral Bayou Bonfouca, the home is a gated compound sited on the raised point of the bend. It includes the main home with an infinity pool, which seems to flow into the waterway, plus two art studios that can be used as guest houses.
Why it stands out: The dual attraction of being relatively close to the cities of Slidell and New Orleans while seemingly in a world unto itself makes this dynamic house memorable. Plus, the fact that the compound includes two additional structures that can be used as an artist studio, office or guest quarters makes it a work of art unto itself.
Much-liked mentions
Narrowing down the list can be difficult, and here are some that were in serious contention and why.
A good pool, good layout and a great address made 199 Audubon Blvd., New Orleans one to look at closely.
Unique just scratches the surface of the Arthur Davis-designed home on Bamboo Road in New Orleans, a mini-resort on the Orleans-Jefferson parish line.
Across the lake in one of the north shore’s treasured neighborhoods, 111 Holly St. in Lewisburg blends contemporary style and Creole Louisiana architecture with a great backyard.
Audubon Park is the front yard for 609 Exposition Blvd. in New Orleans, a sleek multi-story townhouse that is a secluded spot on the verdant space, so the windows and balconies allow the outside in.
An estate with land, a lake and a detail-laden home awaits on Bayou Road in St. Bernard, just a few minutes away.
As the reader wrote in, 3216 St. Charles Ave. is all about the location, because the tidy townhouse is right on the main parade route for Carnival. Enough said.