04/29/16 12:00pm

Downtown Houston Skyline

Our sponsor again today is Houston’s own Central Bank. Thank you again for the continued support!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call Kenny Beard at 832.485.2376 — or check out the bank’s website.

Swamplot readers appreciate businesses that support Swamplot! Lookie here to find out about our Sponsor of the Day program.

Sponsor of the Day
04/28/16 12:00pm

4111 Drummond St., Braes Valley, Houston

Preservation Houston’s Good Brick Tour is today’s Sponsor of the Day — and just in time: The tour is this weekend. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

In 1953, a young architect made a big bang with a new Modern home at 4111 Drummond St. in what is now Braeswood Valley. The next year, the distinctive home designed by Lars Bang was named one of Good Housekeeping magazine’s “Ten Best Small Houses for 1954.”

63 years later, visitors on Preservation Houston’s Good Brick Tour will see the results of a painstaking restoration that includes period furniture, fixtures, and décor. From the Chevrolet Skyline Deluxe under the carport to the Paul McCobb furnishings in the living room and the Russel Wright place settings on the dining table, the house is a time capsule of mid-century modernism.

Bang’s house is 1 of 5 award-winning preservation projects welcoming visitors from noon to 5 pm on both Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1.

Today is your last chance to buy advance tickets online for $25. Tickets will be available for $30 at any tour location during the weekend. Tickets are valid both days of the tour and provide admission to all locations. You can start at any location and see the projects in any order you choose.

Preservation Houston has recognized all of the properties on the tour with Good Brick Awards for excellence in historic preservation. The other tour locations are:

  • 1203 Edwards St., First Ward. A quaint Folk Victorian design (1899) with classic detailing
  • 716 Sabine St., Old Sixth Ward Historic District. A rare Carpenter Gothic cottage (1872) and a sympathetic new residence inspired by Texas pioneer homes
  • 3229 Groveland Ln., River Oaks. Birdsall P. Briscoe’s finely detailed interpretation of English Regency architecture (1936)
  • 3405 Meadow Lake Ln., River Oaks. John Staub’s post–World War II reinvention of his traditional country house (1948)

Additional information about the 2016 Good Brick Tour is available on Preservation Houston’s website.

Do you love Swamplot? Maybe it’s time to show it — with a turn as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsor of the Day
04/27/16 12:00pm

4702 Devon St., Afton Oaks, Houston

4702 Devon St., Afton Oaks, Houston

Today’s Sponsor of the Day is the new-construction home at 4702 Devon St., constructed by David James Custom Builder and offered for sale by Bill Baldwin of Boulevard Realty. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

As the Galleria, the Highland Village Shopping Center, and now the River Oaks District sprung up around it, Afton Oaks began its transformation from a neighborhood of low-slung Ranches to an enclave that now includes many large-lot custom homes, much of the new construction playing dress-up in exaggerations of various “traditional” styles. But here’s a new Afton Oaks home that’s neither Molto Mediterranean nor Too Much Tudor:

The recently completed house at 4702 Devon St. is its own thing. Subtle material contrasts on the exterior continue on the inside, to a long and tall entry capped on either end by floor-to-ceiling steel windows (from local fabricator Atelier Domingue) and bridged overhead by a reclaimed-wood-and-glass catwalk.

The main living space of the 5-bedroom, 4-and-a-half-bath home — incorporating the family room, dining room, and kitchen (see photo above) — is quieter; it’s lined on one side by French doors that peer into a central courtyard that’s green now, but has room for a pool. The master suite is tucked into a single-story wing in back; it features a gas-log fireplace, private access to the yard, and a master shower with a Venetian plaster finish.

There’s a lot more to the home by David James Custom Builder; it measures 5,379 sq. ft., fitting comfortably on a 9,400-sq.-ft. lot. For a better tour, take a look through the photos in the listing.

Update: For an even better tour, come to the open house this Sunday, May 1, from 3 to 5 pm.

