11/05/09 11:44pm

Where was that home that was featured in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? And did anyone win that RDA membership?

First, let’s run through the locations you guessed: Braes Heights, Highland Village, on Brogden Rd. in Memorial, Southampton, Rice Village, Midtown (2 guesses), “somewhere off Washington Ave.,” St. George Place, Hyde Park (also 2 guesses), Cottage Grove, “north of Fairview, east of Dunlavy, near Wilson Elementary,” “between Shepherd and Waugh, just south of Washington, maybe around Feagan St.,” Timbergrove Manor (2), Montrose, the Museum District, Camp Logan, the Heights (2), “just east of Memorial Park, south of Washington, north of Memorial, near Westcott,” Rice Military (3), near Memorial Park, in the “River Oaks” area, “in the upper west Washington Ave/Rice Military vicinity,” near Winter and Houston Streets (2), Sunset Heightsish, Upper Kirby, Shady Acres (2), “north Heights,” Sunset Heights, “within a mile of the north Loop,” off Quitman, East Downtown, Fifth Ward, Downtown, the Caceres development, “between Montrose and the Museum District” (2), Jackson Hill, the West End, and near the Menil.

The winner of that one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance? Longtime NGG player justguessin, who just guessed this guess:

First, I’ll go with somewhere off Washington Ave. Second, St. George’s Place, so many townhomes over there.

One of those new modern townhomes with all of the slate tiles on the exterior.

This house must have been built recently. There are a few too many textures in this place….cement floors, granite and marble counters, and the ubiquitous “tumble stone” backsplashes. Also, the rug in the bedroom seems to keep showing up in the NGG houses. You would also have to sell the dining room table with the house…what else could work there?

Congratulations, justguessin!

This week we also recognize the considerable efforts of reader mojo jojo, who already knew the answer (and wrote in to let us know that), but went ahead and posted this remarkable entry anyway, just to throw the rest of you off track:

Just from my initial peruse through the photos, two things immediately caught my eye; the window placement and the curved walls in the dining room and just past the kitchen. Noticing these items, I am certain that this is a recently constructed contemporary/modern home. On closer inspection, I noticed that through the four windows in the living room, I can see that the property has been landscaped with an abundance of tropical plantings, consisting of large green leafy foliage. From the size of the landscaping, I would estimate that this home was built somewhere around 2005 or 2006. Although I don’t see any, I would bet my first Gin & Tonic of the morning that the property has its fair share of palm trees.

From the photo of the master bedroom, again looking out the windows, this photo also gives two clues to location! Out these windows, you see mature trees both on this property as well as across the street. This indicates that the home is located in an established neighborhood, maybe from the 30’s to the 50’s. The second, and most important clue, is the slope of the street running in front of the home (bottom of the middle window). I can tell that the road slopes down to the left! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

This home is located in Braes Heights, what should be Section 9. I am sure it is located on one of the streets that run North or Northwest from N Braeswood Blvd, between Stella Link and Buffalo Speedway. My guess would be that the home is within five to 10 lots North of N. Braeswood Blvd. Another clue, which I almost missed, is the framed diplomas located in the open cabinets in the study. These diplomas look just like those that hang behind my Dr’s desk. My theory is that the owner is a Dr who does ER work, thus the close proximity of Braes Heights to the Med Center is perfect.

Did it work?

So where is this place, really?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

11/03/09 11:51pm

Hey, how about another round of the Neighborhood Guessing Game? There’s a membership in the Rice Design Alliance on the line this time!

Here’s how you can win it: Just guess the location of the pictured home. If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, we’ll send that one-year individual RDA membership to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you have already seen this home or its listing, or if you find it while we’re playing the game, please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing — so we’ll know what you’re up to. Then submit an incorrect guess — but make it seem plausible. If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual location, you could end up with the prize!

Have a look around:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/30/09 10:20am

A few readers have requested a final tour of the former Sherwood Forest home of Greenway Plaza developer Kenneth Schnitzer. The home at 314 E. Friar Tuck Ln. showed up in yesterday’s Daily Demolition Report. It was built in 1970 from a design by Houston architects Neuhaus & Taylor.

