It’s no secret Jefferson Parish’s Elmwood neighborhood is a shopping destination for residents across the Greater New Orleans Area. Its large shopping center has a great selection of big-box stores, its movie theater boasts 20 screens, and its area attractions include an indoor trampoline park and laser tag venue. In addition to an abundance of amenities, Elmwood is an ideal place for those looking for a quiet and affordable alternative to downtown New Orleans living.
Living in Elmwood makes shopping a breeze. Elmwood Shopping Center is a one-stop shop for all of the items on your shopping list. In one trip, you can find new shoes at DSW, find a new dining table at World Market, find a television at Best Buy, and more! Instead of having to drive all over town to get the items you need, you can make one trip to one central location and then head right on home! It will save you gas, time, and a lot of patience.
Elmwood’s little corner of the Mississippi River is a quaint residential area with quick access to paved bike paths, public parks, and recreational spaces. La Salle Park is a well-kept multi-purpose recreational space for sports and nature explorations. Its nature boardwalk winds through native cypress trees, making it a scenic and calming spot for outdoor enthusiasts.
If you’re looking for some two-wheeled fun, the paved levee bike path is a great way to enjoy the action on the river while you get some exercise in. Pack a blanket and some snacks for a riverside picnic, or wind your way over to Oak Street on the outskirts of New Orleans for some good local eats and live music.
Elmwood might be a shopping haven, but it’s also a secluded treasure. Many of our 1st Lake properties sit tucked away on peaceful, open green areas which provide a feeling of escape and relaxation.
Bella Ridge is a blissful haven for easy living in Elmwood.
You can unwind poolside at Bella Ridge without the distracting sounds of blaring car horns, screeching sirens, or chatty tourists. You can share a casual and fun afternoon with your dog and your neighbors’ dogs in Clearwater Creek Premier’s gated pet park. You can go for an easy evening stroll alongside the flowing streams of Palmetto Creek. Every one of our Elmwood locations is designed to make you feel like you’re living in a remote luxury retreat.
If you’re considering a move, consider Elmwood as your new neighborhood. With great shopping, great outdoor spaces, and great living communities, you’ll find it easy to settle in and make yourself at home in Elmwood.
Move? In just three days?! With the right amount of pre-planning, it is absolutely possible to move in just three short days. It will take a lot of thought and strategy, but you will feel much better having a plan of action over just tossing your belongings into garbage bags and hoping for the best. With these organizational ideas, moving will be stress-free. Here are our tips for a better packing and moving experience.
Before you do anything, write down everything that needs to be done. If you’re planning on using movers, start with some research! Make a list of local and regional moving companies and use review sites to help determine if they’re a good fit for your needs. If you’re looking at a local moving company, Realtor.com suggests visiting their business in person, which allows you to get a true feel for their standards and capabilities.
Your next list? Packing items. It’s absolutely worth having more boxes, bubble wrap, and rolls of tape than you need. Even if you don’t use movers, they’re a great resource for moving supplies. You can get boxes from personal storage facilities, as well. It’s also worth asking your friends and family if they have boxes and bins they’d be willing to part ways with for your move. Take to Facebook and see who will lend you some goods. That will save you money and probably free up some space for them, too!
So, what goes where? You already know what the movers are going to take, but where are they going to put everything? It’s best to hash out what furniture goes where before they come to collect, otherwise you’ll spend a few more days moving a few things yourself. Mapping it out also helps you visualize where your smaller items might live as well.
Don’t empty those dresser drawers! You’ll just have to refill them again once you’re moved in. Take the items you will need during your unpacking days and fill in the empty spaces with items you can temporarily part with. If you’re looking to save on cushioned packing materials, we suggest using blankets, towels, scarves and other soft fabric materials to wrap fragile items. It’s a “two birds with one stone” way to pack a lot of your possessions at once.
Designate a room in your current space for packing. Bring all of your empty cardboard boxes, plastic bins, tape and markers into one room. It will help you stay organized and allow you to keep track of everything you have left to pack with. Instead of scrambling around your space in search of that marker you put somewhere, having them stored in one room will ease the packing process. Use that marker to clearly label your boxes and bins on each side and make sure you’re explicit about breakable materials. It’ll keep hired movers from carelessly destroying your fragile items.
This might be the hardest part of your move. A lot of people dread asking their loved ones to help them move. It’s a lot of tough work, and it takes a long time. We suggest thanking them with a hearty post-move meal and a meaningful note of gratitude.
Nothing says “moving day” quite like delivery pizza and soda!
They’ll appreciate your immediate appreciation for their help. Plus, the move will be a lot easier for everyone if you follow the steps above!
If you’re looking to update your New Orleans apartment’s decor, there are great furniture stores in the area for you to explore!
And it’s not just in the city center. Kenner, Metairie, and River Ridge all have a great selection of furniture and home decor stores you can shop to find your new style.
Unique, one-of-a-kind pieces? Antique or modern looks? Casual and traditional styles? The Greater New Orleans Area has your look covered. Here are a few of our favorite furniture spots in the area:
Photo by @christianstreetfurniture via Instagram
Christian Street Furniture is a locally-owned, family-run furniture store with two locations, one in Baton Rouge and one in Metairie.
They carry a large selection of unique, reclaimed looks for the artesian aesthetic. You can customize with multiple pieces from Christian Street Furniture, which makes it a fun place to find your perfect look.
Photo by @hurwitzmintz via Instagram
You might get lost in Metairie’s furniture megastore, Hurwitz Mintz. But it’s totally worth it! They don’t call it the south’s largest furniture store for nothing.
