09/30/09 6:37pm

What happened to Tuesday’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? This week it became Wednesday’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. And here it is!

Up for grabs this week: a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance. And you’ll win it — if you guess the location of this week’s mystery mansion. If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

What if you already know this home, or if you come across the listing while the game is on? Please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing — to give us a heads-up. Then submit an incorrect guess, but make it sound entirely plausible. If you do this well enough to throw other players off the scent, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the correct location, you could win the prize!

How about taking a good look around?

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09/24/09 11:25pm

Who won the prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It.?

For this week’s game four of you guessed Sugar Land. We had 3 guesses each for “the Champions/1960 area,” Missouri City, Silverlake, Cypress, and Atascocita. Two votes each for “near Highway 6,” Eagle Springs, Sienna Plantation, Lake Olympia, and Katy. Single guesses hit Commonwealth, Brightwater, Sweetwater, First Colony, Sugar Mill, Sugar Creek, Sugar Lakes, New Territory, Lexington Colony, Summerwood, Walden, Lake Houston, Longwood, Pearland, Audubon Place (in Pearland), Crystal Lakes, “one of those gated communities near 35,” Meyerland, “that little neighborhood near Bellaire, inside The Loop, by the Home Depot,” Hilshire Village, The Woodlands, southeast Houston, Clear Lake, Lakeside Estates, Lakeside Forest, near the Lakeside Country Club, “Grant Rd./Spring Cypress area,” “somewhere in the Cy-Fair school district, maybe way up 290,” Lake Colony, Bellaire, “the area bordered by 249, 1960, I-45, and Spring-Cypress,” Rodeo Palms, Deer Park, League City, Huffman, Humble, Memorial, Bunker Hill, Greatwood, Kingwood, Lakes of Eldridge, Friendswood, Klein, Copperfield, “toward Crosby,” and West University.

Senorbanity wins an honorable mention for calling this home “a late 80’s or early 90’s Perry McMansion.” But . . . where?

Here’s the winning entry:

My guess that this is somewhere in the Cy-Fair school district, maybe way up 290, and built sometime in the mid to late 90’s. It’s old enough that the landscaping has grown up, but new enough that the builder’s plop-oak in the front yard hasn’t.

Also, I think I know what color the office off the master bedroom is, because my bathroom is the same color. If it’s not Northern Cascades by Benjamin Moore, then it’s the same color, but by Laura Ashley.

Claire, we’re coloring you a prize winner. Here’s what Houston. It’s Worth It. is going to send you: The original Houston. It’s Worth It. book, the new HIWI: Ike book, and HIWI’s new “Hunkered Down” stencil kit. Congratulations!

We had 3 other Cypress-area guesses from runners-up Jessica1, nativesnob, and NWH. All three very close!

Special recognition goes to James, who wrote in with the actual listing, and sent other players in the exact opposite direction with his decoy guess: down I-45 to Deer Park or League City.

So where is this place, really?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/23/09 1:03pm

NO, YOU CAN’T SEE KEN AND LINDA LAY’S RENAISSANCE-Y HIGHRISE CONDO The storied full-floor unit on the 33rd floor of the Huntingdon at 2121 Kirby is at long last on the market . . . for $12.8 Million: “The condo sale is being handled privately by Beau Herrold, Linda Lay’s son from her first marriage. Tours are by invitation only . . . When a Chronicle reporter expressed interest in seeing the condo, so as to best to describe the Italian renaissance decor and ‘villa-style living’ touted in a real estate flier, Herrold had only one comment. ‘I bet you would.’” [Houston Chronicle]

09/22/09 11:47am

Yes, it’s time for yet another round of Swamplot’s mystery-home guess-o-rama! And we’ve got some great prizes again this week, from Houston. It’s Worth It.

The winner will receive HIWI’s “Hunkered Down” stencil kit, the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book, and a copy of the brand-new HIWI: Ike book, full of photos and stories about that little ol’ hurricane that blew into town about a year ago.

Here’s how to win: Just guess the neighborhood this home is in! If more than one of you names the correct neighborhood, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess will get the prize.

If you already know this home, or if you find the listing, please don’t ruin the game for everyone else. Just send Swamplot a link to the listing instead — so we know what’s up — and then submit your own creative but incorrect guess. If you do this well, throwing other players off the scent, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

Let’s snoop around a bit, shall we?

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09/18/09 3:13pm

Ah, the single life! This one-bedroom, 625-sq.-ft. take at 2016 Main appears to have every necessity in place, down to that single toothbrush artfully placed next to stainless-steel counter bowl. Ax the giveaway Downtown and Midtown views, and wouldn’t this have made an excellent candidate for Swamplot’s weekly Neighborhood Guessing Game?