Have a look around:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/29/09 11:46pm

We have a winner! The . . . same winner.

Where is this home? There were 2 guesses each for West University, Riverside Terrace, Idylwood, Montrose, and the Heights. The rest: “near Hobby Airport,” Pearland, Southampton, Southgate, Clear Lake, Spring Valley “or the area a little east of there,” “around Rice,” “Longpoint near Spring Branch Med Center,” Meyerland, “MacGregor/Riverside,” “outside the Beltway just south of I-10, maybe near Kirkwood or Dairy Ashford,” Friendswood, “off Lawndale and 45,” Westbury, Garden Oaks, “somewhere in the vicinity of Rice and Rice Village,” “one of the various neighborhoods along Greenbriar and Shepherd between Rice Village and West Alabama,” Oak Forest, Pasadena, and Deer Park.

The winner — for the third week in a row! — is Matt Mystery, who blanketed the Rice University area with a series of guesses, making sure to mention the Rice Village:

That converted attic to me is really the main clue along with that curious mail slot which seems to indicate there is also an entry. So it is in an older neighborhood where even the smaller houses, and this was probably a smaller house with several rooms added on, were a little more “upscale” than normal. One story but with a high-pitched roof which as I recall allowed for better cross-ventilation which kept the house cooler and of course added more storage space in the attic itself. It could be out in the boonies somewhere but my feeling is it’s “inside the loop” and somewhere in the vicinity of Rice and Rice Village although it could be further north in one of the various neighborhoods along Greenbriar and Shepherd between Rice Village and West Alabama and the various neighborhoods between West Alabama and 59 in the Montrose area. Draw a circle using Rice University as the center and I suspect this house is somewhere within a 5 mile radius.

Congratulations, Matt! Our runner-up this week is Carol, who also thought the home was “around Rice.”

Where is it exactly?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/27/09 2:31pm

We’ve got one of those “old school” guessing games this week: There’ll be no fancy prizes for the winner — just glory. Are you ready to play?

You win by guessing the location of the pictured home. If more than one of you identifies the correct neighborhood, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess wins.

What if you know this place already? Please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing, then post an incorrect guess. But make that incorrect guess sound plausible! If you can do that well and throw the other players off, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the correct neighborhood, that winner could be you!

Take a look at the rest of the house:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/22/09 11:47pm

Who won that Rice Design Alliance membership?

First, your guesses in this week’s game: Four of you guessed Sugar Land; 3 Hunters Creek, Tanglewood, and River Oaks. There were 2 each for Memorial, Bayou Woods or Sherwood Forest, Piney Point Village, Katy, Magnolia, Sweetwater, Bellaire, and The Woodlands. Plus individual votes for “Memorial/Beltway 8,” “somewhere off Memorial Dr. near Voss,” “south of Memorial Dr. between Post Oak and Voss,” Memorial and Dairy Ashford, Crestwood, Glen Cove, Kingwood, Sugar Lakes, Venetian Estates, “the Peninsulas in Oyster Creek,” Pecan Grove in Richmond, Tomball, Indian Trail, Rivercrest, Augusta Pines, Homewoods, Tall Timbers, Mt. Belvieu, Cinco Ranch, “along the Bay Oaks golf course,” Camp Logan, Royal Oaks, Crosby, “off 249,” Pinehurst, “Champions area,” FM 1960, Northgate Forest, west Friendswood, Brazoria County, Lake Jackson, West Columbia, “the 290/Highway 6/1960 area,” Pearland, “along Buffalo Bayou near the Houston Country Club,” and “Holly Creek, west of Tomball.”

That one-year individual membership in the RDA goes to this week’s hardest guesser, Matt Mystery, who mentioned no fewer than 15 different communities in the course of 7 separate entries — including one that’s very close to the actual location:

Sugar Land. It could be Sweetwater or possibly Sugar Lakes/Venetian Estates. Or maybe The Peninsulas in Oyster Creek. Then there’s Pecan Grove in Richmond. So many subdivisions. So many areas. It just has that Tanglewood look. And it’s 9 pm on Thursday and it’s still a mystery.

