The husband and wife team of Farouki Farouki creates their perfect urban nest

NEW BUILD OF THE YEAR

THE HUSBAND AND WIFE DESIGN TEAM OF FAROUKI FAROUKI CREATES THEIR PERFECT URBAN NEST

The Faroukis strategically designed their kitchen to be on the second floor, in order to flood the kitchen with light. “We lived in a double shotgun previously. It makes such a difference having windows on both sides, it’s really affected our quality of life,” said Caroline Farouki.

The

design duo behind New Orleans architecture and design firm Farouki Farouki have done it again.

This time, it’s from the ground up.

Sabri and Caroline Farouki, the architects of colorful local staples Justine, Maypop and Saffron, found an empty lot in the Lower Garden District and knew it would be their sanctuary. “It was always our dream

Facing page: The kitchen boasts a large to build,” said interior designisland in Shadow Storm er Caroline, a Lafayette native. marble, accompanied “We looked for a long time, and by Blackhouse for Food52 kitchen stools. we looked at historic homes,

Outside is a roof deck, but realized it wasn’t what we directly above the wanted to do. We wanted to children’s bedroom. “We’ll do drinks and create the space ourselves.” casual family dinners The couple first met while out there,” Sabri studying architecture at WashFarouki said. This page: Matching the kitchen ington University in St. Louis. island, the Faroukis Post-grad, Caroline attended chose a Shadow Savannah College of Art and Storm marble for their backsplash. The kitchen Design and Sabri studied at cabinets are by Reform. Columbia University. In 2010, The kitchen appliances the couple married at Latrobe’s are KitchenAid. in the French Quarter, but the design duo returned to New

York City, where they lived for half a decade.

It wasn’t until they had their first child, Remy, now 6, that they wanted a change. The Faroukis moved to New

Orleans to be close to Caroline’s family in Lafayette. They also knew New Orleans would allow them an opportunity to create their own design firm and their ideal home.

“We had a new baby and we were starting a company.

We started renting over by Tulane, with hopes of eventually building or buying. It took a few years,” said Sabri, whose work includes designing at global architecture firms Bjarke

Ingels Group and Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

In the meantime, the couple launched their firm, Farouki Farouki, and built up a sleek local portfolio. They also had a second baby, Maz, now three.

Then, fortuitously, the family of four a discovered a hidden gem. Just steps from Magazine Street, the Faroukis

This page: A custom white oak staircase anchors the unique residence, which is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Narragansett Green. “This shade is a little dramatic because it’s so dark, but it’s also inherently beautiful,” said Caroline Farouki. Facing page: The Faroukis chose a dining room chandelier by Lambert & Fils. They paired a Sobu dining table with Barnaby Lane dining chairs. Beyond the dining room, the roof deck furniture is from CB2.

found an intriguing plot of land. “It looked like an overgrown driveway in between old homes in the Lower Garden District,” said Caroline, who formerly worked at New York City studios AvroKO and Pompei A.D. The space presented an interesting design challenge: it’s 18.5 feet wide and 140 feet long. The Faroukis started with the plans, understanding that the unique size would dictate the design of their future dream house. One distinctive design decision was to place the bedrooms on the first floor and the living room, dining room, and kitchen on the second. “We knew the second floor would be full of natural light and views, and knew downstairs would feel a little closed in. Our first apartment was on the second floor and had windows on all sides. It felt like we were in a tree

Facing page: The house. We wanted to do same thing here,” children’s bedroom the Lafayette native explained. features twin beds custom-made by In between the historic homes of the local team Inhab Lower Garden District sprouted a modern Millworks. Both beds jewel box splashed in a deep greyish hue of include plenty of space below for Benjamin Moore’s Narragansett Green. The books, toys, and fairy family of four moved into the new digs in tales. Top: Caroline October 2020.

Farouki reads to her children, Maz Inside, a light and airy vibe permeates the and Remy, under home. The kitchen, anchored with a marble a custom-made island, is bright, inviting, and modern. “Off canopy. Bottom: The master suite the kitchen is a roof deck. We’ll do drinks rests on the first and casual family dinners out there,” said floor of the home, Caroline. The roof deck has an L-shaped with a custom rug from Etsy, a hanging sofa and coffee table, perfect for cocktails print by local screen at sunset. “It became our outdoor hangout printing studio Four with friends during the pandemic.”

Finger Press, Dims side tables, and a Another interesting touch was putting pendant by Norm the front door on the side of the house. “We

Architects for Menu. didn’t want a long hallway running along the interior of the house because we knew that would take up a lot of space,” explained Sabri. The Faroukis placed a locally fabricated steel gate at the front of the home which leads to the entrance on the side. When guests enter, they’re greeted with a statement, custom made, geometric staircase. Local vendor Vision Wood provided the white oak steps and guardrail. The couple opted for local team Inhab Millworks to handle home construction, as well as custom millwork in every room, using Northern white oak. “In the kids’ bedroom, each kid has their own bed canopy that looks like a house, with plenty of book and toy storage below, all by Inhab,” Sabri said. “We opted for a high-low mix,” Caroline added. “For instance, in the powder room we chose materials that were inexpensive. But we combined that with custom shelves and a custom mirror. Everything fades into the background and the focus becomes a nice wooden frame.” The home follows a minimalist aesthetic. “Sabri and I don’t like a lot of stuff, so we wanted to be very purposeful with all of the millwork. At the end of the living room, we have custom bookshelves, lined with plants and books. We don’t have a lot of art,” Caroline said. The one piece of art meant to be a focal point in the house is the print by local screen printing studio,