Dining room with red upholstered ornate furniture, red and cream rugs, coffered ceiling, red wall paper with floral pattern, stained glass windows, and dark antique furniture in a house in Bywater, New Orleans, renovated by Mitchell Kulkin and John Cameron Mitchell.

The Deep Dive: A New Southern Gothic

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The rear of the ballroom holds an early-20th-century credenza that John bought at his favorite New Orleans consignment shop, Renaissance Interiors. “We’ve made it our multifaith altar,” he says, “with an antique menorah, a Balinese Perpetual Face Buddha, and a Spanish Madonna with human hair and Jesus springing from her shoulder like a parasitic twin.” The chandelier is from Italianbraslights on Etsy. John scours sites like Facebook Marketplace, 1st Dibs, and Chairish for good deals and unique pieces. “I love to haggle online and meet people who are making things,” he says.