Couple make favorite house their home

Carole and Dick Neff were renting in Algiers Point after losing their home in Lakeshore to Hurricane Katrina, and had decided to call the cozy neighborhood their permanent home.

The charming Victorian at 325 Bermuda St. was not for sale. But the Neffs' Realtor suggested they drive by it anyway, because she said the owners might be interested in selling.

"I called her and said, 'This is my favorite house in Algiers Point,' " Carole Neff said.

The owners let the Neffs take a look, and it turns out that yes, indeed, they were interested in selling, and a year later, the Neffs call the house home.

The home, along with six others, will be part of the Algiers Point home tour Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

From the front, with its unique gazebo attached to the house and masses of flowers, "it looks like a little cottage," Carole Neff said, but the house is actually just under 2,900 square feet, in large part due to an extension in back added by another previous owner.

The Neffs' Lakeshore home, a 1950s ranch, was even bigger, but much of that square footage was a "huge formal living room and dining room. We never used it. Here, every square inch is functional" Carole Neff said, adding that the high ceilings add to the effect of spaciousness.

The house was built in 1897 by the Duvic family, owners of Duvic's Hardware, which was at 315 Morgan St. until the 1970s.

The house was given a major renovation in 1980 by previous owner Joey Fasullo, and Carole Neff praised his work for its functionality.

What was once a double parlor in front was divided into a front parlor and a guest bedroom. One wall of the parlor is framed by an arched white screen, illuminated by recessed lighting. Under the arch, the Neffs show off family photos, including those of Dick Neff's mother, a star on Vaudeville. The screen "is quite unusual," Carole Neff said....