Swamplot Archives by Tag: Home Decor

Friday, August 28, 2009

Wood and Fruit in Place, the Tree House Is Ready for Its Photo Shoot

Note: Story updated below.

Developer (and Swamplot advertiser) Carol Isaak Barden says to give her latest project another week or 10 days before it’s ready — the paint isn’t quite dry yet. But all the peppers, candles, and watermelons are certainly in place for these fancy photos she sent us.

Barden calls the home, which is available for sale in a non-MLS kinda way, the “Tree House.” The architects are Erick Ragni and Scott Strasser. The 4,150-sq.-ft. home (3,500 if you don’t count the oversized garage) is on a 50×100-ft. lot at 1608 Indiana, across the street from HISD’s Wilson Montessori School.

What’s so tree-ish about it?

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Friday, August 21, 2009

Pieces of Old Fort Bend County, at Rest in Montrose: A Peek Inside the Architect’s House

Antiques fan Spencer Howard takes readers on a tour of a Hyde Park house full of them: the home of his former boss, architect John Zemanek.

The home’s design “falls somewhere between a Texas farm house and Japanese Tea House,” writes Howard:

However, the landscape, structure and furniture are accented with mysterious objects. Some are recognizable and easily comprehended, but most are not – engaging the viewer to imagine the story behind the piece.

What mysterious objects? A few choice rusting relics of Zemanek’s Fort Bend County childhood: a hunk of the engine from the family’s 1923 Buick; parts of old farming implements; the family typewriter, on a pedestal by the front door.

Wanna quick tour of the place?

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: A Gift of the Sea

Where is this house?

Two of you guessed River Oaks and 2 more guessed Old Town Spring. And here were the rest of your guesses: Shady Acres, Nottingham, “one of the Villages out in Memorial,” “an early Memorial development,” “close to or on Kimberley, Barryknoll, Kirkwood, or Wilcrest,” Ashford Forest, Woodcreek off Aldine-Westfield, “between Shepherd and Montrose, Westheimer and Gray,” Bellaire, “somewhere on the bay,” Bellville, Brookshire, Columbus, Brenham, “Tomball-ish,” Wilchester, Wilchester West, on Chimney Rock near Memorial, Cypress, “along 1960 areas that are older,” “older parts of Deer Park or somewhere over there,” Galveston, “off Westview across the freeway from Memorial,” Friendswood, “the oldest part of Kingwood off Northpark,” Porter, “up high on a bluff in Morgan’s Point,” “in the vicinity of Holcombe and Greenbriar,” Braes Heights, and “somewhere around Braeswood.”

This week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game was just for the glory. And the winner? Glory, glory, it’s elnina, who caps off a remarkable streak of dead-on entries with a third win this year. (There were a couple of second-places in there too.) Here’s the vague but closer-than-anybody-else winning entry:

This looks like a country, two-story house, with large floor plan on a lot with a pool.
The spacious rooms downstairs have brick floors and upstairs bedrooms - wood floors. Nice stencils accents throughout the house.
No clocks, radios or TV’s, except a small unit in the bedroom (lol).
I can spot few recent updates – like windows, kitchen appliances, nice marble counter in the bathroom, plantation shutters. But when I look at the brick floors, the condition of the wood on the floors and stairs, the fireplace and the painted paneling, I would say that this house is probably 40-50 years old.
I guess it is sitting in a flood zone, close to bayou or the coast. The picture with the ship makes me think that big water is not far away. Maybe somewhere on the bay?

Congratulations, elnina! You’ve won . . . first prize!

Our runners-up this week are Miz Brooke Smith, with a close-but-wrong-bank Morgan’s Point guess, and Jessica1, who wrote this:

I don’t know what y’all are thinking with the nottingham, wilchester, etc. guesses - I grew up out there and never saw anything quite like this. The wood floors are too old, at least for my part of the neighborhood. And those furnishings! Not energy corridor. I’m saying older parts of Deer Park or somewhere over there, only because I think I saw identical stuff in an antique store in LaPorte.

Ready for the real answer? Here it is:

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Small, Stylish, and Already Sold: Design-y Inner Loop Home Bargains You Missed

“I do always seem to be showing you houses that few of us can really afford,” Houston interior-design blogger Joni Webb admits to her readers:

But the secret truth is, nothing gets me more excited than seeing a house which is NOT expensive yet looks like it was designed by a professional! Nothing is better because it affirms what I fully believe, style is not about money.

So Webb sets out to find a few inside-the-Loop homes dressed to meet her style standards — and priced between $300K and $500K. How long does it take her? Two days, poring through “hundreds, if not thousands” of HAR listings.

What does she find?

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

See Ya Out on the Veranda, Y’All

   

Time Inc. says it will be shutting down Southern Accents — the magazine, not the drawl — with its September-October issue. Now wherever will we find photo spreads of those delightful Curtis & Windham pool houses? Maybe on the SouthernAccents.com website, which will hang around for a spell. [Media Decoder, via Cote de Texas]

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

At Home in Houston’s Wilshire Village Apartments, Back in the Day

Note: Updated below.

