Swamplot

Today’s Swamplot sponsor is The Durham House.

The Durham House debuted in late October, in the same porch-y building 2 blocks north of Washington Ave where 3 successive Louisiana-themed restaurants (Floyd’s Cajun Kitchen, the Mardi Gras Grill, and Woodrows Heights) previously served. With an all-new menu from veteran chef Don Schoenberg — focusing on local and Cajun cuisine as well as fare from bordering regions and beyond — and a major makeover, it’s now something entirely new. The interior of the 1,600-sq.-ft. space at 1200 Durham, which the proprietors say dates from the turn of the 20th Century, is lighter and brighter than before. Its whitewashed walls, corrugated tin accents, Edison bulbs over the bar, and white metal chairs all aim for a Southern, beachy ambience meant to jibe with the new culinary direction.

You can find out more details about the Durham House, find a link to a review or 2, and scan its food and drink menus on the restaurant’s website. And if you do get to enjoy a meal there, please let ’em know you heard about the place on Swamplot.

Interested in reaching Swamplot readers by becoming a site sponsor? Contact us on our special Swamplot sponsorship line.

Photo: Max Burkhalter

Today’s serving of Swamplot is brought to you (in part) by New Living. Thanks for sponsoring this site!

New Living is an artisan manufacturer and retailer focused on furniture designed to improve your health and well-being — and make it a little bit easier to relax and live naturally in Houston. The company’s work can be seen across the city, in places like the JW Marriott downtown, Axelrad Beer Garden, and Oxheart.

Founded as an experiment on a single aisle of the Wagner Hardware store on Kirby Dr. in 2007, New Living took over the entire space when Wagner closed a couple of years later. New Living began as a building materials provider but made its way into furniture production — always focused on the environmental health impacts of its products. New Living is a certified B Corp. (or Benefit Corporation); that doesn’t mean its proprietors are socialists, but they aren’t exactly your typical mattress capitalists either. (The Heights store closes for siesta every weekday from 2 to 3 pm. Both locations offer discounted pricing for families from underserved communities with special needs, and neither sells items known to be harmful to human health.)

New Living’s design studio and showroom are located at 6111 Kirby Dr., at the edge of the Rice Village; the company’s healthy bedroom store is located right behind the famed parklet at 321A W. 19th St. in the Heights. If you have an idea for a furniture collaboration and would like to schedule a free design consultation, give them a shout at 713-521-1921. You’ll find more information on the New Living website; you can also follow them on Instagram at @newlivinghouston.

Interested in reaching Swamplot readers by becoming a site sponsor? Contact us on our special Swamplot sponsorship line.

Our thanks to The Mondrian at the Museums for sponsoring Swamplot today.

Houston’s Oxberry Group began presales for the Mondrian in September. The 8-story, 20-unit midrise is being designed by the Houston and Washington DC offices of Perkins+Will, with interiors by Houston’s Mayfield and Ragni Studio (MaRS). Residences average 3,000 sq. ft. and encompass large entertaining areas — some with 20-ft. ceilings — art walls, and outdoor terraces configured to accommodate fireplaces, TVs, and summer kitchens. The open layouts attempt to merge the indoors with the outdoors, and aim for downtown, Medical Center, and treetop views.

The project’s sales center, which features a selection of furniture and accessories from Cassina, Cappellini, B & B Italia, Zanotta, and Tonelli curated by Upper Kirby’s Internum, is now open in a gallery space inside the Asia Society Texas Center, a short block away from the Mondrian’s building site at the southwest corner of Caroline and Palm streets. Other nearby attractions within walking distance include the city’s top cultural institutions, the light rail, restaurants, and Hermann Park.

Renderings, floor plans, a walk-through video, and more details are also available at the Mondrian website.

Interested in becoming a Swamplot sponsor and getting your message out to this site’s readers? Contact us on our special sponsorship line.