The Mrs. Ory Patout House, a circa 1925 Mediterranean Revival, resides on a sugar farm and mill that has been within the Patout family since 1829. This luxuriously furnished farmhouse is filled with antiques and sleeps up to 6 in three bedrooms adjacent to 1 bath. There is a screened-in porch with views of sunrises & sunsets. It boasts wood floors and 10.5 foot ceilings. The house is surrounded by an acre of quiet, secluded gardens. Experience early life of French settlers in a setting that remains unchanged for almost 200 years. Witness the sugar mill and fields of cane, while you enjoy a great book or whip up a gourmet meal in the original kitchen.
The Story...
"When Peter Patout needs a break from the bustle of his home in New Orleans’ French Quarter, he returns to his Patoutville roots. There, nestled among fields of cane that have fueled the family’s sugar business for nearly two centuries, sits a house built in 1925 by Patout’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Ory Patout.
According to Patout, a realtor who specializes in historic properties as well as Louisiana art and architecture, the home’s Mediterranean revival design is a rarity in Bayou Teche country. Along with its red cement tile roof and stucco exterior, the structure incorporates Colonial revival and arts and crafts elements with a screened-in porch and Doric columns.
Patout has pursued a careful restoration, stripping away layers of linoleum to reveal heart pine flooring, rewiring the nearly century-old light fixtures and installing a shower to complement the 1920s bathtub.
The screened-in porch, once used for sleeping, has become one of Patout’s favorite spots. There he might start his day sipping café au lait from a Blue Willow transfer print cup.
“The porch I did on the last leg, but I should have done that first,” says Patout. “It’s such a lovely place to relax.”
The home’s three generations of decorative arts include items such as Mrs. Ory Patout’s settee, still upholstered in its original fabric, and an heirloom “Remember the Maine” shadowbox that Patout recalls enjoying as a child. Patout continues to incorporate pieces from his own collection of Louisiana antiques as well.
The house is located next to Enterprise Farms, which Patout’s ancestors established in 1832. The farm now houses the family-owned corporation M.A. Patout and Son, which according to Patout is the oldest sugar producing mill on the North American continent still owned and operated by the same family.
“You can see the sugar mill from the front porch, bellowing steam,” says Patout. “It operates 24 hours a day, an energetic entity that’s part of my visual.”
The ancestral thread extends to Patout’s garden, lush with his grandmother’s roses and heirloom plants transferred from his mother’s home in Jeanerette. As with the rest of the property, the garden brings in hints of Patout’s contemporary existence, like the night blooming jasmine he transplanted from New Orleans. At night, the fragrance from the jasmine permeates the air. "It's beyond wonderful."
