Is this art too? Plainview’s townhouse transition spreads south of Fairview. Here’s a plain view of the soon-to-be-former duplex at 2420 Hazard. It’ll hurt — just a little bit.
After the jump: more photos spell out the story for you. Plus: A new back patio!
Something old, something new; some styles borrowed, some rather expensive houses sitting on the market for quite a while! Yes, it’s time to tour a few open houses in Glen Cove, tucked just under Memorial Park’s right wing. Here’s what you’ll find if you venture out this weekend:
Location: 6023 Rose St.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths; 1,885 sq. ft.
Price: $619,000
The Scoop: Lushly landscaped 1947 bungalow with small freestanding guest house in back but no garage. Remodeled Kitchen; lots of diagonally placed slate tiles. Window wall overlooks back yard with koi pond. On the market for 3 weeks.
Open House: Sunday, 2-5 pm
Wanna see more?
Should your Labor Day weekend — or relocation — plans bring you to Seabrook and Lake Cove, you might want to take a peek at these open houses:
Location: 2330 Pin Hook Ct.
Details: 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,484 sq. ft.
Price: $215,900
The Scoop: Brick 2-story home from 1992 in Lake Cove. New granite countertops and appliances in the Kitchen; Downstairs Master Bedroom. Mirrored Dining Room; sprinkler system. On the market for more than 100 days. Price dropped 3 times, $9K total.
Open House: Sunday, 1:30-5 pm
Four more coastal casas to check out, below:
Here’s where some of you thought this house might be: Boulevard Oaks, S. Post Oak/Westbury, Tanglewilde (or “near the Beltway and Richmond”), Bellaire, “around Pinemont,” Highway 6 and FM 1960, Willowbend, Garden Oaks, Afton Village, Spring Branch, Braeswood, the larger “Braeswood area” between Buffalo Speedway and 610, Maplewood South, “outside the Loop off Ella and east of 290,” Bellfort/Fondren, Ella Lee Forest, and the Museum District off Banks or Milford.
The pileups were in Oak Forest (4 guesses), Sharpstown (3 guesses), and Timbergrove (2). We also had two “ish” votes: a “Westburyish” and a “Meyerland-ish.”
The winner this week was That Girl, who was first to name Westbury — and wasn’t ishy-washy about it!
An honorable mention goes to MariaO, one of several participants who did a good job figuring the home’s approximate age and some likely locations. But Maria also ID’d the wall art:
Definitely built in the 1950s, and could feasibly be located in many near-loop neighborhoods of that era. . . .
fyi, the “stencil” in the front entry is actually wall stickers from http://www.whatisblik.com (Flock model)– so they’ll come off easily for the next owner.
More home details . . . after the jump!
This week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game sent readers guessing all over town! In our first round we had 3 votes for Clear Lake and 2 for Galveston, plus guesses of Hudson on Memorial, “behind Second Baptist Church,” Bering or Potomac between Woodway and Westheimer, Montrose, just west of Kirby and south of 59, Friendswood, a suburb “out 59,” Newcastle or Bissonnet in West U, Southampton, Brook Forest, El Lago, Pasadena, the Galleria, Lake Conroe, Clear Lake Shores, Rice Military, Cypress Creek near Kuykendahl, The Woodlands, and Seabrook.
After a hint and an extension, we had more guesses: Copperfield, Fondren Southwest, Bear Creek, “around Lawndale and Wayside,” Port Arthur, “off 290 and Mangum/40th,” off 290 just outside the Loop, Tomball, Kingwood, Lakeside Forest, Walnut Bend, Briarcroft, Baytown, Spring Branch near Memorial and Dairy Ashford, the Medical Center, Spring Branch near I-10 and Gessner, Deer Park, and off Memorial near the Buffalo Bayou.
And we have a winner! Well, close enough. It’s Lyn, who waited to see Jessica’s reasonable-sounding guess, then refined it and pounced:
“perhaps it’s one of the 60s/70s era neighborhoods in Spring Branch, say, near Memorial/Dairy Ashford?”
