Jessie Davidson Interiors

Shotgun House

This is a story of a special house. A New Orleans style cottage nestled in a sleepy summer community north of Chicago was slated for demolition. The double-gallery, hipped-roof and keeper of by-gone history, charmed the local community. Villagers watched and grieved the loss as one man and one machine reduced history to rubble, but then they begged to recreate the home for today’s world in yesterday’s image.

Like the village around her, Jessie Davidson fell in love with the cottage and teamed up with a local architect to carefully recreate this community-loved home in its former glory. Documenting each step in the process, Davidson attentively sought to capture the history while celebrating what the cottage has wonderfully become. Featuring walnut floors made from a felled tree on the property, historically procured antiques and intentional design decisions that reflect the original New Orleans architecture, this home captures the spirit of the Crescent City in every detail, down to the gas lights and welcoming porches.