09/08/10 4:04pm

This reinvented Ranch on Staunton St. in Afton Oaks has had a little work done since the last time it was on the market — way back in April of last year, at around $400K cheaper than its current price tag. That American colonial look is gone, wrapped by layers of stucco and Hardie panels and a new standing-seam metal roof. Other nips and tucks for the 60-year-old include a ceiling lift, a new fixed-in-place fenestration program, and a few hundred sq. ft. of additions.

A couple before-and-after comparisons for the 3-bedroom, 2,688-sq.-ft. redo:

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08/31/10 2:23pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT THIS HOUSE “. . . There is no calliope in the rumpus room to mock. No discount Hall of Mirrors to deride. Nary a bevy of Spring Bok heads lining the walls, nor herds of cattle skins adorning the marble floors, can be found in this fine salt box. Little Elliot’s do-it-yourself version of Serrano’s ‘Piss Christ (with #2!)’ is nowhere to be seen. It’s pretty much tabula rasa with some ecru, antique white, eggshell, and Sonoran sand thrown in the mix. To answer the eternal question of, ‘Is there color in your world?’ Sometimes, not so much.” [wilf, commenting on A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Town]

08/31/10 8:08am

This updated corner Ranch with the DJ-booth-style kitchen in the center sits just outside the designated 100-year floodplain in Candlelight Estates. It showed up in MLS just yesterday, sporting a $349K sticker price. Includes 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 9,400-sq.-ft. lot, a pool, and these HDR pix:

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08/30/10 11:59am

This Fonn Villas cul-de-sac saltbox backs up to the Town & Country Candlewood Suites. That puts it within range of the afternoon shadows of CityCentre‘s taller buildings. Inside, a lot has changed since 1964: A recent kitchen renovation includes an eat-in island where seated family members can watch a wall-mounted TV, monitor the wine closet or powder room, or just stare out the window if they don’t feel like talking to each other. The place was listed just last Friday, for $559,000.

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08/27/10 1:54pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY HOMEBUYERS REALLY WANT BEIGE “it is understandable why people would want neutral colors though. moving into a home is a huge price shock and it can take a while until people save enough to throw down for all the interiors as they choose. i would certainly prefer to live with neutral colors until the time comes to change rather than someone else’s preferred color of choice. it’s not necessarily a lack of creative thinking in buyers, but often a choice of practicality.” [joel, commenting on Comment of the Day: Staging Is for Wusses]

08/26/10 2:48pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: STAGING IS FOR WUSSES “yeah, we are fun people to know. this was my mom’s amazing project, so much fun to see it take shape. if you’d seen it BEFORE the makeover, THAT was tacky. what do you expect us to do, waste money redoing the whole house just to sell it? i’ve lived there my whole life, love it to death. cream colors? BORING!” [prudoodle, commenting on Magenta Is the New Fuschia: A River Oaks Home That Glows Inside]

08/26/10 12:16pm

Just what is it that gives this Sweetwater chateau that authentic French je ne sais quoi? Could it be the multipurpose wine room? The big-enough-for-giant-pancakes breakfast area? The Vince Young seal of approval? No telling if any actual chateaus were harmed in the making of this grand home, but that’s all likely ancient history anyway — this place dates from the last century!

Listed earlier this week for just under $3.5 million, this little cul-de-sac palace backs up to the grounds of the Sweetwater Country Club and packs in 4 full bedrooms and 3 full and 3 half baths — all in just 7,744 sq. ft. Many delights await you in this photo tour:

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08/25/10 12:14pm

The last time a Glassman Shoemake Maldonado house in the Museum District with a notable staircase went up for sale, things didn’t end so well. Now the 1997 home the local architecture firm designed for Carl and Pam Johnson in Ranch Estates is on the block, for $1,395,000.

The 3- or 4-bedroom, and — yes — 5-bathroom — house is probably best known for its inset nautilus-spiral-stair nose, dramatically framed at night (and in magic-hour photos) by porch and interior lights. Inside, at the end of the staircase spiral on the first floor there’s a round bar, which faces into the double-height dining room. One of the exciting things about the sale of a minimalist house like this: There’s no telling how much furniture and stuff a new buyer will be able to pack in there. Just look at all the available space:

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08/24/10 4:41pm

It only went on the market yesterday, but Swamplot readers are already gawking at this house on Locke Ln., across Eastside St. from the Lamar-River Oaks shopping center. The 3-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath number is listed for $1,089,000, and sits on a 10,147-sq.-ft. corner lot. What’s to look at?

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08/24/10 1:24pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: JUST ANOTHER WOODSIDE GARAGE EMERGENCY OUTPOST “Is that a chalk board I see in the third to last picture? If so, no wonder why cops and EMT types are interested in this place. Maybe they can hold roll call in the den.” [bgreen, commenting on At Loop’s Edge: A Bit of Woodside from 1958]

08/23/10 11:37am

Hidden behind the tall soundwall that lines the westbound South Loop feeder road, just before Stella Link: this 1958-model kitchen-dining-den cockpit, control center for an original-owner listing in Woodside that went up for sale last week. “Be sure and notice the exceptional original doorknob” on the front door, instructs the listing. What’s more to see here?

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08/19/10 11:49am

This home in Lakeside Place, one block north of Briar Forest between Wilcrest and Kirkwood, was until recently the location of Briar Oaks Home Care, an assisted-living facility. What a nice place to live for a while with a little assistance, no? But not for too long: The facility was foreclosed on, and just went up for sale earlier this week.

The listing counts 6 bedrooms, but that may include the converted dining room. Also on its way to living-space status: a drywalled but unfinished garage.

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08/17/10 8:50am



What’s hiding
behind the gates at this brand new listing in The Woodlands? Oh, can’t it just be a surprise? What you’re working with: 6-7 bedrooms (one of those in a separate apartment), 6 1/2 baths, and a 4-car attached garage. An unmentionable amount of square footage on a 35,588-sq.-ft. lot. And a private dock at the stub end of one of Lake Woodlands’ many splayed fingers. All dating from 1990.

Don’t you want a peek?

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