Asking $129,750 — since mid-ish July. Maintenance fee is $510 a month.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/17/09 6:05pm

Who won that Rice Design Alliance membership this week?

Here’s where you thought this week’s mystery mansion might be: There were 3 guesses each for West University and Bellaire. We also had Katy, Sugar Land, “Montrose west,” Montrose close to 59, Montrose “somewhere along 59 between Shepherd and the spur-ish,” “along the Beltway 8 feeder road between Briarforest and Westheimer,” Westchase, Green Tee Terrace in Pearland, “near the Med Center,” Museum District, Cinco Ranch, The Woodlands, Southgate, Steeplechase off Jones Rd., Jersey Village, “a few blocks north of 610 North near St. Pius School and Church,” “Morningside area,” the Heights, the northern Heights, Woodland Heights, near Willowbrook Mall, Sharpstown, the Astrodome area, University Park in Clear Lake, Southampton, and Lindale Park.

Any more guesses? Here was the winning entry:

A few blocks north of 610 North near St. Pius School and Church. I’m stating the obvious when I note that this is a 2 or more story building. I see stairs in one photo. I see even a possible 3rd floor. yup, this one looks standardized. I think this is in an older neighborhood than most guessers. the builder probably took some plans from an old job out in kingwood, bought a lot “in town” and broke ground in 1992. nirvana was playing on the worker boom boxes over all of the hammering and sawing and stuff.

Okay, height and the Nirvana bit are way off, and let’s make that a few superblocks north of 610 North. Still, good enough for a win. Congratulations, JPSivco! You’re the RDA’s newest member!

Wanna see the rest of this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/15/09 3:32pm

How will you make out in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game? Well, if you win, you’ll get a free one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance. (Note: the RDA’s fall lecture series, Getting High: Towers in Architecture, starts this Wednesday night!)

All you need to do to win is guess the location of the pictured home! If more than one of you guesses the right neighborhood, the prize will go to the player who included the best explanation.

Do you already know this property? Did you find its listing? Then please don’t ruin the guessing 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. Make it sound real convincing and you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, you could win this week’s prize!

Here are the photos:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/11/09 11:49pm

Did we really need that extra day to come up with a winner? Well, not exactly. Your extra-day guesses for this week’s game weren’t much closer. But let’s work with what we’ve got!

First, here’s where you thought this week’s mystery homestead might have been: Champion Forest, the Northgate Country Club area, Old Town Humble, Minnetex, Jersey Village (2 guesses), “off south Gessner near Bellaire,” “on the east side of town south of Highway 90 just outside the Beltway,” “a barely incorporated area of Humble,” the FM 1960 corridor, Stafford, Zip Code 77024, Atlanta, Kingwood, Spring Branch (2), Spring Shadows, Eastwood, “east of Downtown,” Midtown, South Houston, near Fuqua, “between 290 and 45, 610 and Little York,” Friendswood (2), Mission Bend, Timbergrove Manor, “the Heights/near North Side around Airline,” Heritage Park in League City, Pearland, Southwyck in Pearland, Ponderosa Forest, Olde Oaks, Memorial Northwest, Dickinson, League City, Santa Fe, “off Stella Link,” “the swath between 45 North and 59 North, within train horn distance of the Hardy Toll Rd.,” Aldine Bender, Aldine Mail Rd., “off Post Oak South, east of the Meyerland area and south of 610,” “all of the areas not chosen between Katy, Highway 90, Ft. Bend Tollway/Beltway 8, and I-10,” “the Crosby/Highlands area,” the Energy Corridor, Thornwood, LaPorte, Seabrook, “from 225 to the Kemah bridge on the bay side of 146,” Shoreacres near the Houston Yacht club, “an unincorporated semi-rural subdivision in the wild woods of Metro Conroe,” Atascocita, Brazosport, Fondren Southwest, “Lakewood/Grant and Jones/Eldridge area,” Santa Fe, the Bear Creek area, Baytown, Bellaire, West Columbia, Spring, Tomball, Magnolia, Galveston, Cypresswood, Enchanted Oaks, outside Alvin, Tiki Island, San Leon, Lake Jackson, the Houston Ship Channel, “off 59 near Lake Houston,” and Sugar Land.

That’s a lot of running around town!

