Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Contemporary Country

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Office

Just what was it that made this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game the most popular ever? Carol tries to explain:

It’s not just the cool mod furniture and decorations, or the funky taxidermy room. Maybe it’s that the house looks like the family was so much fun. Maybe it represents the family we all want to go home to on holidays, when Grandma pulls out the Betty Crocker cookbook and makes the greatest stuffing ever and Grandpa tells his hunting stories for the thousandth time. Maybe this was the real American middle class dream of the 1950s. Cue the violins and the teardrop. I second the call for a field trip. Realtor: Please schedule an open house!

Here were your guesses: Garden Oaks, Garden Oaks near Shepherd, Spring Branch (3 votes), Sharpstown (2 votes), Meyerland (2), off Braeswood near the Braeburn Country Club, Bellaire, Garden Villas (2), Braeswood, Glenbrook Valley (2), Spring Valley, Willowbend, Linkwood (2), Memorial Bend, South Braeswood near Stella Link, Tanglewood, Memorial (3), Hunters Creek, Pasadena (3), Meadowcreek, Allendale, Mount Vernon, Ayrshire, Piney Point, Katy, Braeswood (2), South Houston, East Harris County, Deer Park, Baytown, Memorial Villages (3), Marilyn Estates, “Briargrove, or one of those Briar places,” off Briar Forest inside the Beltway, Willow Meadows, Riverside Terrace, between Spring Valley and Hedwig Village, Lake Jackson (2), Texas City, Mt. Pleasant, Creekside, Tynewood, Westbury, and Park Place.

How far are you willing to travel for that open house?

The winner was BenH, who in accordance with rule 3 “guessed” Katy. He’s visited the house, but deserves credit for reporting about it on HAIF last week (shortly before another reader wrote to Swamplot with the suggestion). He says the photos don’t do it justice.

Many fine and original comments this week! Honorable mentions go to JT, for some never-mind-the-carbon dating (but what if the home truly was ahead of its time?):

The house is definitely in the 1954-1958 era with the pale yellow kitchen tile counters and the MCM signature pink adobe brick being the telltale. Mrs. Matron loved her draperies but, Lord, can anyone open them up? It looks like some prime windows are hidden.

and Jessica, for expressing the spirit of many in the group, before outing herself as one of those crazed, antler-worthy fans:

You might not want to post the address of this place – I fear the homeowner might be fighting hopeful furniture buyers off with a stick! (Or a pair of antlers – plenty of those handy.) I am totally obsessed with this house, and would also like to see what’s inside the kitchen cabinets!

Eager to have a better look at this house yourself? Here’s some more detail:

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Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: 602 Woods Ln., Katy

Location: 602 Woods Ln., Katy
Details: 3-5 bedrooms, 3 baths; 6,000(?) sq. ft. on a 2.7-acre lot
Price: $495,000
The Scoop: 1952 ahead-of-its-period piece by noted Houston architect Wylie W. Vale, in his signature “contemporary country” style. Still furnished “exactly as it was” when the owners moved in, more than 55 years ago. Porte-cochere; small apartment in garage. Quiet, heavily wooded street close to the center of town; property backs up to Woodsland Park and small creek. Within walking distance of Katy High School. On the market for almost 3 weeks.

Back Yard, Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: 602 Woods Ln., Katy

Driveway, Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: 602 Woods Ln., Katy

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Entry

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Living Room

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Den

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Dining Room

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Kitchen

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Breakfast Room

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Master Bedroom

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Bedroom

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Bedroom

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Game Room

Neighborhood Guessing Game 32: Laundry Room

If any of you do end up taking that field trip, be sure to enter your field notes in the comments!

Thanks to all for playing. The next round of the game appears next Tuesday!

2 Comment

  • Katy?
    So interesting!
    We’re always learning.

  • Congratulations to my friend BenH, researcher and photographer extraordinaire, for winning. Katy, in 1952? Damn, that must have been WAY out in the country back then. Not a bedroom community for Houston. This might have been the biggest house in town at the time.