Got something compelling to show and tell about? Maybe it belongs on Swamplot — as a Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsor of the Day
04/25/16 12:00pm

716 Sabine St., Old Sixth Ward Historic District, Houston

3405 Meadow Lake Ln., River Oaks, Houston

Our sponsor today on Swamplot is this weekend’s annual Good Brick Tour from Preservation Houston. Thank you for supporting this site!

If you’d like to get a good look at some fine examples of historic preservation work in Houston, this weekend’s your chance: 5 restored private homes will be on view during Preservation Houston’s third annual Good Brick Tour. Locations range from a rare Carpenter Gothic cottage in the Sixth Ward (top) to a postwar John Staub design in River Oaks (above). Preservation Houston has recognized each of the houses on the tour with a Good Brick Award for excellence in historic preservation.

The 2016 Good Brick Tour takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on 2 days: Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1.

Tickets are $25 through Thursday, April 28; you can buy them online here. Tickets will also be available for $30 at any tour location during the tour weekend. Tickets are valid both days of the tour and provide admission to all houses. Visitors can start at any location and see the homes in any order they choose.

The 5 houses on the tour are:

  • 1203 Edwards St. in the historic First Ward, a Folk Victorian house (1899) rescued from demolition
  • 716 Sabine St. in the Old Sixth Ward Historic District, a carpenter’s cottage (1872; pictured at top), accompanied by sympathetic new construction by Murphy Mears Architects
  • 3229 Groveland Ln. in River Oaks, a landmark Regency Revival-style house (1936) designed by Birdsall P. Briscoe
  • 3405 Meadow Lake Ln. in River Oaks, architect John Staub’s reinterpretation of a Prairie-style house (1948; pictured above)
  • 4111 Drummond Ln. in Braeswood Valley, a midcentury Lars Bang design named one of Good Housekeeping magazine’s “10 Best Small Houses of 1954”

Find more information about the Good Brick Tour on Preservation Houston’s website.

Got a little well-preserved something you’d like to show off to Swamplot readers? Try giving it a turn as a Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsor of the Day
04/22/16 12:00pm

Chapman & Kirby Gastrolounge Under Construction, 2118 Lamar St., East Downtown, Houston

Chapman & Kirby Gastrolounge Under Construction, 2118 Lamar St., East Downtown, Houston

Today on Swamplot our Sponsor of the Day is crowdfunding site NextSeed. Thanks for the continued support!

Construction on Chapman & Kirby (a premium gastrolounge launching at 2118 Lamar St. in East Downtown) is underway — as part of the new East Village development lining St. Emmanuel St. between Lamar and Polk. The building will have a rooftop deck installed; the original roof is being completely removed. The second photo above shows some of the downtown skyline view that will be available from the top.

The Chapman & Kirby team raised more than $440K from local residents who invested on NextSeed. In addition to earning interest on their investments, members will also be receiving VIP perks for being among the first involved in the development. Mazen Baltagi, one of the principals of Chapman & Kirby (as well as the owner of multiple Christian’s Tailgate and Saint Dane’s locations), says the group wanted to “get the community involved from the ground up.” The goal was to allow local investors the opportunity to grow with the business and share a vested interest in its success.

The investment opportunities listed on NextSeed are available to all Texas residents. But don’t worry if you missed out on this particular investment: You can sign up on NextSeed to be ready for what’s coming next. 

Disclaimer: NextSeed does not provide any investment advice or recommendation, and does not provide any legal or tax advice with respect to any securities. Any offers and sales of securities appearing on NextSeed are limited to persons that are Texas residents.

Got something going up Swamplot readers should know about? Feature it as a Sponsor of the Day!

Sponsor of the Day
04/20/16 12:00pm

Harvest Moon Renewable Energy Company Solar Farm, FM 3013, Sealy, Texas

Today Swamplot is sponsored by Harvest Moon Renewable Energy Company, offering farm-to-market solar power for the Houston area. Thanks for supporting this website!

Do you know where your electrical power comes from? Here’s one place some of it could: Harvest Moon Renewable Energy Company’s new family-owned-and-operated 12-acre solar farm on FM 3013 in Sealy, 50 miles west of Houston — where 15,000 thin-film solar panels were installed just last year.

