Hunting for a change of setting?  This 4-bedroom 2-bathroom house just grazes the edge of the Woodlands; the price has been dropped from $335K to $305K over the home’s 3 weeks on the market. The stone and brick exterior encloses 2,506 sq. ft. and stands on an 8,340-sq.-ft. lot.  Take a peek through the greenery out front:
Known as ‘Bayou Breeze’ to its friends, the 16,022-sq.-ft. English manor-style residence designed by architecture and landscape firm Curtis & Windham includes 6 bedrooms, 6 baths, and 2 half baths. Listed in January 2013 at $19.995 million, the house’s asking price has lowered incrementally 5 times since then, most recently falling to $14.495 million just in time for Christmas last year.
The house was built along Buffalo Bayou across from Memorial Park in 2000, but incorporates older materials (such as wood from some North Carolina tobacco barns used in the floor above, and bricks plucked from the previous house on the property).  Nods to antiquity in the furnishings come from New York interior designer Bunny Williams. The 3.71 acre lot includes a pool, a putting green, and several formal gardens. Â
This 3-story Georgian  rolls out the red carpet at the corner of River Oaks Blvd. and Del Monte Dr.  Its 16,931 sq. ft. include a flexible 6-to-9 bedrooms, 10 full baths, and 5 half baths.  Built in 1939 on a 1.02 acre lot, this house premiered on the market in mid-October of 2015 at the price of $16.95 million.
Ready for a close-up?
Don’t let the sharp exterior angles fool you —this Harvest Moon Ln. home now on the market in Ashwood Forest is well-rounded in its interior decor. This 1966 home includes a uniquely appointed master suite, complete with period-appropriate fireplace (visible just to the right of the railing, above) and featuring extensive slate tiling. Sold in 2011 for a little under $275,000, this 2754-sq.-ft. house boasts 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and 2 half baths; the price on the home and all of its updates has since risen to around $456,000.
Originally listed in December at $167,000, this 5-bedroom, 3-bath, and 1-half-bath home features dramatic avian motifs and a few eye catching finishes, like the mirrored doors above.  As for the occasional bit of unfinished cabinetry or unpapered wall — just unhatched potential, which the listing says is reflected in the price. After a couple will-they-won’t-they under-contract periods and a price drop down to $159,900, the house is now free as a bird and back up on the market at $165,000. The 1972 home offers easy access to FM 1960, just a few miles east of Willowbrook Mall.
The second floor balcony overlooks the front yard:
A natatorium nestles in the center of this $17.9 million home, once owned by Italian-born Cullen oil-heir Baron di Portanova. The 1968 house was expanded to more than double its size in the 1970s to enclose the backyard after the baron was unable to buy a famous Manhattan club for his wife as a birthday present. The 21,500 sq. ft. mansion has also reportedly hosted an extensive cast of characters, including a helicopter drop-in by James Bond (as played by Sir Roger Moore). The home contains 8 bedrooms, 9 full baths, and 3 half baths, and was listed on HAR in 2014 for 4 days; it was relisted in May of 2015 with a $1 million price drop.
A piece of Americana comes standard with this 1921 collaboration between architects Harrie T. Lindeberg and John F. Staub, who would later go on to design Bayou Bend. This Georgian-style home north of Rice University contains a copy of the wallpaper mural Views of North America by Jean Zuber (which can also be found in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House).  The $18-million pricetag nets you 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths, and 3 half baths.  The 12,808 sq. ft. home is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and comes surrounded by a pool, a carriage house with an additional apartment, and plenty of leafy greens to cover the view from across-the-street Hermann Park.
Set your sights on this River Oaks mansion previously owned by late Texas governor John Connally (in office when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and wounded in the same car). The 1958 house’s minimalist-inspired exterior at the corner of River Oaks Blvd. and Locke Ln. belies a suite of neoclassically appointed formal rooms inside. Â The 8,426-sq.-ft. home also contains 5 bedrooms (of which 3 are masters), 8 full baths, 2 half baths, and a pool. and is currently on the market for $4.9 million.
A state historical marker at the corner gate notes the house’s significance as John Connally’s former dwelling:
An uncovered courtyard is the centerpiece of this former home of Astrodome and ex-Houston Post building architect Ralph Anderson, who designed the 1,805-sq.-ft. space and lived there leading up to his death in 1990.  The 2-bedroom 2-bath house features floor-to-ceiling windows and brick floors arrayed around the central atrium, which held a large tree until early last year. The 1959 home, now housing a much smaller tree in a courtyard planter, went on the market a week and a half ago at $875,000.
The front door is set into a patterned concrete wall:
White walls, glass walls, and mirrored walls provide ample opportunities for looking inward and outward from this 1958 house designed by Houston architect Arthur Steinberg. Overlooking Brays Bayou across Glen Arbor Dr., the home contains 3 bedrooms and 2 and a half bathrooms on 3,765 sq. ft. of pale polished concrete and marble floors. Mid-century minimalism comes with a $1.495-million price tag. CONTINUE READING THIS STORY
Don’t forget your towel or your clubs when visiting this Carlton Woods Estates home, priced at $3.188 million (brought down last week from the $3.388 million August asking price). This 5-bedroom, 5-full-bath, 3-half-bath villa wraps around a central courtyard and pool, and is itself nestled between fairways of the Jack Niklaus Signature Golf Course. The 2-story dwelling clocks in at 9,476 sq ft. and provides plenty of opportunities to get away from it all from the comfort of home.
Double or triple your fun with 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, and 3 bars in this Spring Shadows home. Multiple covered patios and balconies surround the backyard pool, which is itself surrounded by an impressive collection of flora and faux-fauna. This 3,067 sq. ft. of vibrant colors and unique finishes was initially listed for $495,375 in December 2015. The price was dropped in January and again in February to the current asking of $399,999.
Bonus points: Can you spot all of the dinosaurs roaming the property?
Industrial meets arboreal in this glassy contemporary home, hidden away on nearly 16 acres of wooded property in Dickinson, TX. Steel-framed window walls offer views of the forest outside throughout the 2-bedroom home, from the entryway to the master bedroom and bath (above). Polished concrete masonry and partition walls divvy up the mostly-open 3,700-sq.-ft. floor plan. The $1.6-million home and its woody buffer zone are set about half a mile east of the Gulf Freeway:
Wood and tile details trim the spaces throughout much of this Northwest Houston home, starting with the large wooden arch positioned next to the front door between the living and dining rooms. Sold in 2007 for $121k, the 4 bedroom and 3 1/2 bath home went on the market last April at $320k; the 3,522-sq.ft. house was pulled in late October at $300k, and was relisted for the same amount in early November. The 9,000-sq.-ft. lot, which abuts the White Oak Bayou Greenway trail, also includes a workshop and a small aviary.
The next generation of entertainment setups features prominently in this 6,389-sq.-ft Sterling Ridge Estates fantasy house, which overlooks a community lake. The 5-bedroom home provides adventurous buyers opportunities to escape to the past, the distant future, and various imaginative spaces: The 1.2-million home includes a castle bedroom and a theater suite modeled after Star Trek’s U.S.S. Enterprise, among other boldly-decorated retreats.
