{"id":2348,"date":"2026-11-04T12:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/?p=2348"},"modified":"2026-11-04T12:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T12:01:25","slug":"inside-the-home-of-anna-beth-chao-design-teens-and-renovation-in-louisianas-garden-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/?p=2348","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Home of Anna Beth Chao: Design, Teens, and Renovation in Louisiana’s Garden District"},"content":{"rendered":"

When walking down the tree-lined, historic streets of a small Louisiana town, you might easily mistake Anna Beth Chao for a stylish teenager. To those who know her well, she goes by AB, ABC, or simply Anna Beth\u2014though using just "Anna" is strictly reserved for her mother. Beyond her youthful appearance, she is a witty writer, an exceptionally talented interior decorator, and a stylist known for her refreshing editing prowess. But perhaps the most surprising detail to casual observers is that she is not a teenager at all; she is the mother of one. <\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

That unique dynamic\u2014navigating the world of home design while living with a teenager\u2014serves as the premise for a new domestic profile exploring how families adapt their living spaces as their children grow. Joining her in the historic Garden District home are her husband, Vince Chao, their sixteen-year-old high school junior, Madeleine, a notoriously ill-behaved dog named Hank, and a well-behaved cat named Spike. <\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

The household balances a blend of self-employment and chaotic teenage milestones. AB recently marked her one-year anniversary of leaving a corporate communications writing career to transition full-time into interior decoration, styling, and blogging. Meanwhile, her husband Vince runs an independent business involving manufacturing and export operations overseas\u2014an enterprise AB lightheartedly summarizes to inquirers as exporting potato chips and importing fake mustaches. Then there is Madeleine, whose transition into driving a car provides plenty of everyday excitement for the household.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Finding the right property in their dream neighborhood took determination. Located in a quiet, historic pocket close to Madeleine\u2019s school, the house was built in 1945 and possessed plenty of underlying charm alongside an urgent need for modern updates. Though the property was not officially on the market when the family began their search in 2003, AB recognized its potential immediately and persuaded the owners to sell. <\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

The renovation journey began with the kitchen, a project that required meticulous budgeting, notebook drawings, spreadsheets, and the occasional domestic debate. Completing the kitchen sparked a long-term passion for home improvement, leading the family to tackle at least one room every year since. Over two decades, nearly every space has been transformed, leaving the master bathroom as the final frontier on their renovation checklist\u2014currently reduced to bare sub-floors and studs before the cycle of home improvements finally comes to a close.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Living through years of renovations alongside a growing teenager has shaped AB\u2019s distinct interior design philosophy, which centers heavily on restraint and durability. Her foremost design principle is that less is more, advocating for the removal of unnecessary clutter and decorative items that complicate cleaning and overwhelm a space. <\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Beyond minimalism, she emphasizes the use of hard-wearing, tactile materials capable of enduring daily family life. Elements like leather, jute, cowhide, cotton canvas, velvet, hardwood, and wool form the backbone of her interiors. Evidence of this durability is visible in Madeleine\u2019s room, where a simple pine IKEA desk and a jute rug have withstood years of heavy use. Similarly, a white cotton duck slipcover on the living room sofa, manufactured back in 1981, continues to hold up through regular washing and bleaching despite losing its zipper function.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Another cornerstone of AB\u2019s design approach is the transformative power of a fresh coat of paint combined with patience. Rather than purchasing inferior furniture merely to fill an empty room immediately, she advises saving resources until the ideal piece can be acquired. Embracing this philosophy, she spent years utilizing inexpensive IKEA stools as makeshift bedside tables while waiting for the right long-term investments.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Raising a teenager brings its own distinctive interior design challenges and aesthetic evolution. Over the years, Madeleine has cycled through multiple stylistic phases, ranging from preppy and vintage to emo and hipster. Despite these shifting preferences, AB notes that her daughter has developed a strong inherent sense of spatial awareness, scale, and vignette styling. This creative eye may be hereditary, stemming from a maternal lineage that includes an exceptionally discerning grandmother.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Daily life with a teenage driver and high school junior naturally comes with humorous trials, most notably navigating the adolescent fascination with heavy eyeliner during Madeleine’s junior high years. Yet, AB reflects on the parenting journey with perspective, noting that the daily friction of teenage independence ultimately gives way to mutual respect. While younger children require constant physical care, teenagers present a different dynamic\u2014one characterized by messy bedrooms, an endless supply of Styrofoam cups, and a constant need for stocked snacks like frozen pizzas, balanced out by clear boundaries and weekend chores.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Among all the spaces in the historic Louisiana home, the kitchen and the screened-in porch stand out as the primary hubs for daily life, food, and gatherings. These areas frequently host impromptu social gatherings featuring guitar sing-alongs and playful impersonations.<\/p>\n

\"Living<\/figure>\n

Building on her years of experience in blogging and interior styling, AB is expanding her reach through a new weekend design initiative titled Dewit Design Camp, named affectionately after her southern pronunciation. Designed for design enthusiasts who lack the budget or desire to hire a full-service decorator, the workshop aims to teach foundational concepts, including inspiration board creation, layout planning, paint selection, furniture sourcing, lighting, window treatments, and interior photography. The inaugural camp is scheduled in New Orleans, offering participants a hands-on opportunity to master professional styling techniques firsthand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When walking down the tree-lined, historic streets of a small Louisiana town, you might easily mistake Anna Beth Chao for a stylish teenager. To those who know her well, she goes by AB, ABC, or simply Anna Beth\u2014though using just "Anna" is strictly reserved for her mother. Beyond her youthful appearance, she is a witty…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[729,2474,1492,85,3227,79,1473,327,139,2514,80,78,81,2518,1867],"class_list":["post-2348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-photography-and-memories","tag-anna","tag-beth","tag-chao","tag-design","tag-district","tag-family","tag-garden","tag-home","tag-inside","tag-louisiana","tag-memories","tag-photography","tag-pictures","tag-renovation","tag-teens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}