A FAKE STREET FOR REAL ESTATE SHOPPERS IN SPRING 
Opening in February, reports CultureMap, is a 10,000-sq.-ft. real estate “park” where a dozen lavishly turned-out showcase homes, ranging in styles from “The Midtown” to “The Calais” to “The Ashby Manor,” are presented for your perusal on a private cul-de-sac near I-45. Think of the immersive, don’t-mind-if-I-do shopping at IKEA blown up to the scale of Disney World — except at MainStreet America there will be fireworks and Christmases and tailgating parties and almost everything will be for sale: “Do you like the paint color, the metallic faux technique on the ceiling or the graphic wallpaper accent in the bedroom? The details are available and so are the prices. In fact, you can make the purchase on site. If that couch, occasional table or rug is what you are looking for, swap that credit card and have them delivered. Floral arrangements? Yes, those are for sale as well. Mirrors? Check. Artwork? In stock. Window treatments? You bet.” Admission for adults is only $10; children aged 5-17 can get in for half that. [CultureMap] Photo: MainStreet America
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Home Decor
A sun-baked mini-villa in White Oak Terrace that spent most of 2012 on the market is back from its winter break as a re-listing with a new agent. Same price, though: $250,000. Symmetrical on its street-side, the 2010-built home likes columns, arches, and contrasting color so much it used them outside and in, where dappled tile floors further styl-i-fy the somewhat open floor plan. The garage-free property is located off T.C. Jester a little south of W. Little York. Elsewhere on the street, which has a dead-end in the next block, mostly single-story homes in the little northwest neighborhood are either a decade old or well past 40.
- 1325 Castle Ct. [HAR]
BRINGING THAT LADY HOME FROM MAGGIE RITA’S 
UH restaurant management student Catherine Martin is already eyeing the decor of the Maggie Rita’s at 1650 Post Oak Blvd. — doomed, she imagines, for lack of parking at least — for when the Carlos Mencia property follows the Kirby location on its path from former Ninfa’s to shutter-dom: “I even liked the soup, I thought it tasted good. There was this really pretty painting of the Mona Lisa, it was just her face and it was all done in blues and greens. . . . Maybe when this location goes out of business I’ll buy that painting for real cheap on the side of the road. Do restaurants have garage sales? Like in their front yard, in their garage? . . . It’s not too far from my apartment I wonder if I’ll see the signs posted at the corner of my block. I just really liked that painting, you know? The thing is I don’t know where I’d put it in my apartment, I have several blank walls in my apartment, but it’s kind of a long painting, you know, real tall, the only thing is on those blank spots, like I have a book shelf underneath, or my desk or my dresser or something. It’s just not enough space all at once. I’d have to completely rearrange all my furniture and the only problem with that is I’m a bit of a slob, so to rearrange all my furniture I’d have to completely clean my room and there’s a pizza box underneath my bed that’s been there for a while that I’d have to throw away . . . it just kind of seems like a hassle. Maybe I could put it in the kitchen . . . but then it would get, like, oil and stuff on it when I cook, I feel like that stuff gets in the air, you know, and it would ruin the painting . . . you know what, forget it, I’ll figure it out.” [Arbitrary Criticism; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Maggie Rita’s in former guise as Ninfa’s, 1650 Post Oak Blvd.: AmREIT
- 2602 Palo Pinto Dr. [HAR]
Cupola-capped, this perky 1967 seaside retreat in Seabrook’s El Jardin Del Mar community has expansive views of Upper Galveston Bay from cheery-trimmed windows and a gazebo-enhanced porch. Asking $350,000 since its initial listing 2 months ago, the property’s unwavering price includes all the “like-a-picture book” furnishings, many of which are as mirrored as the walls.
- 5509 Petty St. [HAR]
- 401 Avondale St. [HAR]
- 3618 Durness Way [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HOUSE HUNTER 
“I’m glad I took my other 120 trophies out of the house for you. Judging by the times of the post, I see most are either jobless or on ya’lls smoke break. Obviously fans of the all too many tract home and Kirklands decor, you obviously know nothing about decorating and fine antiques. Reproductions?? Really please to be upset that a table cost more than your car . . . it’s ok . . . AHH time to go hunting . . . you guys clock back in and go to work. If you guys have any special request for new mounts, let me know and I’ll shoot one for you :)” [safari jack, commenting on Exploring the Indoor Wildlife in a Pasadena Dead Animal House]
- 11942 Briar Forest Dr. [HAR]
- 7870 Kendalia Dr. [HAR]
- 6007 McKnight St. [HAR]
- 2909 Inwood Dr. [HAR]
- 5610 Avalon Way [HAR]
