The Inside Buzz: New Orleans

“Simply put, New Orleans is unlike any other city in the United States,” says Jane Scott Hodges, the founder of New Orleans’ Leontine Linens. “I’m afraid I can’t be cured of loving it.”Hodges is just one of the stylish insiders whom travelers will meet on Indagare’s A Celebration of New Orleans Style: An Insider Journey with the ICAA this December. The special architecture and design-focused trip will be hosted by Tulane preservation expert John Stubbs, who will share his deep knowledge of the city with the group. Top designers, foodies and artists will open their homes just for us during special receptions and tours.Here, some of these insiders share what makes New Orleans so special—and why you should go now.Learn More & Book Now: Go behind-the-scenes with these amazing local insiders during our Insider Journey to New Orleans (December 11-15, 2019), hosted in partnership with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.

Your Host: John Stubbs, Architectural Historian

Insider: Jane Scott Hodges, Founder of Leontine Linens

 Jane Scott’s connection to New Orleans stretches back to her university days—she herself attended Tulane—and her children are fifth generation New Orleanians.

In Her Words: “There is inspiration everywhere in New Orleans—in the lush flora, the intricate architecture, the abundance of celebration and even the spicy food. You get it from walking the different neighborhoods and taking in the architecture. From visiting our museums—both art and the historic house museums. And from all of the artisans I am lucky to call friends. So many creative minds fill our city that it is hard not to wake up excited every day!”

Insider: Sara Ruffin Costello, Designer and Writer

Where You’ll Meet: A festive welcome dinner at her home in the Garden District.Highlight: Explore her self-described “maximalist-minimalist” decorative style in her Italianate Revival house, which she and her husband restored, along with “a cold pitcher of something spiked.”Did You Know? A woman of many talents, Sara currently designs her own bohemian clothing line (we love her printed summer dresses!), as well as residences and hotels, and she writes for such magazines as T Magazine, Architectural Digest and Vogue; her husband Paul is a noted lifestyle and interiors photographer.In Her Words:

 “Walking around the Garden District is happy-making. Even strolling through the cemetery across from Commander’s Palace is tonic for the soul. The cycles of life are so apparent here—rot and replenishment, history and progress, and nature clawing to take it all back over.”

Insider: Lee Ledbetter, Architect and Designer (FAIA)

Where You’ll Meet: A private tour and cocktails at his home in the Uptown area, which is the first modernist residence in New Orleans to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Highlight: Wander through the property’s four courtyards, which are filled with fountains, local flora and pops of color and geometric shapes.Did You Know?

 This spring, Lee published his first book, The Art of Place: Lee Ledbetter—Architecture and Interiors, with Rizzoli, including a foreword by this journey’s host, John Stubbs.

In His Words: “The architectural texture was the main factor in my moving to New Orleans in the early ‘90s. Ours is a city of distinct neighborhoods, most of them associated with varying architectural styles spanning 300 years. It’s also home to the second-oldest architectural preservation group in the United States, and the efforts to protect the fabric of the city have paid off. Finally, the city is truly romantic in the art historical sense—some of the oldest architecture in the U.S. occupies crowded blocks of crumbling streets, canopied by massive, moss-laden live oak trees, in what can often be described as a steamy humid mist.”

Insider: Thomas Jayne, Founder of Jayne Design Studio