This.
Spring Branch but I’m guessing near I-10/Gessner.
Something like . . . Spring Shadows?
An honorable mention goes to karen, who walked us through decades of real-estate logic:
Low ceilings = either revolutionary war era or after 1945.
No moldings = 60’s thru 80’s
Paneling, fake marble countertops, wrought iron = focusing like a laser on the 70’s, man!
Kitchen, fireplace surround = renovations done about 10 years ago
new master bathroom cabinets, real granite countertop = renovations finished this year to prep this baby for sale
fish bathroom = clearly a redo circa ‘00 - love that sink - but why? why? why?
House plants, clutter, more clutter = older homeowners who remember the 70’s really, really well
The big seventies reveal — after the jump!
Some brand-new houses sold by Lennar Homes will be very convenient to the new Grand Parkway!
Robert A. Hudson, a Spring developer who partnered with Lennar on the project, said builders knew the highway might come through the subdivision.
“We are not up there on a daily basis to make sure that the builders make it clear to everybody else,” he said.
Plans for the Grand Parkway have been on the books for 25 years, but only 28 of its proposed 185 miles have been built. Environmental and neighborhood groups have opposed the project.
It would include 11 segments traversing seven counties. The 12.1-mile Segment F2 would cut directly through the Lakes of Avalon Village, a subdivision with several hundred homes located on FM 2920 just west of Kuykendahl Road.
About 60 homes are in the right-of-way and would have to be demolished to make way for the parkway once construction began, [executive director of the Grand Parkway Association David] Gornet said.
Talk about offering transportation options! But it’s not just Lennar . . . J. Patrick Homes also is selling models in the Lakes of Avalon Village subdivision.
But hurry! The subdivision is in “close out”!
After the jump: pics of a Lennar Homes model for sale in this quaint little village in Spring!
This weekend: Hunters Creek Village, up and down Voss. Big lots! Big prices! And the new construction is bigger too! Here’s a tour of what you’ll find open if you visit this Sunday:
Location: 7623 River Point Dr.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths; 2,035 sq. ft.
Price: $999,000
The Scoop: Multi-bay Midcentury Modern classic in Riverbend, designed in 1955 by Preston Bolton and Howard Barnstone, altered in the late ’90s. Courtyard entry, vaulted ceilings. Extensive enclosed back porch overlooks Buffalo Bayou. Houston Mod’s “Mod of the Month” (along with the Tanglewood home on Huckleberry Ln. by Arne Engberg described here). On the market for 3 weeks.
Open House: Sunday, 2-5 pm
Wanna see more?
This home on Sue Barnett went on the market in early February for $410,000, but it’s only been downhill since. It’s been listed since July at $375K.
The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and claims 1,872 sq. ft. The lot, however, is more than 17,000 sq. ft. How many prospective buyers in Garden Oaks will be looking long or hard at the home’s 1950 Ranch pedigree — or the singular collection of dolls and figurines inside?
More pics of the Sue Barnett Doll Ranch, after the jump!
The planter cutouts next to the garage doors . . . the single-sided, shingled pediments . . . the cast-in-foam detailing . . . the security fence. Yes, it could only be another themed stucco townhouse compound in Montrose!
But the Piazza Townhomes, now under construction by Savannah Home Builders on Harold St. near Stanford in Audubon Place, will surely be unique! Consider: 4 stories. A garage-level wedding-cake-style central fountain, topped with . . . something that looks like a naked cherub. Above, an elevated second-floor courtyard, wrapped with wrought-iron-look railings and greened with potted topiary.
In the video below, it all blends together seamlessly, thanks to a languid easy-listening soundtrack. The project’s website puts it best: the Piazza Townhomes truly is “Architecture Imitating Art.”
You are, no doubt, entirely accustomed to finding perfectly pleasant homes listed for sale on HAR . . . as teardowns. Usually, a listing broker won’t even pretend to show off the virtues of a targeted house, limiting photos to exterior shots and including such enticing wording as “sold for lot value only,” “as is,” and the always alluring “do not disturb tenants.”
