03/02/15 5:00pm

3511-s-braeswood-01-3

3511-s-braeswood-15

3511-s-braeswood-02

Tended plantings have been a priority at a 1954 Braes Terrace property across from Brays Bayou’s southern banks and hike-and-bike trail. One cluster of trees near the sidewalk screens the updated home from passing traffic on the thoroughfare it fronts; another, closer to the home, adds a second layer of privacy (top) at the circular driveway. Dense ground cover, meanwhile, creeps across much of the shady lot, which is located near Bevlyn St., west of Buffalo Speedway. The interior is also well-groomed (above), though room purposes have been rotated:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Plant Matters
02/27/15 2:45pm

21327-cedar-lane-01

21327-cedar-lane-06

Cattle grazing, dairy farming, and crops of hay and vegetables have been the order of business at this updated 1860s German farmhouse property, designated a “Century Ranch” by the Texas Dept. of Agriculture for its continuous operation by a single family. (Actual reported time of tenancy by the Hillegeist family: more than 130 years.) The Tomball homestead, outbuildings, and pastures occupy 133 acres west of SH 249 near the Oaks of Rosehill area off FM 2920 (which places it about 20 miles west of the new ExxonMobil campus, in case you’re calculating). The property has been on the market since June 2014, for $6.64 million.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Going Texan
02/26/15 4:30pm

22-willowend-15

22-willowend-03

22-willowend-02

Its spread wings don’t fly, but a horizon-hugging 1960 mod in Memorial — once known as the Lapin House — did rise to prominence in 2009 after a Good Brick Award from the organization now called Preservation Houston was bestowed on its humdinger of a renovation. Actual bricks on the property are mostly to be found on the street side of the home. Window walls in back face the poolscape, yard, and a bend in Buffalo Bayou, bringing the outside in. To reach the waterway, take the stone steps set into the slope backing the almost-an-acre property.

It’s located in the Willowick neighborhood of Hunters Creek Village, west of Voss Rd. and south of Memorial Dr. The original design by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson (yes, the Astrodome architects) has a later addition attributed to architect Joel Brand. When listed earlier this week, the posh property’s asking price was $2.495 million.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Adjusting the Horizontal
02/24/15 3:45pm

10031-green-tree-14

10031-green-tree-02

Viewed from the curb, this 1965 Briargrove Park home appears as neutral as its neighbors. But the rainbow room within spills Peep-like pastels throughout the interior. Listed last week, the extremely cheery property’s asking price stands at $625K. It’s located midblock within the neighborhood, which is located east of the West Belt between Westheimer Rd. and Buffalo Bayou; this lot’s listing touts its north section pedigree.

Let’s hop inside for the Easter Parade . . .

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Optic Verve
02/23/15 4:15pm

20-farnham-park-03

20-farnham-park-02

Whatever the renovation vision might have been appears to have been suspended for the Farnham Park property previously owned by fashion designer Tina Knowles, also known as Solange and Beyoncé’s mom. Among the work interrupted: peeled back ceilings and notches in the colonnade encircling the vast main room, left empty but for a lingering set of plans near an abandoned work table.

Pastor and developer Kirbyjon Caldwell and his wife Suzette Caldwell bought the property from the Knowleses in 2012 for $2.9 million, when the ask was $3.4 million. In its listing earlier this month, the house appears to be half gutted and in a state of disarray. Its price tag starts a bit lower too, at $2.85 million.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Re-Don’t
02/20/15 3:45pm

2520-Mason-03

2520-Mason-02

2520-Mason-01

Somewhere behind this leafy garden wall, which rises 14 ft. high along Mason and Pacific streets, a 1910 home in Montrose’s Avondale area has been holding on to another era — and another city, maybe. From the garden gate at curbside (top), glimpses inward, toward the brick-paved courtyards and patios (middle), appear to be a bit more challenging than the views outward from the pier-and-beam property. Its neighborhood watch vantage point is located south of Fairview Ave. on a corner east of Taft. St., borders 21st century townhomes, and features a mid-century commercial space across the street that’s brewery bound. Listed a week ago, the self-secluded spread has a $875K asking price.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Horror Vacui
02/19/15 4:45pm

806-shadow-pasadena-01

806-shadow-pasadena-02

806-shadow-pasadena-03

Some of the shadows in Pasadena’s Shadowlawn Terrace neighborhood fall within a property fitted with a cavernous structure soaring over the pool and terrace (top). The 1978 custom contemporary was designed by Richard Ainslie (“with input from O’Neil Ford,” the listing says — the San Antonio architect was a family friend of the owners). Well-tended by its original (and only) owners, the climate-controlling property splashed onto the market last week bearing a $250K price tag. It’s located east of S. Richey St. between W. Harris and W. Southmore avenues. Let’s take a peek at the teak within . . .

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Shadow Play
02/18/15 5:00pm

3300-yorktown-unit-14-01

3300-yorktown-unit-14-14

Even with the range turned off, there’s an ember glow in the tile ringing an updated kitchen within a converted 1963 townhome-condo. It’s located on Yorktown, in the lineup of converted garden-style complexes on the south side of Richmond Ave. near S. Rice Ave. This blackened-and-laquered unit is 1 of the 2 largest in the property. It landed on the market late last week bearing a $160K asking price.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

The Red and the Black
02/17/15 4:30pm

4919-heatherglen-01

4919-heatherglen-03

Architect Lars Bang gets the credit for the curb-facing original section (above) of a 1959 Meyerland mod built for the Alan Finger family, which kept it for 40 years. It was architect David D. Foster, however, who handled the 1974 additions that gave the home its “U” shape, furthering the floor-to-ceiling windows encircling the pool and patio (top). The home is located 2 blocks south of S. Braeswood Dr. and east of Millbury Dr., 4 houses away from the S. Post Oak stem of the 610 Loop. Its listing last week quotesa $739,900 price tag.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

House of Many Fingers
02/13/15 5:15pm

hr3541478-1

It’s a different kind of ice house on this corner: A sparkle finish fittingly fashions a gem-like setting for the Quenton Elliott custom jewelry store in Upper Kirby’s Ferndale neighborhood. Stacks of glass block encapsulate the property, which anchors the furnishings end of a semi-retail block. Raze or remodel, shouts the listing posted earlier this week, noting a $799K asking price. It carries no details on the 1945 building’s interior other than to note that it’s livable as a residence but likely heading toward land ho.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Ice Cubes
02/12/15 2:45pm

7818-bellwood-04

7818-bellwood-02

You might want to grab a spoon to dig into this 2001 neo-Victorian on a big corner lot in the Bellewood (spelled Bellwood in some places) neighborhood of Spring Branch. Its frothy paint pairings with chocolate- or vanilla-stained trim would be right at home in an ice cream shoppe. The pier-and-beam property last changed hands in June 2012, at $765K. Its listing last week has a $1.15 million asking price. There’s an open house scheduled for Sundae afternoon.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Lots of Lot
02/10/15 4:45pm

5-w-bigelow-01

5-w-bigelow-02

Chalky white liners on a driveway in Village of Panther Creek make sure the home’s runway isn’t confused with the neighboring funway through the woods. The latter pathway is part of the 160 miles of hike-and-bike trails connecting neighborhoods throughout The Woodlands. This 1981 home is up the street from the cul-de-sac end of the neighborhood, located between the curve of S. Panther Creek Dr. and Woodlands Pkwy. The property’s listing last week carries a $165K asking price.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Pathways