The winner of this week’s (and, in fact, last week’s) prize — the new HIWI: Ike book, the original HIWI book, and that “Hunkered Down” stencil kit from Houston. It’s Worth It. — is marmer, for this:

What a strange place! I agree it looks like a manufactured home, but it’s just too big and there are too many details in the bedrooms to really convince me. I agree it’s quasi-industrial, too. Has anyone guessed the sketchier part of the Heights/near North Side? Kind of around Airline?

Not exactly a correct guess. But can we focus in on just those last two words — and ignore the rest . . . ?

Congratulations, marmer!

Our two runners-up are Jessica1 — who wisely chose to stretch an earlier guess north of Little York, but veered too far west to Jersey Village — and Harold Mandell, who set up camp on the wrong side of I-45.

Let’s take a look at this place, shall we?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/08/09 4:06pm

Y’all ready for another go at this?

When last we left the Neighborhood Guessing Game, we had 3 prizes from Houston. It’s Worth It. But nobody won them. How about this time?

Here’s what you’ll win from Houston. It’s Worth It. . . . if you win: A copy of the new HIWI: Ike book; a copy of the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book; plus a brand-new, ready-for-the-next-‘cane, HIWI-brand “Hunkered Down” stencil kit.

Yes, all this can be yours . . . if you can guess what neighborhood the pictured home is in. If more than one of you guesses correctly, the prizes will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

If you aren’t guessing — that is, if you already know this property or if you find the property by corralling a herd of Googling monkeys to search for you (or employ any other method that isn’t actually guessing) — please don’t spit out the answer and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing (so we know the monkeys are working for you). Then make an incorrect guess, but explain it in a way that’s convincing enough to throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if no one guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!

How about a quick look through those photos, then?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/03/09 5:05pm

Looks like the barn door’s closing on this one. . . . Do we have a winner of the prizes from this week’s sponsor: the HIWI: Ike book, the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book? The “Hunkered Down” stencil kit?

Sadly, no. This one stayed just a bit out of reach.

Your guesses for the home in this week’s game: Oak Forest (3 of you), Sharpstown (3), Meyerland (2), Briargrove, Westbury (2), Spring Branch (3), Old Spring Branch, Glenbrook Valley (2), Mangum Manor, “one of the Willows,” Lindale Park, Afton Village, Westview, Spring Valley (2), Braes Heights, Timbergrove Manor (2), Braeswood, Old Braeswood, Riverside Terrace, Tanglewilde, Southgate, Memorial Plaza, “between Meyer Park and Westbury Square,” “Simsdale — the area across the bayou north of Garden Villas, around Reed Rd. south of Bellfort, east of Mykawa,” Midtown, Walnut Bend, Robindell (2), the “Robindell/Maplewood area,” Shadow Oaks, Lazybrook, Ella around 11th, Larchmont, Afton Oaks, Oak Estates, River Oaks, “between West Alabama, Weslayan, the 59 feeder, and Drexel,” Memorial Bend, Ayrshire, Norhill, and “on Brays Bayou, or very close to it, along North or South Braeswood, between Kirby and Stella Link.”

Any Modern-friendly enclaves missing from this list?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

09/01/09 3:50pm

Who’s sponsoring the prize for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game?

New Swamplot advertiser Houston. It’s Worth It. Guess the right neighborhood this week and you’ll win a copy of Houston It’s Worth It’s brand new hot-off-the-presses book, HIWI: Ike — featuring accounts, photos, and mementos of this town’s Hurricane Ike adventure last year, contributed by actual Houstonians.

But that’s not all: Win now and HIWI will also throw in a copy of the original Houston. It’s Worth It. book, plus your very own HIWI-model “Hunkered Down” stencil kit, so next time you can let everyone know when — and where — you’re hunkering.

How can you win all these hometown-branded riches? By guessing where the pictured home is. If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess will get the prize.

If you already know this property, or if you find the listing online, please don’t ruin the game for everyone else by blurting out the answer. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing, so we know that you know. Then submit a fake guess that sounds really good. If you do this well, throwing other players off in the process, you’ll get special recognition when the actual location is revealed. And if nobody has guessed the correct neighborhood, you could win the prize!

So let’s look at the photos, shall we?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/31/09 5:38pm

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 18 Eaton Sq.
Details: 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths; 4,308 sq. ft. on a 3,924-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $2,150,000
History: On the market for 3 months. Price cut $100K in early July.

The nominator of this property asks:

What am I missing here? Sure, this place has lots of nice finishes and shelving. And it faces a cute little fountain. But it’s still a garage-front 3-story attached townhouse that backs up to an apartment complex, in the shadow of an office tower. If I had $2 million to spend — or more likely, borrow I’d want something more …. I don’t know … more.

What would be a better price?