Which is why John Whiteside, who writes the By the Bayou blog, is especially appreciative of the “chirpy optimism” expressed in the listing for 2213 Wichita St., a home dating from 1930 and perched by the side of 288 in Riverside Terrace, on the market since the end of March. Next to this quaint photo of what looks like a well-roasted garage apartment are these encouraging words:
Owner started renovations on the large house with garage apartment off the freeway. Lot almost 10,000 sq. ft. Pick up this gem, dust it off, add polish and it will shine.
Sadly, you’re a little late to see this house shining its absolute brightest.
Below: More photos from the listing — including interior shots . . . and outdoor furniture!
This weekend, won’t you come visit some long-selling Tanglewood treasures? The lots are big but the lines will be short. Here’s what you’ll find:
Location: 1202 Chimney Rock Rd.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,316 sq. ft.
Price: $499,000
The Scoop: 1953 brick-front single-owner Ranch with carpet and wood paneling, waiting for land prices to increase or a better marketing plan. Listed for almost 3 months; price cut $30K already.
Open House: Sunday, 2-5 pm
Tangle with 4 more homes as the tour continues . . .
If you’re looking for a cool, low-hanging Modern home, Glenbrook Valley is your best bet! This week: Glenbrook Valley’s “Mod-palooza,” courtesy of broker Robert Searcy. Three of the homes below are listed as Houston Mod’s Mods of the Month.
Location: 8119 Stony Dell Ct.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,665 sq. ft.
Price: $199,900
The Scoop: 1954 brick L-shaped ranch on actual Houston hill at end of cul-de-sac. Carpet and tile floors; stone patio in back. Wood paneling in Den. Listed for just under 2 months.
Open House: Sunday, 2-4 pm
More moderately Mod-ish moments as the tour continues . . .
Houston interior designer Babs Watkins’s ur-Aqua Beach House in Galveston, featured in a summer issue of Veranda magazine shortly after the home was completed in 2004, is now on HAR, notes Joni Webb:
The beach house generated quite a stir as it was knock-out gorgeous and was furnished with wonderful, painted antiques instead of typical tacky, beachy, white wicker. The most alluring aspect of the house was the color aqua used throughout. Aqua was everywhere, aqua floors, aqua fabrics, aqua furniture, aqua mirrors. Without a doubt, owing to how memorable this beach house was, it started a trend for Veranda: each summer since this home has graced the cover, Veranda has featured another aqua beach house. Obviously they are trying to top Watkins’ version, but in my opinion, the torch has not been passed. Watkins’ work remains the best of all the Veranda “Aqua Beach Houses.“
Webb finds not much has changed about the house since it was featured, but does note some surprises. The HAR photos show . . . a pool table! And a huge open Kitchen that looks onto to the living space! And a curvy banquette and ottoman covered with a woven palm-tree-print fabric on the opposite side of the Kitchen counter. And . . . lots of floral prints in the Master Bedroom. And many more not-ready-for-Veranda moments hidden from shelter-magazine gawkers. But Webb isn’t so fussy herself:
It certainly is everything one would want in a second home, if, of course, you have a couple of cool millions. . . . In fact, this is the second time it has been listed. It’s held up pretty well, and is remarkably still “photo ready” for a second shoot which is amazing for a beach house considering the wear and tear they take.
The 6-bedroom, 6-and-2-half-bath house is on the canal side of Laffite’s Cove, and sprawls over three lots. The asking price is $2.1 million, but you may be too late to buy it: It’s listed as “Pending Continue to Show.” After the jump: a few pics from HAR, before they’re disappeared!
Well, where were we? This week’s mystery sky-pad fetched individual guesses of: Greenway Plaza, Museum District/Med Center, “near Woodway,” Gessner and Memorial, Memorial between Shepherd and Westcott, The Woodlands, Champions, Champion Forest, Riverside Terrace, Sugarland, Missouri City, River Oaks, Glendower Court (actually, “North of Westheimer and probably west of Shepherd, in that town-house filled area south of River Oaks”), and the Galleria.
