Tag: Sponsored Posts

Today on Swamplot our sponsor is personal coach Cricket Buchler. Thanks for supporting Swamplot, Cricket!

If you’re looking to make some changes in your life, or just searching for a creative spark for a jump-start, consider a 90-minute personal coaching session with coach Cricket Buchler. An experienced corporate trainer who has helped top executives, Hollywood celebrities, and employees in a range of industries address personal and professional development issues, Cricket also works one-on-one, guiding clients to explore and unlock possibilities and design plans to realize change, and coaching them through their journey toward an intentional life.

A coaching session can also be an inspiring gift for anyone who is looking to take the next step forward in life, work, or relationships, but feels a bit stuck as to what next steps might look like. You’ll find a sampling of testimonials from Cricket’s clients on her website, along with more information about coaching sessions.

Go, team, go! Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Today’s sponsor is the recently renovated 4-bedroom, 3-bath home at 1839 Viking Dr. in Oak Forest — with an asking price that was reduced just yesterday. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

This original Oak Forest home was taken down to the studs in 2012 by a builder who transformed it into his personal home. In the process, he replaced all the electrical and plumbing systems and added a master bedroom suite. (The new master bath is pictured above.) Vaulted-ceiling living, dining, and kitchen spaces — shown in the topmost photo — now flow into each other at the front of the home. French doors lead to a covered outdoor patio space equipped with a television. New materials and finishes introduced throughout include limestone and granite countertops in the kitchen, marble counters in the bathrooms, and wood, slate, and tile floors.

The home sits 2 blocks north of W. 43rd St., about midway between Candlelight Park and the hike-and-bike trails lining T.C. Jester. Relaxation and exercise is also available at home, in the backyard pool.

If you’d like to see more of this place, check out the property website. 1839 Viking St. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Are you ready for Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program? Get more information about it here.

Swamplot is brought to you today by the 5-bedroom, 5-bath house for sale or lease at 6337 Mercer St. in West University Place. Thanks for the support!

If you have a big family — or maybe anticipate a lot of visitors — you’ll find plenty of room in this 4,922 sq.-ft. home. Just inside the front door, a curving staircase leads up to all 5 bedrooms: three of the same size, the fourth slightly larger, and the master more than twice the size of any of the others. A jack-and-jill bathroom separates 2 of the bedrooms; there are 3 other bathrooms upstairs, including the master. The fifth, which includes a shower, is located downstairs.

The heart of the home, however, is the kitchen-and-family-room setup at the back, downstairs, which is arranged nicely for entertaining. (It’s pictured above, minus a second row of French doors, just off camera to the right.) The French doors in the family room lead to a patio and back yard that has room for a pool. Behind the kitchen is the formal dining room. Off the 2-story foyer is the formal living room (now used as a den), which leads, through a set of arched double pocket doors, to a private paneled study.

All this within walking distance of both the Rice Village and West U Elementary. You’ll find more details about 6337 Mercer St. on the property websites — one for potential buyers and the other for potential renters.

Got a cool listing that deserves attention? Show it off by becoming a Swamplot sponsor.

Our thanks go to Jamestown Estate Homes, offering the new home at 11926 Broken Bough Dr. in the Memorial Shadows neighborhood of Bunker Hill Village — today’s Swamplot Sponsor of the Day!

Jamestown Estate Homes is a family business founded by Greg Hawes in 2010. After serving as president of Partners in Building for 18 years, Greg founded Jamestown Estate Homes with his daughters Katy and Victoria. (Other members of the Jamestown team are Lindsey Bechtold and construction manager Mike Prejeant, who as a civil engineering graduate got his start in the business by doing New Orleans restorations, then worked for a volume builder for many years.)

This recently completed 6,657-sq.-ft. home sits on a 20,155-sq.-ft. lot walking distance from Bunker Hill Elementary. The Todd Rice–designed property has 5 bedrooms (2 on the first floor), 5 full- and 2 half-baths, and separate attached 1- and 2-car garages. The home is elevator-ready, and plans are available for an optional 38-ft.-by-14-ft. pool in the back yard.

The Jamestown team has found that many families like the idea of having 2 living areas on the first floor. And so there are 2 in this home: a great room and a separate space that could serve as a game or billiards room, a formal living room, gym, music room, or whatever your family may need. This flexible space has access to an outdoor living area with summer kitchen and fireplace — and the back yard.

The master suite includes a master bathroom with separate walk-in closets and separate his-and-her water closets (so you don’t even have to share a toilet!). There’s even a secret pathway from one master closet to the study. Upstairs are 3 ensuite bedrooms, plus a game room with bar that opens to the media room through custom barn-style doors made from reclaimed wood by the Heights-area craftsmen at ReCoop Designs.

