Note: The pricing history noted previously in this story was inaccurate. We’ve corrected it below.
From a pint-sized perch above a set of arched windows, saintly statuary appears to be keeping an eye o’er a updated 1925 Spanish Revival cottage near the Menil Collection. The heavenly presence might also guard against any sleepwalking encounters with the steep steps at the bottom of a flight of stairs . . .
Built in 1977, a sprawling, stucco and partially stone-faced contemporary home in the Piney Point Village neighborhood called Windermere endured a big update in 2010 — as well as some sort of 1997 rebuild. Last week, the property’s re-listing flipped a couple of digits in its asking price: It’s now $1.56 million, down from the $1.65 million initial tag from a 2013 listing. (A later reduction had fallen as far as $1.595 million before timing out earlier this month.) Served by a circular driveway, the corner pocket lot on lasso-shaped Windermere Ln. backs up to the Fondren Rd. dogleg north of Westheimer.
With its streamlined demilune tower and moat-like driveway, an austere 1979 Southgate home could be considered a contemporary castle, particularly in the imaginations of neighborhood youngsters riding around the block of mostly thirties-vintage housing. There’s plenty inside this property’s C-shaped structure to make up for its no-peeking from curbside blankness, however . . .
What’s next for the modestly proportioned  home in Bunker Hill Village that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1954 for insurance executive William Thaxton (top and middle photos) and the more recent, more commodious addition (above) of 1995 by Bob Inaba of Kirksey Architecture? The pedigreed and restored property, on a cul-de-sac off Strey Ln., which peels off Memorial Dr. east of Gessner, landed on the market Monday with a $3.195 million asking price. That’s a bit less than the $3.5 million sought in 2010 when owner Allen Gaw previously tried to move on — but a little more than the $2.9 million that earlier listing shrunk to after a year of no takers.
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Jump or Dive? Try both. A Hill Country-like retreat in Memorial’s Sandlewood neighborhood is perched on a spring-fed lake — and comes with a pool, among other chill-worthy amenities. The asking price was set at $4.2 million in the property’s early June listing. Built in 1997 for its current owners, Midway Companies’ Brad and Claudia Freels, the fan-filled home appears to have waltzed across Texas to find some of the older touchstones incorporated into its finishes.
A woodsy-sited Broad Oaks property hidden from the street sports and sprouts enough ivy on its walls and walkways to offer a high-end diploma. But how secluded can the 1957 home’s side pool (top) be from view of the more recent townhomes next door (at right in the photo above)? From inside, there are extensive views out of the window walls — sun dappled no matter where you sit — and plenty of perching possibilities from which to appreciate the inside-outside views . . .
Yet another re-listing of a 1949 home built by architect Hamilton Brown for his own family on the sloped loop of Tiel Way in River Oaks has freshened up the property’s market presence once more. But the price point is the same — it’s been hovering for a year at $2.825 million, having debuted at $3.75 million in 2010. Asking prices in the interim bounced down in listings by various agencies, hitting $3.25 million, then $2.95 million in 2011, and $2.875 million in the early part of last year, after a 3-month dalliance with $3.2 million in the fall of 2012. Like the wedge lot it occupies, the well-screened home is broader toward the few-frills front. Structural elements remain a focus inside (above) and out.
Despite the pedigree of an extensive renovation by architect Howard Barnstone (he did work on the property for LeRoy and Lucile Melcher, its later owners), there’s not a massive amount of Modern left to the house — at least if the interior decor has anything to say about it. The property was further altered in 2001 or 2002. Is that when all the beams attached themselves to the ceilings?
One of the largest lots in Lakeside Place sprouts a 1975 contemporary with courtyard entry — and courtyard views from within the interior’s open floor plan (top). Furnishings in punchy shades of citrus currently pop against the neutral finishes found in most of the rooms. When listed Friday, the updated property’s asking price was $410,000. It last sold in 1998, for $196,500.
At just shy of an acre, a Westmoreland Farms property in Bellaire packs in an updated 1955 home, garden, pool, tennis court, and one mighty rocky fireplace in the vaulted great room. Other megalots on the block, which runs from the West Loop’s feeder road toward S.Rice Ave. (at Bellaire High School), have mansionized with more recent construction. Is this home, listed at $2.25 million earlier this month, similarly fated?
Does a smashing new splashscape — along with a dash of fresh interior paint — at a Woodland Heights home that had been renovated just a few years earlier merit this kind of price jump? An extensive overhaul completed in 2010 to a 1920 structure along a wiggle of Merrill St. in the Hermosa Court section of the neighborhood brought a $750K buyer to the property in 2012. Last week, the re-re-tweaked vintage property reappeared on the market, this time asking $997,500.
Crisp cutouts and angled volumes designed into a 1974 custom contemporary in Deer Park give light, air, and views multi-level pathways throughout the tilt-topped property. Architect Irving Phillips, who designed this structure long before moving on to Montrose-area monuments and assorted condo towers, also opted for a fair amount of redwood, as evidenced by the ceilings (top) and sun-baked planks finishing the home’s exterior and privacy fencing (above). A week ago, the well-buffed home appeared on the market with a $295,000 asking price.
From its artsy custom entry door in front (above) to its pea-gravel-surround pool, a Sharpstown Country Club Estates home that backs up to Sharpstown Golf Course faces turning 50 as a well-preserved specimen. Could its ground-bound roofline be a design nod to the street’s name (Tam O’ Shanter)? The 1965 property time-warped onto the MLS last week, asking $325,000.
There may not be a whole lot of wildlife ranging around the grounds surrounding this 1982 property in Piney Point Village. But check out the inside of the home:
 Through a Revived Spanish Revival in Lancaster Place... "Pin It")
