Southern comfort

When they first set eyes on an old house in New Orleans, Katharine and David Rhudy knew it could be amazing

- SEÁN O'CONNELL

Vacating their home in Metro New York hadn't crossed the minds of Katharine Kelly Rhudy and her husband David as they strolled around the tranquil environs of New Orleans' Audubon Park while visiting their daughter and son-in-law for Thanksgiving in 2020. That is, until they came across an empty 19th-century home that was badly dilapidated but whose faded elegance persuaded them of its amazing possibilities. The house had endured years of neglect so it was apparent that a major renovation and upgrade was needed to every aspect of the building's fabric,' says Katharine, who, as the owner of Reed & Acanthus Interior Design, was the perfect candidate for reviving the fortunes of a building known locally as 'the Grande Dame of State Street'.

Upping sticks and moving from the East Coast wasn't as daunting as it could have been, as the couple's three children had grown up and left home - perhaps more challenging was the prospect of renovating one of the most historic homes in New Orleans, a property originally owned by the celebrated Flower family (Walter Flower was the city's mayor in the late 1800s).