Ron and Angele Suarez live with their dog Maggie in the pink Eastlake cottage directly behind Barracuda taco stand on Verret Street.
According to the research the couple did using AI, the house was built in about 1897 and until 2020, shared its lot with that of the Gulf station turned taco stand.
The house bears all the characteristics of Eastlake style, with its turned columns, open frieze, and spandrels, plus the semi octagonal bay that extends forward into the front yard.
“Little children seem to really love this place. They think it looks like a dollhouse,” said Ron. “You’ll hear them stop and ask their parents if they can buy it!”
The couple bought the house in July 2023 when they were still living in California. They did not move in until almost a year later because they had to wait until Brando, Ron’s son, graduated from high school. He’s now studying at San Jose State in California.
The couple chose New Orleans because they both love the city. Plus, they have family nearby. Angele was originally from Baton Rouge, and Ron’s daughter Maya, a Realtor, lives in Gretna.
“It was Maya who found this place for us,” said Ron. “She lived in the house while we were still in California with Brando.”
Once inside the house, guests are greeted by a tall vintage upright bass in the music room.
“I’ll have friends over about once a week just to play music,” said Ron, who plays the upright bass, the electric bass guitar, and keyboards.
Past the music room is the living room, distinguished by two stained glass windows.
“Angele painted most of the interior of the house herself,” said Ron, “including all of the wainscoting.”
The couple renovated both bathrooms in the house, and also the kitchen, from which one can access the screened in porch that brings them so much pleasure during cooler weather. Also outside are a tiny shed in the colors of the house, and a patio with a swinging sofa bed, shielded from the harsh summer sun.
“Angele was able to figure out from her AI research that the back part of the house, including the hallway off the kitchen that leads to the guest room and its bath, was added on after the house was originally built in 1897,” said Ron.
Ron is a psychiatrist who works remotely with the VA in Palo Alto, California, and Angele is a licensed clinical social worker. Both work from home.
“My office is in a corner of the music room, while Angele‘s office is immediately next to our bedroom in the front of the house,” said Ron. “There’s a set of pocket doors separating her office from our bedroom.”
Their bedroom occupies the semi-octagonal bay that extends into the front yard from the house.
Ron and Angele are especially proud of the primary bathroom renovation that features a double walker-in shower.
Angele is the artist responsible for most of the paintings in the house, including a painting on a door that depicts the Mississippi River flowing through New Orleans and Algiers Point.
Of all the rooms of the house, the renovated kitchen may be the one that they love best. With its white cabinets and quartz countertops, it fairly glows.
“On our first date, Angele taught me how to make gumbo and shrimp étouffée,” said Ron. “We’ve been cooking together ever since.”