On the Cover: Maximalist Sensibilities
Image by Mary Craven
Inside Palmyre Billeaud’s parlor, Acadiana socialites of the early twentieth century luxuriated within the carefully-curated enclave of globally-inspired Southern hospitality—sipping the finest of wines and liqueurs.
This distinguished space has been reincarnated by Palmyre’s own great granddaughter in the form of Lafayette’s newest cocktail lounge, named for the fabled lady herself. Drawing from Palmyre’s affinity for French décor and indulgent aesthetics, the lounge’s acclaimed interior designer Lindsay Rhodes created a transportive world within a world, an intimate environment of bold patterns and exotic fabrics—all threaded together by Palmyre’s signature Louisiana geniality.
Against this example of design curated with history, culture, and experience at the forefront stand other values at the heart of Louisiana built environments: adaptability, innovation, sustainability. In our 2022 Deep South Design Issue, we explore extreme examples of how thoughtful design—in reclaimed batture “camps” and in state-of-the-art welcome centers alike—function as vessels from which we might better experience our unique part of the world.