Bay St Louis -- Becoming Bayrats

New Orleans has always been one of our favorite cities. We visited at least once or twice each year for the food and fun.  On each trip,  we’d visit Ning’s cousin Nora and her husband Ed, and we grew close with them and their growing family of five children.

When Ed & Nora relocated 40 miles east to the quiet, family-friendly community of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, we were introduced to the charms of this small beach town.  No high-rise condos, no tourist shops. It was a stable community of 6,500 people, many of them New Orleanians with beach cottages, who enjoy a lively culture of restaurants and bars, music and the arts, and sailing and sifhing.  

We saw the town in the aftermath of Katrina and  we witnessed the community claw its way back to a new level of vibrancy. 

About four years ago we had a quiet epiphany. In retirement, we had the means to live anywhere in the world, but we wanted to become Bayrats. We were ready to put our roots down deep in a small. connected community.  

We bought a 110-year-old cottage in Old Town Bay St. Louis, just 1000 feet from the beach, as our home base in retirement.  A year later we bought the little cottage next door as a comfortable spot for family and friends to stay when they visit.

Fais Do Do in process

Fais Do Do in process

 And now our vision is becoming reality.  Over the past 18 months we worked with Ed (architect) and Nora (interior designer) to plan every detail of our main house and guest cottage.  



Front room before

Front room in process (do you think
we're crazy...?)

We lined up a contractor to deconstruct the house and rebuild it to exacting plans.  We're saving everything we can in an old house while making it fit our modern lives, too. 



Garçonnière is the guest cottage next to Fais Do Do

Before interior demolition began, we hosted a neighborhood party in our vacant home.  Tables and chairs were borrowed from the local parish. Food was catered by the local deli. And 50 of our future neighbors and friends came to celebrate another sign of the Bay coming back from Katrina.





Our first party!  We met so many fun people....