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08/28/09 3:23pm

Note: Story updated below.

Developer (and Swamplot advertiser) Carol Isaak Barden says to give her latest project another week or 10 days before it’s ready — the paint isn’t quite dry yet. But all the peppers, candles, and watermelons are certainly in place for these fancy photos she sent us.

Barden calls the home, which is available for sale in a non-MLS kinda way, the “Tree House.” The architects are Erick Ragni and Scott Strasser. The 4,150-sq.-ft. home (3,500 if you don’t count the oversized garage) is on a 50×100-ft. lot at 1608 Indiana, across the street from HISD’s Wilson Montessori School.

What’s so tree-ish about it?

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08/27/09 11:04pm

A lot of you had a lot to say about this week’s mystery property. But only one of you is walking away with that shiny new Rice Design Alliance membership!

There were 2 guesses each for South Houston, the Memorial Villages, Pasadena, Clear Lake, and Deer Park. The rest of your guesses? Bunker Hill, Piney Point Village, “far out Memorial,” “the area around Bellfort and Broadway,” Oak Ridge North, Meyerland, “the New Caney/Roman Forest/Porter area,” Humble, Porter, New Caney, Katy, Glenbrook Valley, “Northwest between Hollister and Sam Houston Tollway,” “just outside Beltway 8 around Briar Forest,” Fondren Southwest, “outside the North Belt,” “any subdivision,” Alvin, Alief, T.C. Jester or Ella Blvd. near 610, “southwest side,” “very close to Blue Ridge Mountain,” “somewhere southeast,” “somewhere off 2920, between 249 north and I-45 north,” “somewhere across Hempstead from Delmar Stadium near Freed Park,” “somewhere south of Hell,” Park Glen, Meadowcreek, Quail Valley, Oak Forest, Maplewood South, Sugar Land, Pearland, Northampton in Spring, “the Inwood area,” Oakbrook West, Friendswood, Baytown, LaPorte, Sharpstown, Northwest Houston, Candlelight Plaza, Shepherd Park Terrace, “the older parts of Champions,” “off Wilcrest below Lakewood,” and Huntwick.

The winner of a one-year individual membership in the RDA is JC, for this brilliant entry:

Why would you put a cooktop underneath a kitchen window? Even if it’s a downdraft cooktop, I’d feel more comfortable with the traditional kitchen sink underneath that window. Plus, the tile floors look somewhat newer, possibly replacing linoleum or carpet in some parts. What was dead on was movocelot’s guess that the makeshift home theater was the converted garage. With the amount of paneling still intact in the living room, I’m going to guess the house was built in the 70s, and judging by the kitchen cabinets and countertops, I’m going to go against my better judgement and say 1977.

You can notice details of upgrades here and there, mostly noticed by the mirror and sink/counter in the hall bath, which looks to be the same material underneath the bottle of McCormick vodka…

This house has the look of one that would be outside of the beltway. However, I’m going to take a guess here and say this one is in the Inwood area.

Congratulations, JC! This week’s runner-up, miss_msry, aimed just a little too far to the west.

The real prize this round, though, is Claire de Lune — who not only wrote in to suggest this listing in the first place, but came back to concoct this cock-and-bull story to try and throw y’all off:

There are so many places this could be, its hard to choose just one. But it strongly resembles a lot of the homes I saw when I lived in the Clear Lake area. Probably built in the 60s, and redecorated by the second wife (who had theatrical aspirations) in the mid 80s, judging from the abundance of floral crap and faux greenery. The toys belong to the visiting step-grandchildren. That sunken tub probably hasn’t been used in years.

I’m going to place this in Oakbrook West, or possibly the older sections of Friendswood. Whoever lives there is retired, has been in that house a LONG time, and takes “home theater” just a little too seriously. Anyone who would do that with what seems to be a renovated garage has WAY too much time on their hands. Good luck selling this litte gem!

What’s the real story on this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

08/25/09 3:04pm

Who do we have to thank for this one? The Swamplot reader who suggested this property — and the Rice Design Alliance, for sponsoring the prize for the winner. That’s right: If you guess the location of this home correctly, you’ll win a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance!

If more than one player guesses the correct location, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

What if you already know this home? What if you find the listing? Please don’t spill the beans and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot an email with a link to the listing — so we’ll know what you’re doing. Then post an incorrect guess, but try to be convincing when you make it, to throw the other players off. If you do this well, you’ll win special recognition for your efforts when the prize is announced. And if no one guesses the actual neighborhood, that RDA membership could be yours!

Ready to see more of this place? Let’s take a little peek behind the curtain!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY