It was supposed to be a teardown, this almost-defiant home in Ayrshire. That’s what had happened to the original homes on either side of this still-single-story one, located on a cul-de-sac one house away from the railroad and utility easement that separates the neighborhood from Bellaire. Demolition is what a view-screening label dictated on just about every interior photo in the before-the-redo listing. The buyer and design team had other ideas, though, and renovated the 1957 ranch-style house into something more 2013-ish, outside and in.
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Listed last week, the significantly overhauled home’s $589,000 initial asking price is still $110K less than the unrenovated property’s earlier foray into the market — it stood at $699,000 from November 2010 until a year ago. A new agent and agency’s strategy took over in February 2012, dropping the asking price to $369,000, just above lot value. A series of super-short-term re-listings and price reductions netted a $340,000 sale in June 2012. Now buffed and fluffed, the phoenix of a property is listed currently by yet another agency.
Here’s the front room now (above) and before (below) the scroll-accented entryway wall came down (you can see it poking above the view-blocking notice included in the original listing photos):
Interior work opened up several rooms into one connected space that shares a through-the-doors view past a patio and into the 8,450-sq.-ft. lot’s north-facing back yard:
The dining room (above) keeps the half-walls but caps them with squared-off columns in place of the original wrought-iron scrollwork (below):
A good deal of effort was put into recessing ceilings. The family room shown here kept the doors to a hallway in the bedroom wing, but no longer sports piney shelving and paneling:
What’s new? Flooring, windows, appliances, air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical wiring have been replaced.
The master suite, located at the back of the 2,100-sq.-ft. home, has access to one of 2 patios:
The floor plan includes 2 secondary bedrooms and another full bathroom:
This side-lot-facing bedroom (above), now carpeted, was the only interior space fully revealed in the previous listing (below):
A walkway/patio off the kitchen connects to the 2-car garage:
Ayrshire is one of the neighborhoods within Braeswood Place. Karl Young Park is at the far end of the next block, which ends at Stella Link Blvd. Most of the street still retains its original fifties-era homes. Newer construction, trending toward 5,000 sq. ft., is running around the $1 million mark, HCAD records show.
- 4130 Tartan Ln. [HAR]
Surprised @ the price. I live in the neighborhood. That’s a lot for an older remodeled home (I have one too). Hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but that part of the neighborhood/street flooded in Allison. Hence the larger, newer, higher neighboring homes.
some jackass will still come in and tear it down to build a stuccodilla house….
Allison should not be any barometer (pun intended) of what floods, and what does not, flood.
Bravo to the buyer! Flooding issues aside, I wish there were more like-minded people here in Houston!
> Allison should not be any barometer… of
> what floods, and what does not, flood.
Why not? This address requires flood insurance because it is well inside the 100-yr floodplain map (see http://www.harriscountyfemt.org/) and only 600 meters from the designated floodway of Bray’s Bayou.
If only they had added mid-century modern stilts…
That is actually a really nice remodel. I wish we could see more success stories like this :)
What a pretty house. Like the new front door, too. Even my Montrose house ALMOST flooded during Allison. I was biting my nails for about an hour, but we dodged that bullet (thank goodness for pier and beam)).
“Allison shouldn’t be a barometer…” unless you actually flooded during Allison. I’m 4 blocks north and I flooded and it’s a huge barometer for me when/if I move. As it is now, I don’t sleep well when it rains!!
I am shocked, SHOCKED, to find renovations going on in here.
Its great to see a nice remodel. The recessed ceilings are a nice touch. I hope it finds a good buyer.
all the money in the world won’t raise this house out of a flood plain nightmare, nor raise the ceiling heights. free market — passion projects welcome. if this is about making money, as it appears to be, then it was the wrong choice to renovate.
They’ll get close to the list price, I bet.
To clarify one point: the previous listing at $699k included a new house built on the lot.