ShareAlso known as Fat Tuesday, today marks one of the biggest days of the year in New Orleans. However you celebrate today (Anybody out there find the baby figurine inside a King cake?!), here is some Mardi Gras inspiration for you.
If you love French design, this Parisian-style nook is the perfect setting to sit back and enjoy an éclair.
Photo Courtesy of Thibaut
ShareMardi Gras is officially five days away, and people are already heading to party-central cities like New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. to celebrate Carnival in style. Fat Tuesday is all about filling up on rich foods before Ash Wednesday, and we’re going to help you out with that. Who doesn’t love a little (or a lot) of King Cake? Here’s a modern spin on that sweet treat with all the traditional Mardi Gras hues. They’re soft, creamy, colorful and delicious. And yes, you have to hide a baby inside; it’s tradition, of course!
ShareHappy Fat Tuesday! Tonight, the real Bourbon Street will be overflowing with Mardi Gras revelers hungry for beads, Hurricanes and King Cake.
Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Photo by Cosmo Condina; courtesy of NewOrleansOnline.com
But we found another place where Mardi Gras beads are commonplace: a Pennsylvania basement?! Homeowners Penny and Tony needed more than a pot of gumbo to recreate their weekends in New Orleans. They needed a 3-story, 2,000-square-foot basement replica of Bourbon Street, complete with their own bar, stage and balcony. Now, they can say “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” 365 days a year. Take a tour now:
What do you think? Would you like a built-in Bourbon Street for your very own zydeco band, or do you prefer to visit the real thing?
ShareKing cake is so evocative of Mardi Gras for me, that I thought I’d use it as design inspiration today.
The New Orleans-style dessert cake is topped with the three traditional colors of Mardi Gras: green, yellow and purple. So in honor of this delicious galette des Rois, here are some of my favorite Mardi Gras-colored rooms.
ShareIf you listen hard enough, you can hear the Mardi Gras revelers letting les bons temps rouler in New Orleans from where you are. It’s true. Try it.
While I’ve never made it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras festivities, I certainly will put this house on my to-do list for next time I’m in the Big Easy. Dubbed the “Alligator House “(can you see the alligator?) by buildingstudio, it was built as a low-cost home for a Katrina victim in the Central City neighborhood. It’s such an interesting interpretation of the classic shotgun-style home and creates such an unforgettable street impression.
ShareGuest Blogger: Leanne Potts, Editorial Director, HGTV.com
Mardi Gras is Tuesday, officially, but the celebration has been going on in New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., for weeks. These old colonial seaports once bowed to the French crown, so you can’t swing a strand of beads without hitting a fleur de lis (pronounced fluhr duh lee.) The symbol of French royalty and the Super Bowl-winning Saints can be seen on t-shirts sold by street vendors, the rhinestone jewelry maskers wear to balls, the fabulously gaudy royal trains of the Mardi Gras king and queen and the purple, yellow and green Mardi Gras banners hanging from houses along parade routes.
Love this wool rug in a pretty lavender and white design
DIY: lacquered boxes #hgtvmagazine
This cool yellow pouf works in almost any room. Try the pop
Transform a neutral space into a colorful living room with
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