Peggy and Errol Laborde inadvertently installed a type of speed bump in the middle of their Mid-City block, often slowing traffic to a crawl.

“Stop signs are typically installed at every other corner within residential neighborhoods,” said?celebrated color consultant Louis Aubert, who advised the couple when they painted their home.

“People tend to speed through the middle block, not really noticing much. The opposite is happening on (the Labordes') street.

"The Labordes’ house is an aesthetic speed bump. People are slowing to a crawl to look at their house."

Errol Laborde is executive editor of Renaissance Publishing and a producer and panelist on public television’s “Informed Sources." Peggy Laborde is a senior producer for WYES television and host of “Steppin’ Out.” Together, they are the authors of numerous tomes celebrating New Orleans culture and history.

When the Labordes recently prepared to overhaul the exterior of their home, they sought out Aubert, who had originally created a color palette for the couple in 1994.

“They wanted something cheerful, evocative of an Easter egg, so we chose a range of clear, bright colors in that palette,” Aubert said.

To re-create their home’s original second-floor balcony and railing, the Labordes turned to contractor John W. Andrews III. Andrews and his team were also responsible for administering the complicated, detailed paint job.

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Natural cypress shutters help ground the brightly hued home of Errol and Peggy Scott Laborde.

Many styles, many colors

Built in 1910, the home is an amalgamation of the styles of its time merging elements of Queen Anne, Craftsman and Edwardian design elements. Upon its recent unveiling, the exterior of the home bore eight colors. The body of the home is a custom shade of periwinkle blue-purple Aubert had blended specifically for the project.

The trim is a vibrant white. The porch ceiling is painted in the Southern tradition of "haint blue" that purportedly discourages ghosts, and insects. The porch columns are a shade of rose.

The home’s Victorian influence is evident in the scalloped shingles covering a dormer that extends skyward from the home’s roof. The singles are painted in alternating bands of the rose pink found on the pillars as well as yellow and lavender.

The shutters central to the dormer are glazed in pine green as is the porch floor and the stair treads leading from the front walkway to the porch. The lavender repeats on adornments interspersed within the spindles on a gallery atop the porch. Details central to the adornments are painted a deep purple shade. The foundation of the home is painted a deep rosy-beige.

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The front porch overlooks a bustling Mid-City block.

Cypress is its own best color

Like many people of Louisiana heritage, the Labordes find the beauty of natural, native cypress worthy of celebration.

“It was Errol’s idea to leave the front door and the functional shutters in their natural cypress state. We just varnished them for durability,” Peggy Laborde said. “I love the effect. The juxtaposition really works.”

In advising clients on the color palettes for their homes, Aubert starts with questions.

“When I ask what colors they like, there are usually one or two answers. When I ask what they dislike there is a list. I start there.

“There is the consideration of just how detailed they want to go. It is also important to note that placement is as important as color. Color has an impact. Where do you want to draw attention?”

He cites as an example a pure white home he once saw with its electrical box painted fire engine red.

“Why? Why would you want to draw attention to the electrical box? Why?”

A celebration of New Orleans

Since 1997, the Labordes have been the media hosts of the Mardi Gras evening meeting of the courts of Rex and Comus. Their extensive collection of Rex memorabilia includes pins, favors and bulletins reflecting the organization’s 152-year history.

A “garden” of papier-m?ché float flowers, acquired from Rex artisans raising money during the COVID-19 pandemic, blooms upon a living room wall.

As enthusiastic celebrants of all things New Orleans, the home boasts a countless array of framed works from noted local photographers, among them Michael P. Smith, John Lawrence, Jules Cahn, John Bernand, Justin Winston, Herman Leonard, and Pops Whitesell.

A devoted Catholic, Peggy Laborde has an extensive collection of religious art and ephemera interspersed throughout the home. Treasured pieces include sculptures in the likenesses of Mother Cabrini, St. Clare of Assisi (the patron saint of television) and St. Agatha, the patron saint of breast cancer survivors. A photograph by the late Arthur Tong, of Pope John Paul II departing Mass at St. Louis Cathedral in 1987, holds a place of prominence.

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Peggy Scott Laborde, a devout Catholic, has religious ephemera interwoven throughout the home.

All aboard the streetcar

Streetcars play a starring role. In 1981, the Labordes resurrected the Phunny Phorty Phellows?and originated the streetcar ride, which rolls every year on Jan. 6, ushering in the start of Carnival.

The Phellows first took to the streets in 1878, with a break that lasted from 1898 until the Labordes brought it back. Errol Laborde, whose maternal grandfather was a streetcar conductor, is a founding president and a board member of the annual Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival. Williams wrote “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a play set in New Orleans.

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Religious icons appear throughout the home.

These confluences of all things streetcar result in the interspersion of various likenesses and imagery celebrating the historic railcars throughout the home, most notably within the first-floor powder room, which is themed for the streetcar.

Additional collections include pottery, family photographs, historic menus and paintings.

“I credit Tami Hills, whose business is called Nola Clutter Busters, with keeping all of this clutter-free and in order,” said Peggy Laborde. “Sometimes she is here as often as once a week. It’s a lot.”

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