To learn more about the home’s energy features, or to make a private appointment to see it, contact Victoria Hawes at (832) 296-1663 or victoria.hawes@jamestownestatehomes.com. You can see more photographs of the property by checking out the listing. A PDF containing complete floor plans is available here. The home is also open Sundays from 2 to 4 pm.

Here’s a great way to showcase fine properties: Sign up to become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day!

Today’s sponsor: 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 any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376; Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.

Put your business front and center for Swamplot readers. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day. 

Our sponsor today is the 2-story home at 2366 Dunstan Rd. in the Southampton Place Extension — one of a pair of adjacent homes designed by architect and Rice prof Will Cannady. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

Forty years ago, when William T. Cannady had been teaching architecture at nearby Rice University for a mere 12 years (he’s still at it today), he created this modern home and its mirrored-plan neighbor one lot away from the eastern edge of the Rice Village. The entry, past a crepe-myrtle-lined walkway that stretches between the 2 homes, opens next to the living room, which looks out to a private brick-paved patio terrace in back (pictured above). Large, high windows at the stairwell and several other strategic spots throughout the structure bring light into the home — and offer views of the surrounding greenery.

All 3 bedrooms are upstairs. A balcony from one of the bedrooms peeks out over the back patio. A renovation added hardwood floors to the main living space, Miele appliances to the galley kitchen, and fixtures from Waterworks and new cabinets to the bathrooms. There’s also a working elevator.

Inventive ice cream shop Cloud 10 Creamery is dangerously close (just around the corner on Morningside); it’s an extra block-and-a-half or so to 24 Hour Fitness. You can get to the Med Center with a 25-minute walk along the oak-lined edges of Rice University.

You’ll want to see more pics of this place; they’re available on the property website. 2366 Dunstan Rd. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program brings attention to interesting properties. If you’ve got one that should show up here, let us know about it.

Today on Swamplot our sponsor is the 4-bedroom home at 2014 W. 14th 1/2 St. in Clark Pines, in the Greater Heights area.

Porches front the first and second story of this custom home, which was built in 2008; a more private porch in back has access from the living room. A built-in wine bar with a brick backsplash is tucked next to the central stair landing. At the front of the home, a pair of French doors opens to a study with a wall of built-ins that allows access to a secret room. There’s a formal dining room as well as a slightly more casual eating alcove off the living room and closer to the kitchen at the back of the home. The first-floor master suite features a coffee bar and a master bath with standalone shower and claw-foot tub.

Upstairs, a flex room (could be a second living room, media room, or game room) off the landing connects to the second-story porch. One of the 3 bedrooms on this floor, which has its own bathroom (also accessible from the flex room), also fronts the porch. The other 2 second-story bedrooms share a Jack-and-Jill bath with 2 sinks and a separate bath-and-toilet compartment. All bedrooms have separately zoned thermostats; all the upstairs windows (and most of the downstairs ones) feature plantation shutters. In all, the home measures 3,788 sq. ft.

Clark Pines is a small neighborhood in the Greater Heights area west of the Houston Heights proper and south of Shady Acres. This home sits on a 7,700-sq.-ft. lot on the south side of 14th 1/2 St., which ends in a cul-de-sac a few doors down. The wide street frontage allows the home and its attached 2-car garage to face 14th 1/2. (Further subdivision of the lots in the neighborhood is restricted, according to the listing agent, by a minimum lot-size requirement.)

If you’d like to learn more details about the home at 2014 W. 14th 1/2 St., or see more photos of the interior (some with digital staging!), check out the property website.

Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day posts let unique properties shine. If you think this program might work for your listing or business, find out more about it here.

This site is brought to you today by the new ReDesign blog from Boulevard Realty. Thanks for sponsoring Swamplot!

A home means many things to each of us. It’s a significant financial investment; an irreplaceable setting for memories of growing up; a place of retreat after a hard day’s work; and it provides us with a sense of identity that’s intrinsically tied to the community. But just as important — a home is also: color, texture, space, function, style, mood, inspiration, and structure. Design sets the backdrop for our lives, while defining the aesthetic through which we view the world around us.

With ReDesign, Boulevard Realty aims to provide its clients, prospective clients, and colleagues with access to the latest design trends and inspiration — all delivered from the perspective of a realtor, resource, and friend. “We are in the business of selling homes not for of our love of selling but for our love of homes,” the design team declares on the website’s About page.

