Sock Monkey Palace: Spiffed Up for Sale

7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

A reader reports that artist Gloria Becker is selling her home at 7309 Greenbriar, just south of the Med Center. That’s the big brick house with the the 8-foot-tall topiary bears out front. Plus . . .

She has a wildcat in her dining room, deer on her sofa, fish in her bathroom, squirrels in her entryway, a caribou at the top of her stairwell and a prairie dog in her den.

From the foyer, where a stuffed bear in a sundress and rhinestone-studded sunglasses stands at the foot of the stairs covered in imitation tiger fur, to the farthest corner of the second-floor spare room, which is adorned with a giant cloth cow in a sun hat, a wreath of monkeys and a Virgin Mary hubcap, the house is a cacophony of contented clutter.

“Empty spaces make me nervous,” [Becker] Rasmussen says.

Becker, who makes a living selling her incredibly detailed Santa Claus sculptures and handcrafted sock monkeys, calls herself an “an upscale, sophisticated recycler.”

Her Braeswood home has 3 or 4 bedrooms, 3 full and 2 half baths, and sits on a 12,563-sq.-ft. lot near the corner of S. Main. Asking price: $848,000.

After the jump: Some interior pics from the listing, plus: Where did all the sock monkeys go?

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Look carefully: There’s a lot going on in here . . .

Living Room, 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

The Dining Room, from one side:

Dining Room at 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

. . . and the other. Yes, that’s a ship-shaped chandelier!

Dining Room at 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

A monkey portrait overlooks the Den:

Den at 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

Here’s the Kitchen:

Kitchen, 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

Two of the bedrooms:

Bedroom at 7309 Greenbriar St., Braeswood, Houston

Bedroom at 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

Pool, 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

And the pool.

On the website for her company, Many Monkeys Later, Becker features this “partial view” of her sock-monkey collection:

Sock Monkey Collection, 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

How do you stage an artist’s home? Hide the sock monkeys! Or . . . at least keep them above the plate rail (monkey rail?). Here’s how the same room appears in the MLS listing:

Tamed Sock Monkeys, 7309 Greenbriar St., Houston

A little paint . . . a little monkey removal . . . a little magic!

Photos: HAR and Gloria Becker

One Comment

  • I just saw the posting of my home..I got a big kick out of it! Didn’t even know this website existed and I’ll give friends a heads up on it. The monkeys did have to relocate while I sell the house and they are none to happy about it! Thanks! Gloria Becker