It was the courtyard that drew Lauren Perry in. When she and her husband Kristopher Novak initially viewed the house, the New Orleans staple–and classic element of A. Hays Town design–stood out and quickly made the couple realize that this was the one.

“I loved the fact that this house was designed by A. Hays Town,” Perry explains. “It had great bones and lots of natural light, and the courtyard even gave it a little bit of a New Orleans feel.”

After a renovation, which touched outdated areas like the kitchen, designer Rivers Spencer was enlisted to bring the couple’s sophisticated look together. Utilizing Perry’s favored black and white color palette, the plan included modern touches mixed with heirloom antiques and unexpected pops of color. However, the house wasn’t completely decorated all at once. Rather, Perry and Novak opted to slowly pull their vision together, allowing them to collect quality pieces that they will love for years to come.

See the entire home and learn more about the creative process in this article from the July issue of inRegister, on newsstands now.