711 South Orleans Avenue - Brett Coady

What drew Brett to this house in 2021? “Location, location, location,” he says. He nabbed this 1990 beauty and turned it upside down! 

“I changed everything from top to bottom,” he says. He painted the whole thing inside and out, updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and filled every nook and cranny with eye-popping art. Brett spent many years in New York City where he worked as an actor in TV and theater, and then immersed himself in the art world. He himself is also a painter and photographer. 

“A lot of these artists are my friends,” he says. “I also have lots of tchotchkes from my travels around the world. I collect souvenirs.”

Here are just a few details of his extensive collection: the colorful painting above the fireplace in the living room comes from a graffiti painter named Jesse Mullinex; the Calder-like sculptures on the coffee table were crafted by a Brooklyn artist named Max Simon; the delightful felt pieces in the living room and kitchen come from a rising star named Lucy Sparrow; and the huge gray-and-white canvas on the opposite wall was commissioned by a New Orleans painter named RJ Raizk. 

Brett wanted the kitchen to feel like a New York City bistro, and clearly, he nailed it. The family room space next to the kitchen used to serve as a lanai. Brett created a comfy room there instead (with nice extra square footage!) and filled it with more art. The large orange, yellow, and navy show-stopper is a Brett Coady original.

The playful little climber sculptures in the hallway were done by an Israeli artist and the basketball hoop above the front door is an Instagram find. It hangs at 10-feet regulation height, and no one is allowed to go for a 3-pointer.

Does he ever host parties? “I use my dad as a bouncer,” he says, “The password is simple: who lives here? If they can answer that, they can come in!”