A New Orleans couple bought a ramshackle historic cottage, moved it across the city and renovated it all the while using salvaged materials and respecting the home's original floor plan. Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the the two-story 1840s Creole home from the Central City neighborhood after a church said they wanted to demolish it and expand their parking lot. The couple moved it to the Freret neighborhood where they then spent seven months renovating. Tillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga Tillero.Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the home after a church claimed they wanted to demolish it and expand their lotThe home was dismantled and stored for a year before the couple found a lot across New Orleans that would fit the home's dimensionsTillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga TilleroThe couple stayed true to the cottage's floor plan, while converting it from a duplex to a single-family homeThey used salvaged and recycled materials to decorate the interior and exterior of the home
Photos of Ensslen and _ with their sons Javier and Santiago decorate the walls of their bedroom in vintage white frames. Ensslen and _ wanted to rebuild their home on a lot that got plenty of natural light. Though it was originally a duplex, Ensslen and _ decided to turn the home into a single-family structure.