Harvest Moon is offering the power produced on the 1.5 MW farm to business and residential customers in CenterPoint Energy’s distribution area. It works much the way a solar-panel installation on your own building might — but without the upfront costs or cancellation fees. As with most solar installations, the panels won’t be able to meet all your power needs (there’s that whole nighttime thing when the sun isn’t available, for example). So Harvest Moon has teamed up with MP2 Energy to offer the power as part of retail plans that combine the locally produced solar energy with market-rate energy from the grid, offered at cost. Two different plans are available.

If you’d like to learn more about Harvest Moon’s Sealy facility, or its retail plans, check out the Harvest Moon Renewable Energy Company website. By signing up, you can help support the development of more solar farms in the local community. If you’re even more interested in what this company has been able to achieve so far, or just want to see for yourself how the panels track the sun all day, contact the company to find out how to visit.

Looking for the kind of sponsorship that can bring new power to your business’s marketing plan? Check out what it takes to become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsor of the Day
04/18/16 12:00pm

6635 Lindy Ln., Idylwood, Houston

6635 Lindy Ln., Idylwood, Houston

The 2-bedroom, 2-bath bungalow at 6635 Lindy Ln. in Idylwood is today’s Sponsor of the Day. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

Idylwood, in case you didn’t know, is that little pocket neighborhood of mostly brick homes on rolling terrain just west of Buffalo Bayou between the Gulf Fwy. and the Gus Wortham Golf Course. And this 1934 bungalow sits just about at its center, 7 houses down from Spurlock Park, on a 5,750-sq.-ft. lot.

The glassed-in sunroom in front has a spiral staircase that leads to a loft bedroom. French doors off the sunroom lead to a study that could serve as a third bedroom, the listing notes. Above the 2-car garage in back is a separate guest house with its own loft bedroom, plus a kitchen and bath. Also noted in the listing, along with the cosmetic upgrades obvious in the photos: recent improvements to the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems, and the roof.

This 2,301-sq.-ft. home just appeared on the market this past Thursday. You can get more info and see additional photos of the inside and out on the property website.

Got a new listing that deserves attention? Let it shine as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsor of the Day
04/15/16 12:00pm

Downtown Houston Skyline

Today our sponsor is Houston’s own Central Bank. Swamplot appreciates the continued support!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call Kenny Beard at 832.485.2376 — or check out the bank’s website.

If reaching customers is central to your business, you should learn more about Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program.

Sponsor of the Day
04/14/16 12:00pm

Swamplot Sponsors

What businesses and real-estate listings have been sponsoring Swamplot recently? Here’s a list of Sponsors of the Day since our last roundup:

Thank you, all!

If you appreciate the support these businesses and listings have been sending Swamplot’s way, please click on the links above (and on the links in those links) to check out what they have to offer. Or find a way to let them know you’ve noticed what they’re doing.

Would you like to see your company or listing get this kind of attention from Swamplot readers? Talk to us about how to become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Sponsors of the Day
04/13/16 12:00pm

Chapman & Kirby Gastrolounge, 2118 Lamar St., East Downtown, Houston

Today on Swamplot our Sponsor of the Day is crowdfunding site NextSeed. Thanks for the continued support!

The team behind gastrolounge and event space Chapman & Kirby (portrayed above) just raised $440,800 through a NextSeed campaign. More than 130 NextSeed members invested in this Texas crowdfunding offering, which will help it launch in East Downtown.

Chapman & Kirby raised its funds through a revenue sharing loan on NextSeed. The business is contracted to share a percentage of its revenue every month with the members that invested in the offering — until they are paid 1.75x their investments. Chapman & Kirby is enrolled in NextSeed’s payment automation service, which means that NextSeed will monitor the business’s monthly revenue and facilitate payments to investors each month.

The investment opportunities listed on NextSeed are available to all Texas residents. But don’t worry if you missed out on it: You can sign up on NextSeed so you’re ready for what’s coming next.

Disclaimer: NextSeed does not provide any investment advice or recommendation, and does not provide any legal or tax advice with respect to any securities. Any offers and sales of securities appearing on NextSeed are limited to persons that are Texas residents.

