Large lot in the Quarter allows for multiple courtyard spaces surrounding an 1830s home

Save for the tasteful white slipcovered outdoor furniture, the courtyards and gardens of Van and Marsha Miller's French Quarter home seem much as they could have nearly 200 years ago.

Accessing the 1830s home through the original porte-cochere, where horse-drawn carriages once delivered their occupants, original weathered flagstones lead into an open courtyard that now serves as an outdoor dining area. Walking to the rear and taking a hard right turn reveals a series of courtyards, secret corners and alcoves, seating, and cooking areas that nearly encompass the depth of the block.

The outdoor space is striking for the feeling of seclusion it imparts as well as for the sheer volume of real estate it encompasses in a neighborhood known for small residential outdoor areas.

This patio, located right past the porte-cochere, features the home's original flagstones and sits in front of a gallery that holds an eat-in kitchen. Past the outdoor dining area with the umbrella is the new dependency housing Van Miller's office. The rest of the outdoor 'rooms' are around the corner to the right, before the dependency entrance.

The areas are encircled by masonry walls, where pots of asparagus fern allow the plants’ delicate fronds to spill down. Raised beds of old brick lined with tidy, low boxwood hedges define the edges of the "rooms."

The largest of the courtyards would be perfect for a large fête. At one end, a soothing fountain burbles into a pond shaded by philodendrons and bird of paradise. A large sweet olive tree along one wall provides shade for the peaks of deep green aspidistra encircling its trunk.

The entrance to the outdoor living room at the rear is punctuated by terracotta pots bearing small olive trees. The beds within the space are lush with Alocasia, towering spears of Italian cypress, and Thuja "green giants" that will eventually grow to make the rest of the world disappear.

A sculpture hangs above fan palms in the courtyard.

The cooking area is found in yet another courtyard, this one accessed by a left turn off the large central courtyard. Within, the same brick beds are filled with yet more bird of paradise, monstera and philodendron as well as explosions of fan palms. A loquat tree pours in through an alcove in the wall, providing shade.

Scattered throughout are antique olive jars and pots filled with lemon and orange trees, and fragrant rosemary.

The Millers will open their outdoor spaces to visitors Saturday, May 27, for a self-guided tour hosted by Patio Planters of the Vieux Carré.

"We live out here. We use the entire space. That, and I am able to bring all of this beauty inside, too," said Marsha Miller.

The home's original kitchen is now a dine-in kitchen with access to the outdoor dining area. The antique table is pine, tiles are terra cotta from France and chairs are Louis XIV style with burlap cushions.

French doors provide easy access from the outdoor dining area into a small ground-level kitchen when the couple entertains. Its cypress cabinets are original to the house.

A pine dining table bearing the rich patina of age is central to the room. It is accompanied by fine Louis XIV chairs picked up in Paris and outfitted with cleverly constructed removable cushions covered in natural burlap. The floor is of hexagonal terracotta tile from France.

The room is overseen by an oil portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte the Millers picked up while living in Dallas.

The chandelier in this second-floor parlor is one of the Millers' prized possessions, purchased while Van Miller was in law school. It's followed them through several moves, at one point being housed in a garage.

"We moved here in 1999 or 2000 for my husband to attend law school at Tulane," said Marsha Miller, a native of Rosedale, Mississippi, and a salesperson for a medical device company. "We lived in New Orleans for a few years before moving to Dallas. We missed New Orleans so much. We talked about it all the time. We bought Napoleon because he made us feel better."

When the couple's 14-year-old daughter accidentally put her hand through the treasured painting, they had it carefully restored.

"The painting is not worth much," Miller said. "It cost more than it is worth to have it restored, but we love it. It has sentimental value."

The dining room has a more formal appeal but is used everyday. The antique French chandelier was retrofitted to be electric. Neutral woven rugs are used on the floors.

Adjacent to the kitchen is a bathroom with a lavatory that appears to have once been a baptismal font or a receptacle for holy water.

The Millers bought the four-story, 5,300-square-foot Creole townhouse 2½ years ago after living directly across the street for nine years.

The previous owners had the house fully renovated in 2000 by architect Frank Masson. At that time, a dependency that seamlessly blends with the rest of the architecture was added, and it now houses Van Miller's home office for his work as an attorney.

An armoire with a satiny finish holds its own in a room that juxtaposes periods and textures.

To bring the property to its current state, the Millers refurbished the kitchens on the first and second floors, the bathrooms, the stucco exterior, the windows, doors and seven of the 14 original fireplaces.

The millwork, plaster, hardwood floors, ceiling medallions and fireplace mantels are original to the home.

Despite the home's age, the feel within is fresh and bright. Pale silk draperies flow from the ceilings to the floors, which are covered in either woven sisal or natural-colored rugs. Furnishings are mostly slipcovered in white cotton.

After buying the home, the Millers refurbished the primary kitchen on the second floor.

Color comes from gilded antique mirrors, historic oil paintings of people the Millers do not know but enjoy nonetheless, contemporary paintings by well-known New Orleans artists David Harouni and James Michalopoulos, and religious artifacts, such as the pair of gilded plaster wall sculptures depicting scenes from the Christian stations of the cross. They were salvaged from a cathedral in Boston.

The family's collection of fine hardwood antiques, chandeliers, and French ironstone serveware were collected primarily through estate sales and auctions throughout the U.S. and abroad.

The tropical feel of the garden is brought indoors through long, leafy cuttings soaring from vases upon tables, mantels and elsewhere, blurring the lines between indoors and out.

WHAT: The Patio Planters of the Vieux Carré hosts a self-guided walking tour of five French Quarter patios, including the Millers'.

WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday

TICKETS: In advance, $35 at patioplanters.net. Day of, $40 under the alcove in front of The Cabildo in Jackson Square, 701 Chartres St., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Patio Planters.

MORE: Due to narrow entrances, maneuvering strollers or wheelchairs may be difficult.