So tell me, whatever happened to . . . those Wilshire Village Apartments? Houston photographer Sarah Lipscomb stumbled across a couple of classic interior shots of the then-new apartment complex while poking through old photos a few months ago with her aunt, Johnna Lee Muller.

Writes Lipscomb:

They didn’t have internet in those days but they got to smoke, read magazines and look at globes.

Another view of home entertainment in the early 1940s, Wilshire Village-style:

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Enchanted

Any takers for that Rice Design Alliance membership prize?

Missouri City and Katy attracted the most guesses in this week’s game, with 3 each. Pasadena, Mission Bend, Sagemont, Aldine and Clear Lake had 2 each. The rest? Briargrove, “that neighborhood along Eldridge Pkwy. just north of Alief-Clodine (Ashford Point?),” Pearland just east of 288 and south of Beltway 8, Spring, Green Tee in Pearland, “the vast hinterlands Southeast of Downtown,” League City, Bear Creek, “the neighborhood southwest of the Fondren/Bellfort intersection,” “out Richmond between Beltway 8 and Highway 6, “somewhere south of Southbelt,” Highland Meadows, “Concord Colony/Bridge off W. Little York between Highway 6 and Eldridge,” “the Seabrook/El Lago area,” Cinco Ranch, Kingwood, Fondren Southwest, Northfield, Deer Park, LaPorte, Silverlake, Alief, “Oak Forest Park Park,” “the Kirkwood/Briar Forest hood,” Bacliff, “off Wilcrest, between Briar Forest and Memorial . . . by the Lakeside Country Club,” “off Newcastle, close to Bellaire Blvd.,” and the Galleria.

For a home that — in the words of one player — “could be anywhere where sub-$130,000 houses may be found,” a number of you came very close. Honorable mentions go to Carol for her eagle “shot in the dark” of Green Tee in Pearland; and to bigtoe, for that Sagemont guess.

The winner? elnina, for this:

Two story house on rather smaller lot, in a mid 1980’s subdivision somewhere south of Southbelt.
Lots of tiles downstairs make me think that this house is located in or close to a flood zone - master bedroom is downstairs and carpeted rooms upstairs. Is Turkey Creek the reason? I guess… Sagemont or Highland Meadows. I would love to see the second bathroom… :)

Congratulations, elnina! You’ve just won . . . a (second!) individual one-year membership in the RDA. Of course, you’re welcome to redirect it to any friend or family member or competitor you choose . . .

Ready to get more of the details?

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Comment of the Day: That’s My House You’re Guessing About

   

“What a hoot! CiCi and I have really enjoyed reading all of the comments. Especially about the “fuddy duddy” furniture and balding grandpa. We chose this house because it was so original. It’s our style and had not been monkeyed with too much over the years. Right now, we’re upgrading to a tankless hot water heater and have pulled the rear cover down. Like most good projects, there is always something to do. Jessica1 did well. CiCi is with Greenwood King and I do marketing/branding for Green Bank. We’ve got two daughters (5 and 3) and probably outgrew the house . . . three years ago. Even with the size/rr/bath/power lines/garage issues, we’ve hung in there as the house is comfortable, the neighborhood is the best and location is perfect. Stop by and check it out Saturday between 2 to 4 if you like. I’ll be puttering about and would love to meet some great storytellers.” [Mike Barone, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Other Side of the Tracks]

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Grey Gardens of Galveston’s Original Aqua Beach House

How’d that Granddaddy of all aqua-toned beach houses in Lafitte’s Cove stand up to Hurricane Ike? Joni Webb — who after Verandah magazine is perhaps the home’s greatest fan — shows off some recent pics of the once-grand weekend showcase on her blog, Cote de Texas:

It is here, today, almost a year after Ike, still languishing empty and neglected – a sort of sad, upscale Grey Gardens of Galveston. I’m not sure why it hasn’t been repaired – it all seems like minor, superficial damage, certainly nothing on a par with the slaughter of the Live Oaks going on uptown. But, still, the house has been left to the elements – something that on the beach should always be avoided. Maintenance is a must in the salt air. A loyal Cote de Texas reader happened upon the Aqua House and took new pictures for me.

The home, decorated in all its much-copied aqua glory by Houston designer Babs Watkins, was sold by a later owner shortly before the hurricane hit last year. And then?

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: Those Kitty Pillow Eyes

Do we have a prizewinner for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? Who wouldn’t want to win a membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Your guesses were almost all over the place: Pearland (3), Friendswood, Webster, League City (2), Kingwood, Richmond, Champion Forest (2), “along Briar Forest and Dairy Ashford,” Meyerland (2), Meyerland “near Westbury High School,” Braeswood (3), Bear Creek, Clear Lake (2), Deer Park (2), near MacGregor Way, Pasadena (2), “the ritzy part of Pasadena over around Fairmont Parkway and Young St.,” Lake Olympia, Missouri City, Sharpstown, Sugar Land, Alvin, Katy, Humble, Spring Branch north of Long Point (2), “East Side,” “some more rural area of Fort Bend County,” Baytown (2), LaPorte, Lake Jackson, Inwood Forest, near Jersey Village, “the Champions/Spring area” (2), Fondren Southwest, Alief, “the area around South Post Oak, way down past 610 south,” Sagemont, Atascocita, “between Hwy 6, 1464, and Bissonnet, . . . south of George Bush Park,” Stafford, “Kempwood and Gessner,” “near Knob Hill Park near Gessner and Hammerly,” southeast Tomball, Tanglewood, and Marilyn Estates.

