03/17/10 3:43pm

Some smart local organizations and businesses, that’s who. This week we add to the list:

  • The Rice Design Alliance, presenting the organization’s 34th annual Home Tour, Southgate: An Urban Oasis,” featuring 8 recent and not-so-recent homes planted just south of Rice University. The tour is this Saturday and Sunday, March 20 and 21!

Who else?

Thank you, continuing advertisers, for your continuing support!

If you’d like to support Swamplot — and reach Swamplot’s growing audience of Houston real estate and design fans — have a little chat with our advertising folks. (You can find a rate sheet here [PDF].)

03/01/10 3:07pm

A couple readers recently suggested we host a “Swamplot Posters’ Living Room Views” feature, “so that names can be connected to spaces…” Even though something like that might be fun, most of our readers are likely not especially interested in outing the dowdy, dusty, or ultra-mod couches of commenters’ own homes.

But it may be worthwhile to repeat what longtime Swamplot readers likely already know: We’re more than happy to publish photos of our readers’ design creations (anonymously or not, as you wish). If you’ve got a breakfast room or a tiny apartment or a garden or a bedroom you put together that you’d like to share with more people than you could otherwise fit into the space, send us some pix and a brief description of what you think is notable about it.

And if you know someone with more than the usual something goin’ on in the furniture or home decor department, why not give that person a little push? Have your talented friend drop us a line. If you’ve got something interesting to show, hordes of curious Swamplot readers are gonna be eager to take a peek!

02/12/10 1:44pm

This time we’re welcoming the littlest Swamplot advertiser:

  • PoeCo, the Poe Cooperative Nursery School, seeking donations and buyers for its garage sale next weekend (February 20th) at 5100 Hazard St. in Boulevard Oaks.

Also,

  • Continuing advertiser Carol Isaak Barden is offering a sneak preview of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen’s Wabi Sabi II house, now under construction not too far from Poe, at 1916 Banks St.

Swamplot appreciates all our direct advertisers. We hope you do too — they make this site possible! Here’s the list:

If you think you might be interested in joining this list of fine local businesses and organizations who are getting their messages out to Swamplot readers, talk to us. Our advertising rates are posted online (PDF).

01/06/10 4:40pm

Can we all please take a moment to thank Swamplot’s advertisers? They make this site possible. And . . . having more of them would make a lot more possible on this site. We hope you’ll consider joining their ranks!

Swamplot’s newest advertiser is also the sponsor of this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. And you’ve seen its ads here before: The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. The school hopes you’ll check out its personal and professional development and language courses for the spring semester. Offerings include a course on Green Houses and another entitled “Houston’s History Told Through Its Architecture,” taught by Barrie Scardino and Stephen Fox.

One way all readers can support Swamplot is by supporting these continuing advertisers:

Want to find out more about advertising on Swamplot for your business or organization? Our latest rate sheet [PDF] is open for browsing.

12/24/09 5:07pm

Swamplot is off for Christmas. We hope all of you enjoy your holiday! And you probably already know the little gift we’re giving you: A chance to choose the winners of the year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. This year we’ve got exactly umpteen nominees competing in 9 delicious award categories. Namely:

(You can get to all these categories from this single page if you prefer.) Cast your vote in any of these contests by adding a comment to the appropriate post. Or just send us an email with your choices! If you send us a vote from Twitter, it counts extra! And if you really want to round up votes for a favorite candidate, encourage your friends to participate! Just make sure you’re following the official voting rules.

The polls close for all categories at 5 pm this Monday, December 28th. Have fun deciding!

12/22/09 11:45am

Nominees for all 9 categories of this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate have been announced, and voting is well under way!

Where can you vote? All categories are listed on this page. Or you can find them individually from this handy list:

Many of you have voted already. But there’s still plenty of time to round up support for your favorites. Come-from-behind candidates, now’s your chance! All it takes is a little campaigning.

Make sure you read the voting rules. This year you get an extra vote if you vote through Twitter. The voting deadline is 5 pm next Monday, December 28th.

12/18/09 3:01pm

Nominations are now closed for all categories in the 2009 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. The official nominees have been announced and the polls have opened in 6 of this year’s 9 categories. They are:

You’ll be able to see all these ballots — including newer ones as they’re posted — from this page. Stay tuned for the official ballots for Neighborhood of the Year, Grocery Store of the Year, and the Greatest Moment in Houston Real Estate of 2009.

All categories will remain open for your votes until 5 pm on Monday, December 28th. If you’d like to campaign for one of the entries, be sure to read the official voting rules and — new this year — how you can get an extra vote in each category by sending it over Twitter. Your vote counts, but it’ll sure count a lot more if you can round up a posse of friends to vote with you.