ReDesign provides regular coverage of popular home features, as well as more specific looks at how some of these rooms, trends and approaches show up in a number of the properties Boulevard Realty has available for sale.

If you’re seeking design inspiration or a new home that speaks to you — or if you just love trawling through attractive pics of local interiors, check out ReDesign!

What’s your big project? Is it ready for a turn as Swamplot Sponsor of the Day?

Today’s sponsor of Swamplot is NoLo Studios @ Acres Homes, a new development of 14 modern residences. Thanks for the support!

NoLo Studios will provide live-work space for people seeking a creative home environment — within a unique, semi-rural neighborhood north of downtown and west of I-45. The project bills itself as a “creative community in the woods” offering privacy, community, and workspace. The developer’s stated goal is not to transform Acres Homes or to ignore its rich social history, but to plant in it a singular 3-acre retreat that by the siting of the homes and careful attention in their architecture to light, views, and personal space establishes an alternative to the confines of a traditional house.

The 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom homes at NoLo Studios all feature smooth, highly durable cement-board siding, Galvalume roofs, and tall-ceilinged studio spaces lit by clerestory windows (one of them pictured above) with their own separate entrances. Combined living-dining-kitchen spaces open onto side decks sited for privacy. There’s room for customization and expansion.

The architect and developer of the project is Francois De Menil, FAIA, perhaps best known in Houston as the designer of the Byzantine Fresco Chapel on the campus of the Menil Collection (established 30 years ago in the middle of a Montrose neighborhood by his parents). Listing agent Star Massing of Boulevard Realty, who focuses her real estate business on Houston’s art, architecture, and design communities, has been actively involved in the research and construction process. (Her husband, artist Jack Massing — with longtime partner Michael Galbreth — holds court at the Art Guys World Headquarters less than a mile away.) Southern Green Builders is constructing the project.

To learn more about the 14 residences at NoLo Studios, check out the property website, where you’ll find more renderings and details about the project.

Need a little creative space where you can get your message out to Swamplot readers? It’s available to you right here — when you become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Swamplot’s sponsor today is the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which wants you to know about the Interior Architecture Tour scheduled for this Saturday, September 17th. Thanks for the support!

If you’re interested in gaining an inside view of the world of architectural interiors, you’ll want to attend this event tomorrow. The AIA Houston Interior Architecture Committee is hosting an interior architecture tour featuring the offices and works of 4 Houston architecture firms.

The firms on the tour are all located within a 4-block radius of each other — downtown. (Here’s a handy map.) They are:

• Page, 1100 Louisiana St. Suite One (Enter on Smith St.)
• DLR Group, 919 Milam St. Suite 100 (Enter on McKinney St.)
• PDR, 909 Fannin St. Floor 39 (Enter on the corner of Fannin St. and McKinney St.)
• Gensler, 711 Louisiana St. Suite 300

The tour will have a special emphasis on exploring the practice of interior architecture. Featured interactive presentations in each of the various offices will highlight the tools and talents that go into creating some of our city’s most exciting interior spaces. You may begin the tour at any of the listed firms, and make your way to the others on your own schedule.

It all takes place this Saturday, September 17, from 10 am to 2 pm, and it’s all open to the public. Tickets are $10 — $5 for students. They’re available for purchase online in advance — and at each of the offices on the day of the tour. Find out more about the tour on this page of the AIA Houston website.

Got something behind the scenes Swamplot readers should see? Becoming a Sponsor of the Day can make that happen.

The recently renovated 4-bedroom, 3-bath home at 1839 Viking Dr. in Oak Forest is Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day. Thanks for the support!

This original Oak Forest home was taken down to the studs in 2012 by a builder who transformed it into his personal home. In the process, he replaced all the electrical and plumbing systems and added a master bedroom suite. (The new master bath is pictured above.) Vaulted-ceiling living, dining, and kitchen spaces — shown in the topmost photo — now flow into each other at the front of the home. French doors lead to a covered outdoor patio space equipped with a television. New materials and finishes introduced throughout include limestone and granite countertops in the kitchen, marble counters in the bathrooms, and wood, slate, and tile floors. This property just came onto the market yesterday.

The home sits 2 blocks north of W. 43rd St., about midway between Candlelight Park and the hike-and-bike trails lining T.C. Jester. Relaxation and exercise is also available at home, in the backyard pool.

If you’d like to see more of this place, check out the property website. 1839 Viking St. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program: Is it right for you? You should find out.

Today we have another announcement of interest to Oak Forest types serving as our Sponsor of the Day post. Thanks to sweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt and The Shops at Oak Forest for supporting Swamplot!

The sweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt location at 1214 West 43rd St., in the Shops at Oak Forest, will be reopening in less than 2 weeks, under new ownership! That’s great news for the many customers who have been missing sweetFrog’s self-serve frozen yogurt and toppings, soft-serve ice cream, non-dairy sorbet, Chloe’s soft-serve fruit, and smoothies after the shop closed a few months ago. The location’s new owners and management team are mother-and-son partners Judy and Jonathan Brown, who also own the Papa Murphy’s Take N Bake Pizza 2 doors down. They say they’re excited to bring sweetFrog back to the neighborhood: “Everyone loves this place, it is such a great hangout for friends and families.”

Reopening day at the corner of 43rd St. and Ella Blvd. is September 27th. At noon, the doors and dispensers will open and the froyo will begin to flow again — along with a variety of discounts and giveaways. The discounts and giveaways will continue every day through October 15th, when the store will celebrate its official Grand Opening — from noon to 10 pm. (The Grand Opening will feature prizes, balloon artists and face-painters, games, return-visit buy-one-get-one-free cards, and the sweetFrog mascots, Scoop and Cookie. Plus, the new owners will be donating a portion of sales that weekend to More Than 1Way 2Play, the campaign to build an accessible, inclusive playground at Oak Forest Park.) If you want to reserve the party room for a meeting, birthday or art party, Scouting event, book club, or plain-ol’ private froyo feast, contact Jonathan Brown at jonbrown44@outlook.com. Schools, churches, and other organizations can also receive donations of a portion of sales when they book community Spirit Nights at sweetFrog or Papa Murphy’s.

Got some sweet neighborhood news you’d like to share? Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day!

Swamplot today is sponsored by the 5-bedroom home at 1717 Haver St. in the Montrose neighborhood known as Cherryhurst. Thanks for the support!

The open living area pictured above, on the ground floor, has oak floors, 10-ft. ceilings, transom windows, and adjustable lighting for art. Up the stairs are 3 bedrooms plus a master suite with its own granite-surround fireplace, balcony, and separate dressing room and walk-in closet — as well as a family room and 2 more rooms put to use as a library and a media room. Need even more space for family members or guests? Head up to the third floor for another bedroom and bath plus a roof deck. But the standout feature of the home is back at the back of the first floor: the 765-sq.-ft. artist’s studio, which has 12-ft. ceilings. It’s adjacent to the 2-car garage, which has access from the alley. A label on the floor plan tucked into the listing notes this space could be a future apartment or mother-in-law suite, though it could also be turned into additional garage or workshop space.

If it seems like this home as it is would be well-suited to an artist, that’s because it is. The current owner is a professional artist who had this custom home built in the little twisted-grid section of Montrose, one block north of Cherryhurst Park.

The home is sited in the heart of Montrose, 3 blocks east of Dunlavy and 3 blocks north of Westheimer, on a residential street a short walk away from many neighborhood attractions and restaurants, including Hugo’s and La Grange. To see more photos of the home (as well as more views of Harris’s work placed throughout), head on over to the property website.

Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program excels in the art of reaching the right audience. Find out how to participate here.

Swamplot’s sponsor today is the Houston chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which wants you to know about the Interior Architecture Tour scheduled for this Saturday, September 17th. Thanks for the support!

If you’re interested in gaining an inside view of the world of architectural interiors, you’ll want to put this event on your calendar for this coming weekend. The AIA Houston Interior Architecture Committee is hosting an interior architecture tour featuring the offices and works of 4 Houston architecture firms.

The firms on the tour are all located within a 4-block radius of each other — downtown. (Here’s a handy map.) They are:

• Page, 1100 Louisiana St. Suite One
• DLR Group, 919 Milam St. Suite 100
• PDR, 909 Fannin St. Floor 39
• Gensler, 711 Louisiana St. Suite 300

The tour will have a special emphasis on exploring the practice of interior architecture. Featured interactive presentations in each of the various offices will highlight the tools and talents that go into creating some of our city’s most exciting interior spaces. You may begin the tour at any of the listed firms, and make your way to the others on your own schedule.

It all takes place this Saturday, September 17, from 10 am to 2 pm, and it’s all open to the public. Tickets are $10 — $5 for students. They’re available for purchase online in advance — and at each of the offices on the day of the tour. Find out more about the tour on this page of the AIA Houston website.

Got something behind the scenes Swamplot readers should see? Becoming a Sponsor of the Day can make that happen.

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

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 any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376; Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.

Sponsoring Swamplot can help your company grow. Find out more about becoming a Sponsor of the Day.