Lots of great guesses . . . but none of them right. What made this one so difficult? Finness tried to put a . . . finger on it:

From the pink Texas door mat to the empty bathroom plant hooks and the ovewrwhelming scent of litter pan - I just look and look again and the mind boggles. I will forever be haunted by the kitty eyes on the toss pillows on the pink leather sofas. Even writing that gives me an out of body sensation. Senses overwhelmed.

Where is this place?

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Friday, June 26, 2009

New Construction Open House Antique Sale

Vacant home for sale, in need of staging. Antique dealer from out of town, needs showroom space. Idea?

Joni Webb reports on Cote de Texas that New Orleans antique dealer Mignon Favrot Topping has gone into the business of staging for-sale homes. But: She leaves the price tags on.

What better way to show off the brand-new 4-bedroom, 5,822-s.-ft. fantasy home designed by Robert Dame at 3015 Virginia, which has been listed for almost 3 months. The price was cut $100K in April, leaving an asking price of $1.875 million.

If that’s still too much, now you can walk away with a piece of it for maybe a little less.

The listing photos still show an empty house:

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The Scented Woods

Guess it didn’t really matter too much that there’s no prize to give out to the winner of this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. None of you would have won it anyway.

Weren’t there enough guesses? There were 2 of you who guessed Meyerland, 2 who guessed Willowbend, 2 for Bellaire, 2 for Clear Lake, and 2 for Oak Forest. Not to mention Wilchester, “somewhere between Wirt and Blalock,” “around Timmons Lane,” River Oaks, Garden Oaks, Southgate, Gulf Freeway Oaks, Pearland, Alief, Braeburn Valley West, “the Pasadena Arts & Crafts fair, booths 1-30,” “off Briar Forest, west of Beltway 8, east of Dairy Ashford,” “between Westheimer, Briar Forest, Dairy Ashford, and Kirkwood,” Glenbrook Valley, Linkwood, “Hunter’s Valley/Hunter’s Wood or Prestonwood or Lakewood or Heatherwood or something with the word wood in it,” “in smelling distance of Bellaire/Beltway 8 Chinatown,” on Fountainview, north of Memorial between Wilcrest and Kirkwood, Greenwood Forest, Hunter’s Creek Village, Timbergrove Manor, Lazybrook, “close to Traders Village or Old Towne Spring,” Spring, Maplewood, Oakbrook subdivision in Clear Lake, Briarmeadow, Copperfield, “the Kempwood/Gessner area,” Flower Mound, Garden Villas, Inwood Forest, “somewhere west of Oak Forest in the Antoine/Pinemont area,” Tanglewood, “that area below the old Rosewood Hospital,” Spring Branch, and “Augusta/Bering Drive area just north of San Felipe.”

Plenty of highly entertaining comments this week. But . . . no dice?

How about we roll with this one — since really, it’s the best we got:

i would guess this is actually an 80’s build somewhere in nw houston, maybe in hunter’s valley/hunter’s wood or preston wood or lakewood or heatherwood or something with the word wood in it.

Congratulations, brandy c, you’re this week’s winner!

But really, where is this place?

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Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Where the Walls Come To Life: At Home in Venetian Estates

One highlight of the decorating sampler provided by the listing for 403 Lombardy Dr.: the Monkey Bed.

What’s more to see in this fine home for sale in Venetian Estates?

There’s the multicolor cloud motif gracing the Media Room:

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

That Old House Had Good Bones: Refueled on Norhill Alt Country

What would Courtney Barton consider the oddest item in her old bungalow at the corner of Melwood and Julian?

Hands down, the horse leg! People are freaked by it. And when they find [out it's] real, they really cringe. I couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire, so I hung a John Derian plate above the leg that has a picture of a horse’s head on it. That little area of the den makes me laugh.

Then there’s that guinea pig genetics poster. Those pieces and more are featured in the latest issue of online-ish magazine Refueled, an “alt-country style and design” journal. Photographer Cheryl Schulke shot the design blogger’s Norhill Historic District home back in February, not long before Barton and her husband held a notable garage sale, packed up just a few of their worldly possessions, and decamped to Kuala Lumpur.

A few more scenes from the Refueled shoot, including a few pics that didn’t make the mag:

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Friday, May 8, 2009

Comment of the Day: Men Are from Memorial Forest, Women Are from Vintage Lakes

   

“There should be a special term for a home whose decor is so utterly commandeered by the lady of the house. A ‘Yes, Dear’ Domicile, or Hobby Lobby Home, or Craft Palace. And in fairness, one too for a stereotypical manly-man’s house, one loaded with hunting trophies, duck art, rock samples, and lots and lots of wood and dark paint.” [Miz Brooke Smith, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: The So Big House]

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