Address:

2618 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

Art director Monroe Kelly and architect Lee Ledbetter had just 10 weeks to create the home for the ninth season of MTV's "The Real World." Read on to see how HomePortfolio.com helped them do it. 

"One of the big challenges in designing the house was finding pieces that fit an eclectic range of tastes." 
                                                                          –Monroe Kelley, art director

In the main room of the Belfort, cast members gather on vibrant, jewel­toned furnishings in ruby red and sapphire blue. Classic, richly detailed rugs make a dramatic statement. In addition to several floor­to­ceiling windows, the room is amply lit with shapely fixtures that lend a modern feel. The bright chromed legs of sofas and chairs bring cutting­edge style to a house born of old Southern charm.

Let the band play! The New Orleans jazz scene comes to life in the Music Room with musical artwork and accessories. Dusty distressed walls in sage and a crumbling fireplace add to the ambiance.

It wouldn't be a true New Orleans home without a Mardi Gras room! Julie and Kelley's bedroom reflects the outrageous decadence of the annual Mardi Gras festival in its rich purple walls and black velvet beds. Whimsical petal lamps and colorful abstract artwork also reveal an exuberant side.

With its cozy wicker chairs, this quiet hideaway is a great place for cast members to escape to. Tall windows are prettily dressed in green shutters to filter sunlight. Plump, painted chairs are perfect seats to lounge in on hot New Orleans days.

Placed against a vivid red wall, a section of an early nineteenth­century French altar becomes the centerpiece of "The Real World" kitchen. The other outstanding feature is the row of uniquely designed stainless steel and red fabric bar stools that curve around the island. The elements Kelly chose to decorate the room effectively blend the past with future by acknowledging New Orleans' richly devotional past and embracing the minimalist future.

Interior Design Magazine - June 2000

Art director Monroe Kelly and architect Lee Ledbetter transform a New Orleans landmark into a dramatic backdrop for MTV's Real World.


NOW IN ITS NINTH SEASON, Music Television's Real World has been rated the number one-ranked cable television program among 18-to 34-year-old viewers. For those who do not fall within the "MTV generation" (anyone outside the aforementioned age bracket or without cable), Real World is a "reality-based" docu-drama wherein seven "real people" (i.e., not actors), who are strangers to one another, are placed in a shared living space to have their ensuing trials and tribulations videotaped for five months--and then broadcast to millions of cult-like viewers across the country. Through the years, casts have cohabited in a diverse range of environments--from a Manhattan loft to a plantation house in Honolulu--each location and set providing a memorable and distinct backdrop for that season's particular melodramas.


This season's dramatis personae can be seen ensconced in the Belfort mansion, a landmarked Greek revival home built some time in the 19th century on New Orleans's historic St. Charles Avenue. Co-designed by art director Monroe Kelly and architect Lee Ledbetter, the house is a colorful and richly textured tribute to the vibrant and diverse culture of the Louisiana port city. Although the mansion's history remains somewhat vague, it is known that the building was divided into apartments during the 1930s. When the New Orleans-based co-designers first arrived on the scene, the house had been gutted down to the studs. Kelly and Ledbetter's job was to restore the original plan, and in doing so, convert the Belfort property (inside and out) into a comfortable living environment and a functional production set within a ten-week time frame.


As New Orleans natives and trained architects, the collaborators had little trouble approximating the original plan of the two-story structure. "Wide, central halls with parlors to each side serve as organizing devices on both levels," explains Ledbetter, who started his practice in 1995. With 4,000 sq. ft. designated for living space and 3,000 sq. ft. given to production offices, the house, as it is seen on television, harks back to the city's grand, old homes. On the first floor, a center hall gives way to an assemblage of common rooms including a library, billiard room, living room, and kitchen. Bedrooms are upstairs along with a large, communal bathroom. The central hall on this level is furnished with a collection of mismatched armoires for the cast.


Combining New Orleans's antique shops, art galleries, and thrift stores, in addition to surfing Homeportfolio.com, the designers assembled an eclectic mix of furniture, art, and accessories that creates an evocative background for the show. "The house has to hold the viewers' interest for the duration of the show," explain the designers. "It is not just a backdrop--it has a distinct personality--much like a member of the cast." Furnishing the house posed a unique set of challenges. "A set is a set and a residence is a residence. It's not often that a project must function as both," says Kelly, who designed sets for Interview with the Vampire and The Pelican Brief The designers recall numerous lessons learned during the design of the house: "We couldn't use ceiling fans because they would produce a strobe effect when combined with the lights. We couldn't use canopy beds because they would interfere with the booms." In the end, Ledbetter and Kelly juxtaposed antique and contemporary pieces that underscore the youthful esprit of the show and reflect the many cultures that have converged in Louisiana during the past two centuries.


The profusion of color that gives the house an exuberant, offhand look was carefully orchestrated by the designers to be photogenic and flattering to the cast members. "A jewel tone palette was established early on," say the designers. "Stand-ins for each of the cast members were filmed against the walls and bedspreads, so that we could see how any given character would look in all of the rooms." Colors were then "massaged and enhanced" to create the textures and richness that is seen throughout the house. Bright, tropical hues lend the downstairs rooms a crisp, finished feeling, whereas the upstairs features layered wallpapers and other surface treatments that convey a "found quality and a decayed elegance." It is yet to be determined how the Real World cast members feel about their New Orleans home. But, says Ledbetter, "the house looks great from the camera's view."