12/16/09 4:32pm

Only 3 categories in the Swamplot Awards for Real Estate remain open for your nominations. If you’ve got a good suggestion for Houston Neighborhood of the Year or Grocery Store of the Year, please make it today. Nominations for both will close at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

This morning, nominations closed for 2 earlier categories: Most Underappreciated Neighborhood and Most Overappreciated Neighborhood. Yesterday we announced the official nominees and began voting for Best Teardown. We’ll be doing the same for the “Only in Houston” Award and today’s 2 categories next.

Meanwhile, it looks like some of you have taken the hint and started your own email and social media campaigns in support of your favorite candidates. Here’s a list of all the categories that are now open for voting. Remember, you can rack up an extra vote in each category if you send it through Twitter! Voting in all the categories will end at 5 pm on Monday, December 28th.

12/15/09 4:57pm

Yes, it’s true: This year you can actually vote twice for each category in the Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. Once in the usual way (through comments or emails, as we’ve spelled out before) and — if you like — a second time on Twitter.

We’ve spelled out the rules for Twitter voting in a brief post, but it’s not too complicated. (The short version? Give us a #swampies and a @Swamplot, name the category and your vote.) For these votes to count, of course, you’ll need to be following Swamplot on Twitter first.

12/15/09 11:31am

Nominations closed for 2 more award categories early this morning: Best Teardown of the Year and the “Only in Houston” award. We’ll announce the official nominees and open the voting for both today. Voting began late yesterday for Favorite Houston Design Cliche and Best Vacancy.

We’ve also posted the official voting rules. Please note that campaigning for your favorite award candidates — by sending out emails to friends, Twittering, or posting about the contest in forums, other blogs, or on Facebook, for example — is highly encouraged. Start a groundswell for your choices!

And there’s something new this year: If you follow the rules, there’s a way to vote for your nominees twice! We’ll post more about that later today.

There’s still just a bit more time for you to submit your nominations for the 5 remaining categories. The deadline for submissions for the Most Underappreciated Neighborhood and Most Overappreciated Neighborhood awards is early tomorrow morning. Got any last minute suggestions — or improvements to the nominations that have already been submitted?

12/14/09 9:56am

Nominations are now closed for the first 2 of the 9 categories in this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. We’ll be announcing the official nominees and opening the voting for these categories — Favorite Houston Design Cliché and Best Vacancy — later today.

This means there are now less than 24 hours left to make your nominations for the next 2 categories. We have some great nominations for the first of them, Best Teardown of the Year, but it’s clear that the second category — the “Only in Houston” Award — needs some attention. What potential award winners are missing?

Nominations will close as the sun rises tomorrow. Help save these 2 award categories with your smart nominations!

12/11/09 4:41pm

Voting begins next week for this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. Some terrific nominations have already come in for many categories, but we still need your help to make sure that all the candidates are the right ones, and that each is presented in the best possible light.

So if you see something missing from any award category, please add your nomination now! Or if you think you can improve on any of the explanations submitted with a nomination you like, feel free to write in with your own better presentation. Got photos of any of the nominees? Please send them!

Early Monday morning, nominations will close for the first two award categories: Favorite Houston Design Cliché and Best Vacancy. Then we’ll announce the official slate of nominees for those awards and open them for voting. We’ll close nominations and open the voting for the next two categories on Tuesday. There’ll be two more each on Wednesday and Thursday, and the final one on Friday.

There’s still plenty of time to contribute. Add your nominations to the comments section below the post that announces each category. Or send them to us in an email. Who are the contenders in Houston real estate this year? What deserves recognition?

12/11/09 10:50am

We’ve announced 8 categories so far in the 2009 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate: Grocery Store of the Year, Neighborhood of the Year, Most Overappreciated Neighborhood, Most Underappreciated Neighborhood, The “Only in Houston” Award, Best Teardown of the Year, Best Vacancy, and Favorite Houston Design Cliché. What’s left to cover?

We’re down to the last category — which may be the hardest one to fill. What was the Greatest Moment in Houston Real Estate of 2009? This year we had no newly shuttered stadiums, no hurricanes blowing through, no expensive new parks opening Downtown.

And yet Swamplot is dedicated to covering great moments in Houston real estate. That’s why we’re here. Did we miss a few this year? Browse through the site if it’ll help you to draw up a list of contenders; or raid your own memory banks. Then tell us what moment deserves this recognition.

A great moment is lost if there’s no one there to chronicle it or cherish it. Which is why we need your help. Add your comments or send us an email describing the moments you’d like to nominate.