Looking for attention in the world of Houston real estate? Becoming a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day can help you get it.

Sponsor of the Day
04/11/16 12:00pm

Edible Earth Resources  Edible Earth Resources

Our Sponsor of the Day today is Edible Earth Resources. And Swamplot appreciates the support!

If you’ve been inspired to get some sort of edible garden installed at home or work, you’ll want to know about Edible Earth Resources. Edible Earth Resources is a full-service edible-focused landscaping and consulting firm in Houston, and they’re experts in soil health, plant health, and food production. Edible Earth Resources offers design, installation, and ongoing maintenance services to help you grow your own nutritious produce in a manner that’s safe for your family, healthy for your property’s ecosystem, and protective of our water supply.

For more information, please see the Edible Earth Resources website.

Interest in Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program is growing! Find out more about it here.

Sponsor of the Day
04/08/16 12:00pm

Farmstead: Grow & Eat

Farmstead: Grow & Eat LogoToday’s sponsor is Farmstead: Grow & Eat. Thanks for supporting Swamplot, Farmstead!

If you’re interested in setting up your own edible garden, or just want to expand your back yard from vegetation to vegetables, you’ll want to know about Farmstead. It’s a retail garden center that carries a wide selection of edible plants, including the widest selection of fruit, nut, and citrus trees that grow well in Houston. The storefront also features herbs, seeds, and tools necessary to get you on the path to gardening success.

Farmstead is located at 6640 West Montgomery Rd. in the 77091; it’s open from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturdays and by appointment on Sundays. To find out more, take a look at the Farmstead website.

Readers are eating up what Swamplot sponsors are offering. If you’d like to get in on the action as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day, contact us here.

Sponsor of the Day
04/07/16 12:00pm

Photo of 4523 Teas St., Bellaire, Texas, by Paul Hester

Photo of 1603 Cherryhurst St., Montrose, Houston, by Paul Hester

Today’s Swamplot Sponsor of the Day is an event coming up in just 2 days: the annual spring home tour put on by the Rice Design Alliance. We appreciate the RDA’s support of Swamplot!

This weekend, the RDA tour features 6 Houston houses that have edible gardens, created by architects, landscape architects, and designers. “Nourish: An Architecture Tour of Houses and Edible Gardens,” the RDA’s 41st annual architecture tour, takes place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10.

The last day to buy tickets online is tomorrow, Friday, April 8. Tickets start at $35, which includes an eMembership to the Rice Design Alliance. Current RDA members (as well as those who join in time for the tour) are eligible for discounted tickets at $25; tickets are $15 for students with ID. Check out the houses included on the tour (2 of which are pictured above) on the RDA website. You can buy tickets online here.

Trying to get the word out about an important local event? A Swamplot Sponsor of the Day post gets a lot of attention.

Sponsor of the Day
04/05/16 12:00pm

2910 Ann Arbor Dr., Briarmeadow, Houston

2910 Ann Arbor Dr., Briarmeadow, Houston

Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day for today is the 3-bedroom, 2-bath home at 2910 Ann Arbor Dr. in Briarmeadow. Thanks for supporting this website!

The formal living room and dining room sit at the front of this 1963 home, but the family room in back looks onto the covered patio that straddles 2 back wings. The photo above shows this room, part of the adjacent kitchen, and the opening to the breakfast room, as seen from the beginning of the bedroom wing. Much of the 2,205-sq.-ft. interior has been updated, including both bathrooms.

A gate guards the driveway entrance to the 9,125-sq.-ft. lot; a separate 2-car garage stands to the back. You can tour more of the property by poring over the photos on the listing website.

Looking to get more exposure for your business or listing? Swamplot Sponsor of the Day slots are here to help.

Sponsor of the Day
04/01/16 12:00pm

Downtown Houston Skyline

Swamplot’s sponsor today is Houston’s own Central Bank. Thank you for the continued support!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call Kenny Beard at 832.485.2376 — or check out the bank’s website.

Want to increase the visibility of your business? Becoming a Sponsor of the Day on Swamplot can help.

Sponsor of the Day