Matt Mystery happens to be the same matt who won last week’s contest. Congratulations!

A lot of great guesses in there from the rest of you, too!

How about the deets?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/20/09 3:34pm

This week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game is on! Do you know where this home is?

If you do, see the next paragraph for some specific instructions. If you don’t, why not make a guess? If you guess correctly you can win a great prize from the Rice Design Alliance: a one-year individual RDA membership! (If more than one person guesses the correct neighborhood, the prize goes to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.)

Seen this place before? Great — please don’t spoil the game for everyone else by posting the answer. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing (so we’re clued in). Then post an incorrect guess — but make it sound believable! If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the answer is revealed. And if no other player comes up with the right neighborhood, you could win the prize!

Ready for a better look at this place? Go ahead, take a poke around:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/15/09 11:44pm

Where was this place? And did anyone win the prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It?

Good questions! And this week we had a lot of very good guesses. Seven each for southwest Houston and Westbury. Six each for Meyerland and Sharpstown. Three for Willowbend; plus 2 each for Pasadena, Spring Branch, Willow Meadows, LaPorte, and Riverside Terrace. The rest? Westwood, Spring Valley, Robindell, “somewhere off Braeswood,” “on Beechnut out west of Hillcroft,” “somewhere in the oldest part of the Windsor Village-Simsbrook-Brentwood nexus, within a 2-mile radius of Hiram Clarke and West Orem,” Meadow Creek, “the Almeda Mall/Fuqua area,” Baytown, Spring, Aldine, East Houston, Lockwood, “near North Houston,” Glenbrook Valley, Morgans Point, Deer Park, Briarmeadow, “north of Westheimer around Voss/Woodway,” Gulfton, “the older part of Sharpstown by Fondren and the Southwest Freeway,” Sharpstown Country Club Estates, Sharpstown Country Club Terrace, Larkwood, “near Hobby Airport,” “Bellaire West out past Beltway 8,” Clear Lake, League City, “somewhere east of the Gulf Freeway,” Candlelight Trails, “within a block of Bissonnet, between Edloe and S. Gessner,” Bellaire, “610 and Stella Link,” Eastwood, Third Ward, Alief, “around the North Airline area,” “Airline around 45 North,” Maplewood, Braeburn Valley, Braeburn Terrace, and Stancliff Park.

Of the 3 Willowbend guesses, the entries from matt came with the best explanation (plus some bonus entertainment value):

. . . The decor is obviously 60s, the house itself probably 50s, and because of the apparent layout I would suspect one of the “better” neighborhoods in the Spring Branch or Sharpstown or Willow Meadows/Willowbend areas. Something about the kitchen screams the Willow Meadows/Willowbend area.

No comment on the round bed. Remember them well. Fun to play in. Not so fun to sleep in. Inevitably when you tossed and turned you tumbled and ended up on the floor.

and later:

The ceiling/front windows have that Maplewood/Braeburn Valley look. But the one photo of a “den” which appears to be a second den indicates it was once the garage and I believe that’s a no-no in Maplewood and Braeburn Valley as well. So that leaves Westbury and Willow Meadows/Willowbend or Robindell, the bathroom has that Robindell look, or even the Braeburn Terrace area to the northwest of Robindell. Another possibility is the Stancliff Park area off Bissonnet and Wilcrest. Could be anywhere but it just has the Southwest Houston look. Definitely “upper middle class” house or at least it was back in the 1960s.

Congratulations, matt! You’ve won 3 fab prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It: The original HIWI book; the new HIWI: Ike book, plus an official HIWI “Hunkered Down” stencil kit! Our very close runners-up are David W and Cathy.

Also deserving recognition this week are fake-out guesses from readers who knew the listing. Here’s James:

Whoa! This elderly gent knows how to romance the ladies. And he runs a darn good bingo tournament on the weekends!!
Obviously the owner has done absolutely nothing in terms of updating or staging so this has to be in prime location. The owner is about to cash in and he knows it. This bachelor pad is north of Westheimer, around Voss/Woodway.

