- 2 Cape Cod Ln. [HAR]
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Tag: Interiors
Sorry, all the furnishings shown here don’t come with. Which is sad, really, because if this is just the kind of place you’d like to live in, you’ll have to find each of these items on your own. This 5-bedroom, 3,075-sq.-ft. 10-year-old fully tiled house in Crighton Ridge — on the not-The-Woodlands side of I-45 — went on the market last week for $359,500.
- 22035 Buescher Rd. [HAR]
When last we left this little number in Pine Hollow — the longtime home of Preston Bolton, the Houston architect who did tall ceilings before tall ceilings were cool — it was 2008, and the place was listed for just south of $2 million. But it didn’t sell at that price, or a few other ones tried later. Last week it went back on the market at a new low: $1,450,000. Anything in this 1970 structure been, well, updated in the 3 intervening years? Well, the photos at least:
When he isn’t busy rebuilding the entire block of Colquitt between Greenbriar and Morningside, Houston architect Scott Ballard puts his mind to work solving difficult domestic problems. F’rinstance: how to enjoy indoor sports in the comfort of your home more . . . oh, unobtrusively? Ballard’s wife “wasn’t thrilled” about the ping-pong table he and his kids parked in the family’s living room a couple years ago, he tells the Chronicle‘s Ken Hoffman. A few sketches, hired guns, and failed prototypes later, and — presto! Ballard came up with the solution: The Ping Pong Coffee Table. And it’s for sale!
The 2-story air-conditioned $50,000 Cape Cod-style playhouse (shown under construction above) River Oaks residents John and Kristi Schiller had built 3 years ago behind their bayou-side home on Tiel Way is featured in a New York Times Home & Garden feature and photo essay. The backyard toy is nominally for their now-4-year-old daughter, Sinclair, but reporter Kate Murphy declares it to be the main attraction at family parties. The 170-sq.-ft. house features hardwood floors, running water, a faux fireplace, vaulted ceilings, screens on the windows, begonia-bedecked window boxes, a 32-inch flatscreen TV, and a mini-fridge stocked with juice boxes and popsicles. Mom Kristi Schiller — a longtime blogger who in her former life as “Lucy Lipps” once had her own morning show on KTBZ The Buzz, a large internet following, and a month of glory in the pages of Playboy magazine — tells Murphy she “think[s] of it as bling for the yard.â€
- Child’s Play, Grown-Up Cash and Playhouse Proud (photo essay) [NY Times]
- “Project Playhouse” [Occasionally Funny]
- A candid chat with Kristi Schiller [Life+Dog]
Photo: Kristi Schiller
Montrose all-star convenience store Pak’s has been hit by the same pair of robbers 5 times in the last 8 months. And now it’s been remodeled, with an eye on security. The cashier area is now surrounded by glass, and a new wall adjacent to it now extends from the front to the back, closing off one side of the store, Swamplot photographer Candace Garcia reports. Behind that wall is a mysterious black box, measuring maybe 500 sq. ft. that’s visible to the street. What’s going in there? An owner confirms to Garcia it’s a new lease space, though no tenant has been identified yet.
How many games of saltwater volleyball have actually been played in the backyard pool of this opened-up 1938 cottage at one of Colquitt’s stub ends? Inside, walls have been removed in the main living space, and colors let loose. Still: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, in 2,338 sq. ft. Plus, whatever you play in the back, all those folks in the 5-story Upper Kirby Apartments across Morningside looking down on you from their neighborhood-side windows will no doubt be jealous that you get that backyard space all to yourselves. More pics:
Intrigued by the low asking price on this one-bedroom condo just inside the West Loop — but curious what sorts of interesting things might be lurking, say, under the refrigerator? Crawl on in and have a look around with us:
Teevee news cameras provide a glimpse of the open-plan home fashioned out of a 12-ft.-by-25-ft. RV and boat storage unit in a long shed across the street from the I-10 East Golden Corral Restaurant. Prince and Charlomane Leonard have their home of 3 years all to themselves now, but they’re not happy about it: After a single 3-hour visit from Harris County’s Child Protective Services last month, the couple’s 6 children, ages 2 through 12, were removed from the home on McNair St. near Sheffield Blvd., which was declared an “unsafe environment” for the children. The Chronicle‘s Anita Hassan reports the Leonards had been planning to build a home for themselves on land they own in Liberty County, but couldn’t get a loan.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: BUT IN THE DARK ALL CAT CARPETS ARE GRAY 
“They look closer to jaguar spots to me. Cheetahs have solid spots.” [Greg, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photos of the Day: Cheetahs in the Bedrooms] Photo of 2201 Avalon Pl.: HAR
Future architect Brinn Miracle takes readers on an in-depth exploration of all 9 homes that were featured in the Art Institute of Houston’s Modern Home Tour earlier this month, pointing out the kinds of issues that might not be so apparent from promo photos: “The one flaw I couldn’t overlook was the lack of door to the master bathroom. While its true that couples ‘share everything’, I doubt that anyone would want to be walked in on while using the toilet. The problem, as you’ll see in the photo, is that the entrance to the bathroom faces a huge mirror –– with a direct reflection of anyone sitting on the toilet. You have to walk past this bathroom entrance in order to leave the master bedroom, so unless your partner is okay with you dashing past while looking the other way, you’ll be stuck in the bedroom until the um…business…is done. How two people are supposed to get ready in the mornings is beyond me. ‘Honey, please go brush your teeth in bed while I take a leak. I’ll let you know when I’m finished.’ While this oversight put a damper on the project, it was very well thought out otherwise.” Also included: Miracle treatment of Collaborative Designworks’ Hyde Park Double.
- Houston Modern Home Tour [Architangent]
- Homes [Modern Home Tour]
Photos of 1818 Palm St., by Intexure Architects: Brinn Miracle