Their Airline Drive location is two stories, which means you have plenty of furniture options to choose from. Hurwitz Mintz is another locally-owned store, and it’s been serving this area for over 90 years.
They carry a large portion of traditional and timeless styles, so if that’s what you’re interested in, check out Hurwitz Mintz!
Photo by @worldmarket via Instagram
If you’re going for the Bohemian look, head to Elmwood Shopping Center! Cost Plus World Market is a bright and bold furniture store with styles curated from countries around the world.
Eclectic decor? Check! Eccentric artwork? Check! Eco-conscious furniture? Check and check! If you want your 1st Lake apartment to look like a fabulous hippy hideaway, snag some furniture from World Market.
Photo by @roomstogo via Instagram
Rooms To Go is designed to make furnishing a space easy. The store introduced the concept of “displaying and packaging furniture in complete room settings” all the way down to the accent items, which allows the shopper to literally pick the room they want.
Instead of assembling your room one purchase at a time, why not knock out the whole thing? That’s where this Metairie store comes into play!
Do you have a favorite furniture store in the Greater New Orleans Area? Share your tips with us on Facebook or Instagram!
Your pumpkin is carved, and your seasonal wreath is on the door. But what about your mantel? Several of our 1st Lake Properties feature wood-burning fireplaces, like Sawmill Creek and Willow Creek. The fireplace mantel is a natural focal point of a room, drawing the eye upward and providing an opportunity to flex your decorating muscle. In fact, spruced-up mantels are one of the top fall decor trends.
If you don’t have a fireplace, don’t worry! These fall mantel décor items work just as well anywhere else in the home, whether at the front door or in the living room. (Plus, keep scrolling for even more fall trends.)
Thumbtack Gourds
Gourds and pumpkins are an obvious choice for the mantel, but the addition of metallic thumbtacks can transform a natural design-scape into a totally glamorous one. Add gold or silver thumbtacks to plain gourds, or paint the gourds to match your existing interior design before you add the thumbtacks. Let these awesome designs lead the way for pattern inspiration.
Elegant Upcycling
An easy, cost-effective way to decorate for fall is to use items you already have on hand. Cut paper bags into petal shapes, crease them, and use a bit of hot glue to hold them together. The result is a paper flower that pulls in fall colors and makes a major impact above the mantel, whether alone or in clusters.
An Everlasting Pumpkin
Cinderella’s coach turned into a pumpkin at midnight, but these cute fall decorations won’t turn into a rotten mess after Halloween. Leave these Mason jar pumpkins on the mantel through Thanksgiving, and save them for years to come. The addition of a cinnamon stick lends a fragrant, autumnal touch.
Borrow from Other Seasons
Another way to save on fall décor is to repurpose decorations from previous holidays. Fourth of July bandanas lend a harvest vibe when draped across the mantel, especially in shades of red, rust, and orange. Mardi Gras beads can create a quick garland, and winter holiday decorations like pinecones and acorns look just as appropriate in fall.
Country Living is one of our favorite sources for interior inspiration, so it’s no wonder we’d look to them for all the latest on other fall trends. Here’s a rundown on what they’re seeing this season:
With looks like this, it might be hard to leave our newest apartment community in Covington, but outside of Artesia’s gates is a town filled with tons of great attractions for adults and kids alike. If you love the outdoors, the Northshore is a great place to venture out and explore. You’re in close proximity to picturesque waterways, scenic state parks, and canopied bike paths that wind through the area’s townships. Thinking of indoor options? Test your wits at an escape room or go on a date to the movies.
The Northshore is home to several bayous and streams, which are ideal for an afternoon kayak ride. Beautiful cypress trees and diverse wildlife make paddling the Cane River or Tchefuncte River a relaxing experience. You can rent kayaks from a number of local outfitters, and use Louisiana Northshore’s list of launch sites for your personal watercrafts. Bogue Chitto State Park has great hiking paths and riverside beaches, and Fontainebleau State Park’s 2,800-acre space has boardwalk pavilions, and beautiful, renovated cabins for rent (make sure to book in advance, as they fill quickly). Did someone say, “Staycation?”
If you really want to get wild, head to the Global Wildlife Center for a safari ride alongside giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, and bison! You’ll ride in an open-air bus and get the opportunity to feed the animals by hand. Be careful with those giraffe tongues, though!
If you’re looking for a different kind of outdoor fun, the Tammany Tracy Bike Trail stretches from Abita Springs to Covington down to Mandeville, and into Slidell’s Camp Salmen Nature Park. End your light ride from Covington to Abita Springs with a beer at the Abita Brewery, or coast down to the Mandeville lakefront for a sunset stroll.
It’s still a tad hot outside, so you’re thinking of holding off on all things outdoors until later this season…That’s ok! There is plenty of indoor fun for everyone in the family. If you’re due for a date night with your loved one, the Movie Tavern is both the dinner and the movie. Take a seat and let a server bring you dinner while you watch the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Or you can clue into one of the Northshore’s escape rooms like The Escape or Escapology and race against the clock to free yourself from the enclosed space.
Altitude Trampoline Park is an indoor trampoline park with tons of high-flying fun. We love this place as a solution to rainy-day woes, and there are plenty of different bouncy options to keep your kids engaged until exhaustion.
Artesia’s centralized location gives you easy access to all of the Northshore’s best entertainment and attractions. Whether you’re looking to hit the water or hail the waiter, Covington has everything you need for your outdoor adventure or your indoor indulgences.
1st Lake Properties | P. O. Box 73709 | Metairie, LA 70033 | info@1stlake.com
