Taylor Lake is only part of the scene-setting found at this sprawling 1973 waterfront estate on a point of Seabrook’s El Lago Estates. While the lion’s share of the listing photos feature the tidy grounds and exterior’s grand-scaled impact, the interior delivers quite a cinematic cornucopia of thematic decor — and lighting, such as found in the fuchia glow of the Moulin Rouged bedroom pictured above. Scene it?
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War time or Western? An old-timey parlor was inspired by the War Room of Winston Churchill, or so declares the listing description for the property. The home has been on the market at $5.995 million since September 2013.
Low lighting lends a diorama feeling to the cozy, time-traveling space. It also highlights the rubbed finish of wooden paneling, coffered ceiling, and deep case entrance with tile threshold. Prop-wise, decorative figures — both holy and scruffy — in the photo below appear to compare gifts across the coffee table, offering up their gold, frankincense, myrrh — and parrot.
Bedrooms, and there are 8 cited in the listing, include this ornate bunk with overhang that, fitted with the right equine add-on, might be right at home in a Godfather movie. It’s found in . . .
an expansive master suite with enough seating for an entire production crew:
Heavy theater-style curtains track back to reveal the water view within the bedroom’s lobby-sized sitting area, contained within a roundhouse space opening to a promenade:
In its bathroom — one of yes, a dozen in the 13,638-sq.-ft. home — a sunken, walk-in shower shares its curving course with a sprite-supervised spa tub, all beneath a faux circus-tent ceiling:
Upstairs in one of the bedrooms, ruffled textures set up a multi-genre mashup, from jungle to ranch to anime — all with attitude:
A return to the first floor takes in more formal finds, though whimsied up a bit with objets d’art. Do the curls, swirls, and furls found by, on, and under the stairs reference illustrations found in Le Petit Prince?
Even the frames follow the home’s design propensity for arches, whether appearing in a group, such as in this auxiliary sitting room downstairs . . .
or off with its mate in a corner, as in the drama-tinged dining room (below). The kitchen makes no appearance other than in the doorway; it’s described as having a breakfast bar, granite countertops, and electric appliances.
Meanwhile, outside, the back of the home overlooks neatly landscaped grounds with statuary both at grade . . .
and perched atop the rear portico:
Nearby, there’s a Charles Foster Kane-worthy pool and patio . . .
which has a cupola-capped gazebo offering shelter and an outdoor kitchen . . .
and a bunch of fountains, all burbling within view of the lake. Cue Sunset:
A portion of the loggia leads to a detached, 6-car garage:
Guest houses off the brick-paved motor court come with their own small kitchens:
To finish off the estate’s footprint, there’s a private beach amid the 5.59-acre lot’s 1,000-linear feet of waterfront.
A circular driveway leads to the gated grounds’ neatly clipped entry on the east side:
- 401 Lakeshore Dr. [HAR]
Is this how one decorates when they win the lottery at the trailer park?
Wow. I’ve never seen so much trash in one house.
Obviously being sold for “lot value…”
..Is this how one decorates when they win the lottery at the trailer park?
Rosie Perez’s character in the 90s movie “It Could Happen to You”
Heavens!!–Where to begin–well to be positive, the brick motor court is awesome and I kinda like the exterior –but wow the interior design is–well…….
Oh and the loggia is fab
I’m not sure how I feel about this. The price tag is ridiculous, but i think this property could be fantastic with the right updates. Gotta love that inflatable smorkin labbit.
If you thought that price was ridiculous, the smoking rabbit thing is a Kid Robot stool and they cost about $1,000, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Imagine how the person who designed the relatively restrained exterior must feel…
I can’t. I can’t.
13,6k sq ft and a dinning room that seats 6? You can get more people in the seating area of the master bedroom!
Yeah, yeah. The interior design is a horror show. But, I have to say that the architecture is actually very nicely understated and classy. The vines on the exterior of the front elevation give the house a nice warm and earthy feeling instead of the usual mash up of masonry that builders cannot resist today. The house is not the usual in-your-face richie rich architecture that we come to expect in Houston. Maybe the owners realized that and tried to make up for it by stuffing the interior with gaudiness.
i looked the owner up, and looks like there’s an interesting story behind him including a development company based in the Cayman Islands, some accusations of bribery and land-grabbing in Panama, a class action settlement related to alleged securities fraud for a biotech (collagen therapy) company, and membership at lakewood church.
@someguy
I looked up the owner too.
I guess being “guided by Christ-centered principles” and being “active members in Lakewood Church” actually makes sense.
The first thing I said when I saw the interior was ‘Jesus Christ!”
All jokes aside, these people seem like real winners.
Is this where Vince Young blew his money?
haha @ DNAguy: I said “WTF” when I saw the interior pics!
But I don’t hate it exactly…
Proof yet again, that having lots of money and having good taste are not necessarily linked! If I was their decorator, I would not be using this as part of my protfolio. Then again, if you are paid enough……
They only taste these folks have is in their mouths.
This is a beautiful home with way too much going on inside obviously. The interior decor was/is an expression of the taste of the person who lived here and it looks like they had fun theming the rooms… and you know what- more power to them. If you can’t have fun creating your personal spaces, what’s the point of having them at all. I’m sure the future owner can slap some beige paint up in there and revel in their good taste.