"Cajun Cottage"

No matter how prosperous or how poor, the Cajun home featured a galerie (front porch). It was the place where a housewife could sit and work, the family would gather, and people entertained. The kitchen was often a separate unit, reached by a doorway of its own, sensible in a climate of more heat than cold. The doors and windows of the home were flung open during the day, shaded with colored curtains of yellow, pink, red or green to retain a bit of privacy.

Paint was usually only on the front of the house in the galerie area. It was the place most often seen by the family and visitors alike. Backs of doors and shutters were not normally painted, because when closed at the end of the day, paint would not be seen in the dark and so was not needed. A ledge over a kitchen window was for a washtub to do the dishes.

Houses were constructed of cypress. Beneath the weathered cypress boards were walls made of a mixture of mud and spanish moss. This combination insulated the home from the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Cypress is a durable wood, will not rot when immersed either fresh or salt water, is not attacked by insects, is straight-grained and easily fashioned, and does not warp when sawed.

Mat Color Choices for this Print