Gas lanterns. Oh, how I love them so. I love the classic elegance they add to a home, whether it's new or old. When we were renovating The Brainerd Street House, gas lanterns were at the top of my must have list, even if we couldn't afford the exact ones I wanted. I had always dreamed about driving up to our house at night, and our front porch giving off an eerie and romantic glow.

The Brainerd Street House front entrance flanked with copper gas lanterns.

A couple of weekends ago, we took a quick adult weekend getaway to New Orleans. Our main objective was Jazz Fest to see Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but my husband and I knew we wanted to sneak away and stroll the streets of the French Quarter to look at all the beautiful architecture and hopefully find some great antique stores.

The first morning, we got up, had a quick bite, and walked over to the French Quarter. I was feeling a little rushed, as we got a later start than I wanted to and I almost gave up on our objective knowing we had to leave for Jazz Fest soon. Then, we took a turn onto Royal Street, and stumbled upon a beautiful brick breezeway filled with copper lanterns. My husband was even more excited to go in than I was! This is what we saw : Gas Lantern Heaven! Just look at these beauties, and the lovely space they are displayed in. Such a quintessential New Orleans atmosphere.

We slowly wandered through the breezeway, taking in the beauty of all the copper surrounding us. These are the gas lanterns I wanted, these are Bevolo. For those of you who might not know, Bevolo is the oldest and largest manufacturer of handmade, hand-riveted copper lanterns in the United States. And I have to say, they do top notch quality work!!

At the end of the breezeway, there was quite a crowd of people, so we continued on, and thank goodness we did because this stop just kept getting better and better....Here are a couple more images from within the breezeway - you can actually rent this space for parties and such! Wouldn't this be a glorious wedding reception venue?

We walked into this beautiful and bright courtyard area, and what we found next was fantastic!! The workshop. This is where we had the pleasure of meeting Nate - a young and very talented coppersmith. He was actually working away, hand riveting lanterns, and it was so wonderful to watch! I'll let the pictures do the talking {please take a moment to look at his work space - I have no words - it is SO GOOD!}.

My husband and I sat for about 20 minutes and watched craftsman Nate do his thing. He was so polite and answered all of our 100 questions. If you ever visit New Orleans, be sure to take a trip down Royal Street, and find this magical place. Next door they also have an interior shop, which is just as fantastic - filled with decor items, chandeliers and more!

As for me, I plan on upgrading to these classic and timeless lanterns soon. My house deserves it, right? Here are a couple more pictures of the courtyard and interior store. Have a great week!

Check out Bevolo online at: http://www.bevolo.com/

Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights, est. 1945

This copper fountain is so simple and beautiful!

Look at all those repurposed house columns, look familiar?? :-)

Nothing's better than some vintage pitchforks and a dough bowl.

Until next time, New Orleans....