. . . and PaxMcKatz:

This fixer upper was owned by a bonafied ASTRONAUT-alternate in Clear Lake. In the 70’s, 80’s he lured the ladies back to his abode for an “Out-of-this-World” night. He chose the fridge cause, “Hell it looks like the moon-lander.” After the mission was scrubbed and a moonshot was no longer gonna happen, this confirmed bachelor dated a series of artsy-craftsy women; one of which painted the kitchen pink and was promptly dumped. He settled down with a cute divorcee; with all the mixens of a small shabby-sheik cottage to merge with his mod. She brought her stuff to the house and now these 2 lovebirds are looking forward to taking an around-the-world cruise, playing bridge with their friends before they move into the condo on the lake. He loves that she still calls him “Captain” and humors him by serving freeze-dried food on date night. They are a cute couple.

PaxMcKatz’s entry attracted fans in the comments. Great work!

Now about that house . . .

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/14/09 2:39pm

BRICK ON THE INSIDE Before his dog Teddy runs off with it, new Norhill resident John Whiteside finds a convenient doorstop solution: “None of the doors in my house close. Well, the closets do. But the actual doors into rooms – no. . . . It is a little more crooked than most Heights houses (which are always a little crooked, unless they’re new, in which case they will be crooked soon as the shitty modern constructions settles in). I would like it if the doors latched, but I’m not going to deal with that until I am sure there are no additional foundation repairs in the offing. This is normally fine because it doesn’t really bother me if I’m peeing and suddenly the door comes in and Teddy strolls in. ‘Hey, whatcha doin’?’ However, on Saturday I had people over for a little housewarming open house, and I realized on Saturday afternoon that guests might not enjoy Teddy visits during personal moments quite as much. What to do? Why, a doorstop seemed like the ideal answer. I looked around the house for a suitable heavy object. Then I had a great idea; there’s been a pile of red bricks sitting outside next to the air conditioning unit since I moved in. Solid, compact, easy to slide over in front of the door, and kind of rustic – the perfect doorstop!” [By the Bayou]

10/13/09 10:55pm



Remember the Neighborhood
Guessing Game? Of course you do! And this time Houston. It’s Worth It. is back as a sponsor!

Win this round and you’ll get 3 HIWI prizes: the new HIWI: Ike book; the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book; plus an official HIWI “Hunkered Down” stencil kit, useful for the next time you’re stuck with some spray paint and need to do some hunkering in a downward direction.

To win these great prizes, all you gotta do is look at the pictured home — which was suggested to us by a reader — and tell us what neighborhood it’s in. If more than one of you guesses the home’s correct location, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you already know this home — or if you find it or come across it while we’re playing the game — please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for the other players. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing (so we know what you’re doing) and then submit an incorrect guess. Your goal: throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll earn special recognition when the answer is announced. And if no other players guess the correct answer, you could win the prize for yourself!

Got the rules down? Great — let’s have a look around this joint:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/08/09 10:48pm

Well, whaddya know? Someone won one!

Where was that mystery cabin? There were 2 votes each for Conroe, Tomball, Sealy, Katy, Magnolia, and New Caney. The rest of your guesses? “Somewhere out in Montgomery County,” Silsbee, Jasper, Woodville, Liberty, Pearland, West University, Lake Livingston, Wharton, Memorial, Alvin, the Heights, Kirby Dr., Lake Jackson, Richmond, Rosenberg, Porter, “near Lake Houston,” South Braeswood, League City, Pinehurst, Manvel, Galveston, Splendora, Hempstead, Baytown, and Carson City, Nevada.

So who’s the newest member of the Rice Design Alliance? It’s Matt, for guessing

Near Lake Houston. East side of the lake, north of FM 1960.

Okay, wrong side of the lake, wrong side of FM 1960. But good enough for the win, and good enough for that one-year, individual RDA membership. Congratulations!

This next entry is wrong in more ways than we can count, but wins movocelot runner-up status because it’s just so . . . comprehensive:

I agree with the stabs at old communities outside of town because it looks like a genuine 1870s, hipped roof, four-square. But I think it’s a thoughtful reconstruction for weekend use (also outside of town, Pinehurst between Tomball and Magnolia.)

