/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62957677/002_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067.0.jpg)
It’s an obvious quirk to those of us who live in New Orleans, but a surprising amount of people from outside our fair parish don’t know this: Not one single home in the Crescent City has a basement. That’s because the city’s high water table prohibits both underground burials and underground living.
Of course, New Orleanians need extra storage, laundry facilities, home theaters, and ping-pong tables just as much as anyone else. That’s why we created an architectural style known as the raised-basement home. Like shotgun doubles and singles, they’re endemic to our swampy, riverfront environment—but they aren’t quite as well-known. In addition to expanding a home’s living space, they also protect the main living quarters from flooding.
This graceful Mediterranean-style dwelling in Broadmoor is an exemplary example of a raised-basement house. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home’s red clay tile roof, arched windows, and stucco exterior give it a graceful, resort-like appearance. Inside, that relaxed vibe continues with ample French doors, arched doorways, and wooden floors.
The newly renovated home includes a few luxe touches, including quartzite kitchen countertops and marble-trimmed bathrooms. But its best feature is the expansive raised basement, which could function as a separate apartment. It includes one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen, dining room, and den—plus ample storage and a laundry room.
All in all, the home covers 3,260 square feet and asks $680,000.
Via: Rachael Kansas of RE/MAX
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13722246/005_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067__2_.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13722226/010_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13722232/018_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067__5_.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13722250/013_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067__2_.jpg)
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13722238/021_1600x1067_mls_1600x1067.jpg)