Inside the Ultimate Bayou Cottage

The twelve-foot-tall bookcase in the living room was originally used in New Orleans’s Mount Carmel Convent.

Stephen Stirling with his dogs, Billy and Sally.

A view of the center-hall dining room.

Blessed fronds from Palm Sunday are placed on top of artwork for good luck.

Stirling filled each room with antiques authentic to the cottage’s age and place.

Hats and antique fans await just inside the front door for easy access.

The forty-two-foot-wide front porch, complete with ceiling fans and green hurricane shutters.

Stirling pulled the Polito’s sign in his kitchen out of a garbage pile after the local hamburger joint got an upgrade.

Many of the antiques throughout Stirling’s home were purchased at auction. Others were castoffs.

A collection of wooden spoons Stirling carves in his spare time.

The first antique that Stirling ever purchased was this painted armoire, now used as a pantry in the family’s kitchen.

The cottage was designed with a center hallway and doors off of every room in order to keep cool in Louisiana’s tropical climate.

A view of the master bedroom, filled with antiques that Stirling has painstakingly restored.

The rustic master bathroom.

An oyster shell wind chime.

Centuries-old live oaks cradle the antebellum cabin and garçonniére.

An up-close view of Stirling’s latest purchase, and traditional garçionnére that he intends on restoring.