Some of you guessed particular buildings. Two of you took a stab at Regency House, 2 1/2 fell for Four Leaf Towers, and 2 said it was the Timber Top. We also had guesses of the Huntingdon, the Willowick, Bayou Bend Towers, “the highrise near the Medical Center and Hermann Park” (the Parklane or the Warwick Towers or the Mosaic?), the Endeavour, “a small mid-rise apartment complex” on Augusta between San Felipe and Westheimer, the St. Clair Condos near the Post Oak YMCA, 14 or 15 Greenway Plaza, Hermann Towers (?), and the Spires.
The winner is LawrenceDean, who was first to name the Timber Top highrise in Champion Forest — and threw in this bit of color commentary:
I’m going to go with this being a glimpse of the lifestyle of a (very old) northside baller…..
However, this came after some excellent advance work by Bernard, who is apparently expert in staring out of windows:
I don’t see how it can be “in town”. Take a look out the window. There’s nothing but green space. It’s hard to imagine a high rise in town that wouldn’t have a view of at least a couple tall buildings popping up from the tree tops.
It’s clearly a two story unit. Must be a penthouse. But it doesn’t look too high up. The building can’t be more than 15-20 stories.
Maybe it’s on the west side of town with a west facing view. It would suck to have a penthouse facing the wrong direction. . . .
There are two patches of green out the window. Is that a golf course? Maybe some forward thinking developer stole (I mean borrowed and never repaid) some S&L money and built a mini-high-rise out in The Woodlands or Champions. I don’t know those ares very well.
If only you had! That’s enough for an honorable mention, though!
Special recognition goes to our two fully authorized troublemakers this week — Jeff and GoogleMaster — who identified the listing to us privately and then vied to keep easily swayed guessers focused on inside-the-Loop neighborhoods. This loopy comment by Jeff, in particular, is priceless:
Seriously, only an Inner Looper would have elephant tusks next to their couch.
After some initial overreaching, this Timber Top penthouse has been sitting on the market for quite some time. How long? See our summary:
Joni Webb goes on a tear through Bellaire, describing some new builder homes:
Each year, Bellaire builders compete in a Showcase of Homes where they try to out build each other with more and better amenities, more square footage, more details, more windows - more of everything and anything to win the Best of Show. The builder is the star here, architects are rarely if ever mentioned. I don’t blame them, I wouldn’t want to claim one of these “show” houses myself. Is it truly harder to design an attractive house? Is it more difficult to design a home with inviting curb appeal? I don’t think so. I think it actually must be harder to design one of these detailed overloaded showcase style houses.
And then . . . she takes readers on a tour of Bellaire’s baddest spec homes! Here’s Swamplot’s edited version . . . actual addresses, details and asking prices, and links to the listings have been added (and some contrasting homes Webb likes much more have been left out):
Location: 4701 Braeburn Dr.
Details: 4-5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths; 5,076 sq. ft.
Price: $999,000
The Pitch: “Stunning Mediterranean stone and stucco new construction in Bellaire! . . . Virtual grass added to photo!”
Docent Comments: “Is it Mediterranean or French, contemporary or Tuscan? Take your pick, there are elements here of each style. The front loading garage is the focal point. Can someone please explain the two windows lowered on the stone at the front of the garage? Are they lowered for children or dogs to peer out of them? And why are there two faux windows on each side of them? I count FIVE lanterns on the garage alone. The house itself is barely noticeable, it’s so pushed to the back of the garage. The front door is encased in a square stone facade, again, why? Two turrets of different heights flank the front door. The stone work is placed with no regard to design. The left turret has a stone base, the right turret has a stone facade with bands of colored stucco at its base. The windows are contemporary, while the house is not. And why are there three faux windows with a small gable above the right turret on the second floor? There is nothing, absolutely nothing attractive about this house. If someone buys it, it will be a miracle.“
Oh, yes . . . there’s more!
