[4][5][6][7][2] The original house, built in 1801 and destroyed by fire in or before 1837, was a "raised Creole house—brick on the first floor supporting a heavy-timber frame above".

[9] Although sources vary as to the certainty of it, the design of the current, 1837, house has been attributed to James H. Dakin, who came to Louisiana in 1835, was employed by the Bringier family, and was skilled in Greek Revival architecture.

[5] Distinctive features of the façade include the massive entablature, with pediment design on the parapet and denticulated cornice, supported across the entire front by square, giant order columns forming a double gallery.

[citation needed] The upper gallery was used to film a scene in the movie "Twelve Years a Slave".

[citation needed] The roof once served as a rainwater catch basin, with the fresh water shunted through pipes to a cistern on each side, in back of the house.

[9] He also worked with Dr. Neil Odenwald, the Director of LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture,[17] to choose the plants in Bocage, which included Azaleas, Live Oaks, and Crape Myrtles, all planted by Dr. Rundell, with associates Adrian Trevino, and Luba and Igor Detsyk.