The bones are old and I envision came from around San Felipe, Wallis or East Bernard. The exterior walls are pine and could well be logs, hewn to square: Sure looks like pointing between them, and the outlet boxes are cut horizontally out of the middles. Look at the lovely wide plank floors! 24”centers for roof joists looks right.

So, the place was moved & reconstructed in the 1970s “way, way out” on a deer lease on the NW side. It is dated by the ovens, exterior doors, ‘old-looking reused’ brick so popular then, drapes and schmaltzy framed pictures.

Also the wall, separating the bedrooms from living space, is newer, yellower pine, the walls have been trimmed to the roof joists in a modern manner, the wide cypress boards at the fireplace are hard/expensive to come by anymore and were probably salvaged 30 years ago. Also the carpentry is so-so & not original to the house.

Well, you can’t discharge firearms half mile from 249 anymore & there’s no wood to chop, so it’s become a divorced dad’s den: Cache of unmatched furniture, tower of old audio components, TV above the fireplace, ‘light-the-wrapper‘ log. The only signs of life are the part-time kids and their stuff. If two sets of twins won’t kill a marriage, nothing will.

So what’s the real deal?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/08/09 5:30pm

A reader calls this odd home “a lottery winner’s dream!” The listing agent calls it “the ultimate bachelor pad.” But does either pitch fully explain what’s going on in this $4 million, 6,753-sq.-ft. medieval chateau fantasy in Rivercrest Estates?

A few highlights:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/06/09 11:47pm

Here’s the latest installment of the Neighborhood Guessing Game. If you play it right, you can win a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

All you have to do: Guess the location of the home in the photos. If more than one of you guesses correctly, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you come across the listing for this home, or if you know of it already, please don’t ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing. Then post an incorrect guess — but make it sound plausible. If you’re able to throw other players off the scent, you’ll earn special recognition when the answer is announced. And if nobody guesses the correct neighborhood, you could win the prize yourself!

Here are a few more photos:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/05/09 11:55pm

We have a winner of that Rice Design Alliance membership!

First: your guesses in last week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. We had “just outside the Loop,” Oak Forest, Katy, Olde Oaks, “Memorial/Dairy Ashford area” (2 guesses), the Memorial Villages, “somewhere south of I-10 and east of Highway 6,” “off Briar Forest between Dairy Ashford and Wilcrest,” south of Memorial City Mall, west of Bunker Hill between Hammerly and Memorial, Memorial close to Beltway 8, Kingwood, near Lake Houston, Bellaire, Westbury, Tanglewood, Meyerland (2), Riverside Terrace, Clear Lake (3), Braes Heights, Lakewood Forest, Brook Forest, Pinehurst, Humble, Wilchester, Westchester, Nottingham Forest, Nottingham VIIIage, Nottingham Country, “Nottingham something,” “around I-10 and the Beltway, Spring Shadows, south of I-10 “around the Gessner area,” Maplewood, Ashford Village area, 77077, Southgate, “near the Med Center,” Huntwick Forest (2), Quail Valley, “near the Costco on Bunker Hill,” near IKEA, Green Trails, Green Trail Estates, Champion Forest, Memorial Bend, “near off Memorial just east of Hwy. 6,” near Gessner south of Clay Rd., north of I-10, near Pinecrest Golf Course,” Sharpstown, “Braeburn area,” Katy near Katy-Hockley Rd., Baytown, Spring Creek Oaks, Mission Bend, West Bend, Walnut Bend, Northampton, Pasadena, Cypress, Jersey Village, Dickinson, Sugar Creek, near Hearthstone Country Club, Copperfield, Briar Meadow, Pearland, Memorial Northwest, River Oaks, and Texas City.

The winner of that one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance? flake, for landing on Jersey Village! Congratulations, flake!

Want the details?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/02/09 11:48pm

Maybe you’d like to take the weekend to think about this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? Good idea! Where could this place be? Not in any of the neighborhoods that have been guessed already.

What’s at stake this week? A one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance. It’s still up for grabs.

So guess again, in the comments of the original post. We’ll announce the winner on Monday if there is one!

Photo: HAR